If you aren’t familiar with geo fencing, it is a tactic that allows you to deliver digital display ads to websites and apps accessed by mobile phones based on the location of the device. That is, you set up a “fence” — a small geographic radius — in which your ads will appear. (See below for more explanation).
Here are four ways you can use mobile geo fencing for recruitment:
- College recruiting. Target colleges, or other schools, and deliver recruitment ad campaigns to smart phones on/around the desired campus or campuses.
- Targeting your competition. Focus your geo fencing campaign at/around the location(s) of your competitors. This works best when there is a large workforce to target — examples include a Fortune 500 campus, a hospital, an operations center, a university, or a construction worksite.
- Diversity or veterans recruiting. Target diverse neighborhoods to reach desired populations or deliver your message on military bases.
- Layoffs/closings/moving. When layoffs, a workplace closure, or company move are announced, begin geo fencing to attract those laid off, or might not want to stick around to see if they are next, or those who do not want a longer commute in the event of a move.
There are similarities with IP targeting but it’s not the same thing. Geo fencing happens in real time with no data collecting and no future retargeting. Also, geo fencing is strictly a mobile tactic while IP targeting refers to desktops as well.
Anyhow, more on mobile advertising and geo fencing:
Visit any notable content website on your mobile phone — news sites, sports sites, entertainment sites, etc. — and you will see display ads marketing all kinds of products and services. Additionally, many game apps also serve display ads. Marketers have long been buying this “space” to deliver their messages. While most mobile ads are not hyper geo targeted (i.e. geo fencing), in some cases, it makes sense to do so.
Say you are a spa or restaurant and you want to invite your neighbors to visit you. You could geo fence around your location to reach people in close proximity to your store who are using their smart phone. Or, you might be an auto dealership on a stretch of road containing other, competing, dealers. A geo fencing campaign could place your ad in front of customers who are shopping at your competitors’ stores and attract them to you.
Employers can often see how this could work for them. It’s a way to get your message to locations that are rich in your target audience — colleges, workplaces, neighborhoods. With a compelling message and creative, you will attract candidates, and, with one click, they can be delivered to your careers page, ATS, landing page, social media sites, form fill, or other destination.
With the right partner and platform, you can geo fence anywhere in the country, running your campaign across thousands of top websites.