Facebook Geofencing: 10 Tips to Improve Your Ads

In the world of modern advertising, precise targeting is the name of the game.

It revolves around catering to people who are likely interested in what you have to say and offer. For most businesses, these people those who step close to their geographical location.

Facebook geofencing is designed to unlock this precise-targeting ability and at any given time too.

It goes far beyond ordinary location settings (county, state, and city), enabling marketers to outline virtual boundaries around specific areas. They can serve ads only to people who enter these areas.

Make no mistake. This isn’t some minor tweak but a chance to supercharge your whole advertising strategy.

1. See Whether Geofencing Is Right for Your Business

Geofencing isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

It benefits businesses with (multiple) brick-and-mortar locations the most. Their goal is simple: to boost the amount of foot traffic coming their way. This objective perfectly ties into both social media efforts and business needs.

If you’re on the fence about the whole geotargeting thing, check out this article. It will help you reach an educated decision and prevent unpleasant surprises later.

Feel free to get in touch with a seasoned social media consultant/marketer as well.

2. Make ROI a Top Priority

Assuming you do plan to go down this road, don’t rush things.

First of all, get crystal-clear on what your priorities are. If you’re like most other advertisers, you’re seeking to improve your bottom line. The good news is geofencing is geared toward this goal.

Its main benefit (compared to less targeted tactics) is a higher return on investment (ROI).

But, there are other kinds of benefits you can reap. Think in terms of gaining more consumer data, increasing engagement, and improving customer relationships.

3. Get Into Campaign Creation Process

For those not familiar with Facebook geofencing, we want to explain basic configuration.

It’s quite similar to any targeted campaign. You need to follow the normal campaign creation process until you arrive at the “Audience” section.

Here, pick “location to target” or “location to exclude” option. The next step entails specifying exact location areas. To do this, use the “Drop Pin” feature—it creates a one-mile radius around the chosen point.

4. Go Beyond Your Physical Footprint

The million-dollar question is where to place the pins.

Well, in general, fenced areas should be the zones adjacent to your physical locations. In other words, make sure to draw polygons around your stores and premises.

At the same time, you can deploy ads around competitors’ locations. These are great sources of potential business, which you can steal from under the nose of direct rivals.

It’s also a good idea to put fences around the various industry and niche-related events it the city.

5. Embrace Micro-Proximity Targeting

1-mile radius is sometimes too broad of a scope.

If you want to narrow it and exclude certain areas, you can that with simple hacking. For instance, try to pin locations that involve minimum polygons and designate exclusion zones around them.

Alternatively, utilize tools such as Hunch. They let you get really specific about points and radiuses. You can use them to narrow targeting down to just 100 meters!

Everything else plays out automatically.

6. Use Ads in Synergy With Other Tactics

Location information comes from various sources.

The list includes Wi-Fi, cellular data, global positioning, radio frequency identification (RFID), etc. The purpose of this information is to trigger programmed actions. Of course, the distribution of ads is the main action you want to spur.

But, apart from targeted ads, it pays off to simultaneously emit messages through other channels. In particular, consider SMS messages and push notifications. Just a obtain phone number and permission before launching campaigns.

7. Throw Demographics into the Mix

Even with constrained polygons, your audience could turn out to be quite large.

Such bulkiness can reflect poorly on campaign performance (key metrics). Fortunately, it’s possible to refine the audience further. The best way to pull this off is through categories other than location.

We’re mostly talking about age and gender options.

They are tools for demographic targeting, a process that helps you flesh out your ideal, high-value customers. It holds the key to aiming with laser precision and really dominating your business backyard.

8. Add a Layer of Behavioral Targeting

Another trick for enhancing geofencing is “Detailed Targeting”.

This option in the campaign setup is geared toward behavioral targeting. It requires you to think about what kind of activities your ideal customers take.

Let’s say you’re a real estate business. For you, it would be imperative to discover people who’ve looked for a new place via Facebook. This interest, combined with location targeting, is a great predictor of whether you can hope to covert or not.

9. Master the Bidding System and Keywords

Depending on the niche and industry, competing for ad space can be quite rough.

To set yourself up for success, learn how the bidding system works. Then, scope out who you’re up against. A bunch of competitors with overlapping (fenced) areas significantly increase ad prices.

Once the analysis is completed, find the keywords you’ll target with the ads. They must contain terms that users type in search engines. Ideally, they hint at both your location and what kind of business you are.

10. Follow a Customer-Oriented Approach

Effective geofencing isn’t just about raking in sales.

It’s closely linked to one benefit we brought up earlier—nurturing customer relationships. To translate this desired outcome into reality, commit to consistently sending relevant, well-crafted messages.

That is to say that your ads should be more than dry sales pitches. You’re better off striving to add value to peoples’ lives.

This approach nurtures long-term loyalty, boosts your brand image, and encourages repeat buying. That’s what you call a true win-win.

Get on Top of Facebook Geofencing

In this day and age, the scattergun approach no longer cuts it.

If you really mean business, it’s necessary to target a specific audience and leverage Facebook geofencing. This tactic allows you to launch hyper-targeted campaigns and reach quality prospects.

So, get clear on your targeting parameters and focus on people exhibiting interest in your offerings. Be smart and creative about your pin locations and radiuses. You should be able to get maximum ROI and accomplish your goals.

Keep up with our latest articles and collect more money-making tips. It’s time to take your business game to the next level.