#19: Geo-targeting: Reach your audiences where they are
Sure, you can place the usual ads and post generic information on civic initiatives on social media platforms. It's not a bad approach, but it's nowhere near as specific, accurate--and useful to your audience--as it could be. Did you know there's a way to deliver the information people need directly to the people who need it? Geo-targeting is a straightforward tool for depositing digital information right into the laps of stakeholders, and it's a trend whose time has come.
What is Geo-targeting?
Geo-targeting, or local-targeting, focuses on campaigns and research based on geographic location. It's a technique for focused, location-based outreach. The geographic area chosen for the campaign is matched to the ID of a device, a kind of internal bar code also known as an internet-protocol (IP) address. Every digital device that travels within that geographic area will be targeted. Picture a piece of property with an invisible line around it. That geo-fence defines the physical space where devices will receive information, where they will be geo-targeted. Outside of that invisible fence, no one will see the content produced for the campaign. It's a universal marketing and advertising tool with prominent advertising platforms like Google and Facebook.
Geo-targeting offers enormous possibilities for public engagement. Here are just a few examples of how geo-targeting can be applied:
Hyper-local ads can be distributed to be seen only in the identified neighborhood, communicating the project's relevance to a specific community.
The shape of the geo-targeted area is limited only by your definition; it can encompass, for instance, a bus route and the area around it, a college campus, a waterfront for a resilience study, specific buildings or a pedestrian walkway.
Your campaign can tailor ads to fit where they will appear, at respective stops along a rail line or points of interest in a park.
There's plenty of opportunity in geo-targeting, limited only by your imagination and the more you know about your audience. The better you understand the community and the geography, the more specific you can be in your campaign—you can collect the input you need from those most impacted by the project, not an incidental and likely confused audience halfway across the state or country. Here's an example: the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA) applied geo-targeting to deliver information about a virtual meeting and survey on a regional transportation plan for those who might be affected. Their ads were seen by 1.6 million people in just six weeks and garnered 3,000 responses to the survey.
What are the benefits of Geo -targeting?
Want more ways geo-targeting can enhance the reach of your public engagement campaigns?
Cost-effective spending. Most public engagement campaigns have tight budget limits; with geo-targeting, you can spend advertising dollars on ads that your audience will most likely see and not random markets.
A better understanding of stakeholders. Identifying your audience isn't enough to inform and engage them. Geo-targeting can tell you more. By looking at bumps in activity by IP addresses, you can learn, for instance, that many in the community spend time at the local baseball field every Wednesday, giving you an important clue on how to reach local families.
A/B Test new ideas. Launching a campaign is an expensive endeavor—and it can be something of a trial-and-error experiment. Geo-targeting enables you to test ideas, messages, even message alternatives among specific populations, neighborhoods and communities. You can even check a message against formal neighborhood names and nicknames, different work sites, or subway stops.
Draw the Map
Geo-targeting allows you to make a significant impact even with limited resources. Start by thinking about your map—is it a route, a neighborhood, a street, a coffee shop? Once you've identified your area, fence it in and then start thinking out-of-the-box about what you want to know from the people who come in and out of that geo-fenced area. With a little creativity, you'll be able to run a memorable—and personalized—campaign that delivers important information to your audiences where they are.Let’s get to work, give us a call and schedule a meeting today.Arch Street Communications
251 W 117th St, NY, NY 10026
160 Wildey Street, Tarrytown, NY 10591
Tel: 914-821-5100 | Fax: 914-821-5111
info@asc-pr.com
asc-pr.com
asc-remote.com