Frequently Asked Questions

What is geofencing? 

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Geofencing or to geofence is to establish a virtual perimeter in a real-world environment. The geofence can be a circle or a polygon around any location.

 

How does geofencing work? 

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By using software and communicating with location-based services to recognize actions such as entering or exiting a designated geofence. 

 

How does geofencing work in terms of mobile? 

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There are multiple ways geofencing can be used in the mobile space. The mobile device can communicate via GPS. A mobile device can communicate with other devices to trigger an action when the phone leaves or enters an area. Mobile applications will use this feature to send messages to users within specific locations or at specific times. 

 

Do you need an app to use BoardActive’s service?

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Yes, a mobile app with location permissions is required to use the service. 

 

Who does geofencing work for? 

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Many industries can benefit from a geofencing campaign if the strategy makes sense. Everything from recruiting employees, branding or creating awareness, to driving sales.

 

Can geofencing campaigns track conversions? 

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Yes, geofencing marketing campaigns can track conversions for on or offline attribution with the BoardActive service.

 

Can any place be geofenced? 

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Yes, there are no limitations on where you can create a geofence. However, there are limitations in some areas based on what type of advertising you run for ethical purposes. For example, the state of Massachusetts passed a bill that limits certain advertising around health care facilities.

 

How can geofencing work for my company? 

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A mobile advertising campaign using the tool of geofencing to target a more effective audience can help multiple industries in everything from hiring employees, surveys, retargeting, to gaining brand awareness and increasing revenue.

 

What can marketers do with geofencing?

 

On average, a mobile app loses 96% of its users within a year of its initial download. Keeping users engaged is difficult – due to the overload of commercial messages they receive, users filter out the noise. They only respond to what’s really relevant to their current mood and setting. Geofencing can provide a lot of insights about the user’s context and surroundings, which can help marketers adapt their communications accordingly.

 

It can help marketers:

 

• Collect location insights about user’s offline behaviors for audience segmentation, personalization, retargeting, competitive intelligence, and online to offline attribution.

 

• Send location-relevant content to mobile users based on their current or recently-visited location, in order to drive their engagement with the app.

 

How is geofencing used in different industries?

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Geofencing can be used in many different ways. Here are some examples of how marketers in various industries already get creative with geofencing:

 

• Retail:​ Sending promotional messages as shoppers pass by a store to drive visits.

 

• Automotive​: Retargeting users that have visited a car dealership (yours or competitor’s).

 

• Coupons​: Proving the ROI of coupons using location data to track store visits initiated by coupons.

 

• Airline​: Upselling flyers with fast-track services as they walk in the airport.

 

• Mobile​ ​payments​: Reminding users of places where they can pay as they visit them.

 

• Hospitality​: Capturing feedback shortly after visitors step out of the hotel.

 

• Travel​: Enriching user profiles with traveling history to supercharge future targeting.

 

• Dining​ ​reviews​: Suggesting a list of popular dishes to a guest who visits a particular restaurant.

 

• Coffee​ ​chain​: Giving discounts to returning customers to build loyalty.

 

• Online​ ​store​: Geo-conquesting competitor’s locations with deals to lure customers away.

 

What should marketers know about geofencing and privacy concerns?

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Geofencing relies on location services which naturally brings up customers’ concerns about companies accessing their location data. So here are a few things to guide you in this area:

 

• The power is always with the customer. Geofencing requires customers’ permission to share their location data. Customers can easily revoke this permission at any time.

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• The key is being transparent. You need to explain to your customers why you need to access their location. They will be more willing to support you if they know why you are using their information.

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• The rationale behind you accessing and using your customer’s location and mobile phone data is important: it must benefit the customer experience, not just you.

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• Provide security to keep customer data safe.

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• As an app, you need to have a privacy policy that communicates all the assurances you deliver to your customers. It needs to be clearly documented and available online.

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• When communicating with your customers about location sharing, your choice of words is crucial, it can take all of their concerns away or scare them away.

 

What is a push notification?

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Push Notifications are a great way to keep your users engaged in your application. They are messages that appear on a user’s phone, often triggered by location, audience segmentation, and in-app behavior.

 

Why should I use push notifications? 

 

Apps (that is to say, app/product management teams) may send their users push notifications in order to:

 

• Highlight a new or updated product feature or content

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• Remind user of an upcoming event (e.g. a birthday party) or task to complete (e.g. a to-do list item)

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• Alert user to an important, time-sensitive event (e.g. flight updates, breaking news)

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• Inform user of commercial activity or event (e.g. concert tickets going on sale, retail promotions)

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• Re-engage users who have not interacted with the product recently

 

What kind of media can you include in a push notification?

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Different types of services offer different types of notifications. Services such as Firebase only offer a basic push with text. Services such as Airship and Pushwoosh send messages with images and text. BoardActive provides advanced notifications that include everything from gifs to QR codes and interactive buttons for specific directives. 

 

What does BoardActive offer that other push services do not?

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Other services have plenty to offer, but BoardActive comes out ahead in attribution. Follow a mobile marketing campaign from the point a user receives a message to the point they enter a store and make a purchase. The ability to measure a user’s location and behavior after an impression is instrumental to a brand’s marketing success. In addition to this, we also provide one-on-one customer service with no outside answering service or overseas call centers. We answer your questions straight from the source. 

 

Can I use push notifications without using the location monitoring or vice versa?

 

Yes, these are not mutually exclusive. You can use them together or independently depending on your app’s goals. 

 

I don’t have a developer in-house. Can I still use this push notification service?

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Yes, we have a development team that is on hand to install the SDK into your app for you. The platform to access the service is incredibly user-friendly with fill-in-the-blank or checked box style selections. The goal is for a marketer to use this service without the need for code or a developer. 

 

Can I send push notifications to anyone’s phone? 

 

No, you can only send messages to users within your network or app. The user’s who have installed your app and filled out your sign-on process will appear within the platform’s user list.

 

How do push notifications differ from SMS notifications?

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SMS messages are often equated with spam. They show up as unknown numbers to the user, and can even be blocked by the user’s security selections on their phone. Push notifications appear with the app’s badge to declare the identity of the sender immediately. They are also more aesthetically pleasing with options for rich media and interactive buttons.