One concept our blog readers should be well-acquainted with by now is that GroundTruth is location-centric. To add additional context, the core value proposition of our technology is to drive real in-store visits. While this is an invaluable metric of success for brick-and-mortar businesses, a question often asked is how to leverage location-based advertising to reach clients focused on e-commerce goals and/or general brand awareness. For those who crave the clicks, how does this type of marketing find and drive the right person to a website to take an action? Simply answered: every brand has an audience.
For those who crave the clicks, how does location-based marketing find and drive the right person to a website to take an action? Simply answered: every brand has an audience.
Before diving deeper into this, marketers must understand what “activities,” aside from general demographics, can help construct a detailed representation of a brand’s targeted audience. Some would consider online actions to be key indicators. Yet, online actions such as a person’s search history or the brands they like on social media platforms, fall short in telling the full story of genuine consumer behavior. Offline behaviors, however, prove to be more indicative of a consumer and his/her likes, dislikes and/or hobbies.
For example, on her laptop, Jan visits high-end websites for retailers such as West Elm and Restoration Hardware. But in reality, Jan visits her nearest HomeGoods store to find the high-end styles she’s seen while browsing online, but at a budget more in-line with her finances. Additionally, Jan also visits Target and TJ-Maxx within the same week. Based on this real-world data, it’s safe to establish that Jan is a “Discount Shopper.” Perhaps she’s also visited several quick-service restaurants within the last month, stopping by McDonald’s after a shopping trip. Jan could then also be classified as a “QSR Goer” and on a brand-specific level as a “McDonald’s Loyalist.”
By grasping this idea that physical visitation to businesses and points of interest paints a clearer picture of their desired consumer, e-commerce brands can begin leveraging location-based audiences to identify and reach a more qualified targeted audience. Furthermore, this knowledge will prevent wasting ad impressions and ultimately flushing precious media dollars down the drain.
Below are a few best practices that small-to-mid-sized companies and their agencies should consider when utilizing location-based advertising:
1) Think big(ger)
More often than not, small to mid-size businesses hone their focus in on targeting a handful of local competitors in their area to influence valuable consumers in real-time. In theory, it’s a brilliant tactic, but what brands neglect to realize is this type of strategy is not typically scalable. Expanding your targeting to reach the right places (i.e., the fancy Italian restaurant on Main Street who wants your piece of the foot traffic pie) and the right audiences (i.e., sit down diners, affluent shoppers, and Olive Garden loyalists) will greatly increase delivery and performance of campaigns.
2) Retargeting is your friend
Serving your ad to consumers in real-time within the confines you’re looking to reach is extremely valuable. Ensuring consumers are still aware of your brand after they leave is also a significant play to make. Retargeting allows you to reach users who’ve been to that competitor auto dealership within the last week and inform them of the other option available in their area.
3) Put the insights to work
To reiterate, many think they already have their core audience figured out. As notated earlier, location data often times puts an interesting spin to what was once thought to be true. Because GroundTruth’s Blueprints technology allows us to create audiences based off of behavior, brand, and category, we’re able to showcase what audiences are receptive to the content that’s being served. Why not take a risk and trust the technology that’s showing you which audiences are most engaged? Learning to be nimble and follow where the data leads can open the door to reinvention and ultimately generate new potential streams of revenue for your brand.
Interested in trying location-based marketing? Sign up for GroundTruth Ads Manager to get started today.
