Introduction
Geo-targeting on Facebook is a marketing strategy that helps businesses target customers based on their specific location.
By using the ads manager tool, companies can select the exact geographic locations they want to target with their advertisements.
This is an excellent way to ensure that the right audience sees your ad, as you are looking to target specific customers who are most likely to be interested in your product or service.
Facebook also offers specific targeting options, such as age, gender, interests, and behaviors, which can be used in conjunction with geotargeting to further refine your target audience.
The use of geo-targeting can also help to improve the effectiveness of your advertising campaigns by increasing your chances of reaching potential customers who are nearby and more likely to engage with your brand.
Overall, geo-targeting on Facebook is a valuable tool for businesses looking to reach specific audiences with their advertising efforts.
So, let’s get started!
What Is Geolocal Advertising or Location Targeting?
Geolocal advertising is a type of online marketing that focuses on a specific geographical area.
Unlike other forms of online advertising, such as display advertising or attribute targeting, geolocal ads will only be shown to people in the predetermined area.
There are two primary types of geolocal targeting: geotargeting and geofencing.
Both are used to narrow the advertising reach and ensure that only people who could potentially become customers see the ads.
What Is Facebook Geofencing?
Geofencing is a tool used for targeted local advertising. It creates a digital “fence” around a certain area that you’ve chosen, such as the perimeter of a stadium or business. Ads are then only shown to people located within the fenced area.
To do this, geofencing uses the IP address and GPS data from mobile devices.
You don’t need to understand how it works behind the scenes; all you have to do is choose your target area with a minimum radius of one mile and run highly specialized advertising campaigns.
Geofencing is a powerful tool for targeting an audience in a specific area. However, due to changes in traffic flow throughout the day and other factors, it can be difficult to target the right people with geofencing.
It is often used for special events when there are more people gathered in one place, but it lacks extra targeting options, so all people within the perimeter are targeted, regardless of individual characteristics.
What Is Geotargeting in Facebook Advertising?
Geotargeting is a type of online advertising that specifically targets people based on their physical location. It uses technology to determine where someone is and display ads that are geographically relevant to them.
This makes sure that those who are most likely to be interested in the advertised good or service see the ads.
Advertising is a great way to promote your business. You can make sure that the people you are trying to reach are exactly who you want them to be.
For example, if you run a bookshop and cafe, you might choose to target people between the ages of 18-35 who have received higher education, enjoy fantasy novels, and follow food blogs.
But another way to make sure your message reaches only those who will benefit from it is with geotargeting. This lets you add an extra piece to your targeting and limits it to people within 10 miles of your local business.
So, geotargeting is all about choosing who should see an advertisement depending on where they are located.
It can be used in a positive way, to target everyone in a certain area, or it can be used negatively to exclude a certain location from being targeted.
This tool can be helpful for businesses that have multiple outlets close together, so customers don’t get directed to a further location when there’s one nearby.
How Facebook Determines the Location of The Users?
Facebook can figure out a person’s location through various clues like their IP address, what device they’re using, and the city listed in their profile. Additionally, their friends’ locations may also help pinpoint their own location.
Facebook uses different sources of location data depending on whether people are visiting an area or living there. These sources are defined by Facebook and help them understand better where people are located.
Let’s have a look at them:
1. Everyone in This Location
People in this area include anyone whose Facebook profile says they are from here, as well as anyone using a mobile device who is determined to be in the area.
2. People Who Live in This Location
People who live in this area are identified by their current city listed on Facebook, as well as the IP address they use and the locations of their Facebook friends.
3. Recently in This Location
This option lets you find people who are currently in the area you selected. It includes both people who live there and visitors who may be traveling there.
4. People Traveling to This Location
This area sees a lot of travelers from different places. These people are traveling more than 100 miles away from their homes, as shown through their Facebook profiles and mobile device data.
When you’re targeting people with Facebook ads, it’s important to keep in mind that their location is determined using a variety of signals, except in the case of ‘Recently in this Location’, which is based just on mobile device signals.
Also, “recently in this location” doesn’t exclude people who reside there; it includes all those traveling too. Keep this in mind when making your targets!
Steps to Successfully Use Facebook Geo Targeting for Facebook Ads
Step 1: Open the Facebook Business Page
To get started with your Facebook ad, go to the Facebook business page. Here you’ll find lots of helpful information about setting up an ad for a specific area.
Before, you could only target people based on country, state, and ZIP code, but now there are even more ways to narrow down your audience and make sure you’re getting the most out of your money.
Step 2: Refine Your Audience to Target People
To target your advertisements to the right people, you need to figure out who is most likely to be interested in what you’re offering.
This way, you only spend time and money on people who will actually pay attention to your ad. To narrow down your audience, you can choose from different location-based options.
Step 3: Select Your Location
When you create a Facebook advertisement, you can target it at people in certain locations. You can choose specific cities, states, provinces, countries, and other designated areas.
You can even target an ad at people near a certain business address. When you pick a target area for your ad, you can also select how far away people can be and still see it.
For example, you can choose if you want people within 10 miles, 20 miles, or even 50 miles of the target area to view your ad.
Step 4: Business Locations Targeting Options
Business Location Targeting is a handy tool on Facebook that lets businesses advertise to people near their physical locations.
It’s ideal for restaurants, retail stores, and any other business that wants customers to come to their physical location.
By using Facebook geo-targeting, businesses can make sure their ads are reaching the right audience, encouraging them to visit and explore more of the business’s offerings.
Benefits of Geo Targeting on Facebook
1. Incentivize Purchases During Sales Events
If you’re having a sale or pushing for more sales during a certain time, you’ll want to make sure people know about it. You can do this by advertising, so everyone knows when the event is happening.
When the sale actually begins, it’s best to focus on targeting people close to your store instead of trying to reach as many people as possible. That way, you’ll get more people into your store to take advantage of the sale.
If you are having a sale, let your customers know quickly so they don’t miss out! To create a sense of urgency, here are some ideas:
- Send targeted messages to customers near your store informing them of the ongoing sale.
- Customize messages for each location across your chain stores to talk about specific deals.
- Post pictures of people shopping in the store during the sale.
- Encourage customers to take advantage of the sale before it ends.
- Highlight popular items and create urgency for customers to shop now.
When you plan your ad spend around a sale or product launch, you can maximize your use of the budget. This strategy will help you make the most of your ad money.
2. Build Loyalty
You can use location targeting to help build loyalty and advocacy for your business. Showing what is happening in the local area can make people feel connected to their neighborhood and emotionally attached to your business.
Here are some ways to use location targeting to strengthen these connections:
- Talk about the aspects of the neighborhood you’re proud of to engage local customers.
- Post pictures of well-known people from the neighborhood interacting with you to add authenticity to your brand.
- Showcase your business as part of the local community by connecting with community events.
- Share testimonials from customers talking about why they chose to do business with you.
- Leveraging local celebrities and influencers is a great way to increase exposure for your business.
Establishing strong emotional connections with customers and colleagues is an essential business skill. To be effective, it’s important to express genuine feelings and be sincere in your interactions.
Otherwise, you risk damaging the relationships you’ve built, which could have a detrimental effect on the success of your business.
3. Leverage Traffic from Local Landmarks
If you want more people to find out about your business, take advantage of landmarks in your city. Look for places that are popular and that get a lot of attention on social media or in pictures.
You can use location-based targeting and show people from those areas ads related to the place they’re visiting. Talk about the landmark and how it is connected to your business, so you can increase awareness about what you offer.
4. Identify Popular Landmarks Near Your Business
If your business is located in a certain area, it can be helpful to identify popular landmarks nearby. These landmarks can be marked on a map and used to inform the messaging of your advertisements.
Popular landmarks could include monuments, parks, restaurants, etc. that are easily recognizable to potential customers.
Here are some potential ways to make these connections:
- Show your customers you share similar values by connecting them to the landmark’s story.
- Offer a discount or reward to customers who present a picture of the landmark as proof of their visit.
- Provide an interesting fact about the landmark to help broaden your customers’ knowledge and understanding.
- Highlight some of the hidden gems in the area that people may not know about.
Conclusion
Thus, geo-targeting on Facebook can be extremely beneficial for businesses looking to reach a specific audience.
Facebook allows you to target your Facebook campaign to a specific geographic area, allowing users in that area to see ads that are relevant to them. This can lead to higher engagement rates and a better ROI for your Facebook ads.
To make the most of geo-targeting, it’s important to follow best practices and use cases, such as targeting users based on location-based interests or using lookalike audiences to find new customers in specific areas.
To get started with geo-targeting Facebook ads, businesses can use the Facebook Ad Manager tool, which allows them to set specific targeting parameters and track the performance of their campaigns.
Overall, geo-targeting is a powerful tool that can help businesses drive more targeted traffic to their websites and mobile apps, and it’s definitely worth considering as part of a comprehensive Facebook advertising strategy.
Good Luck!
