Data Security - Don't call us. We'll call you.

Data Security - Don't call us. We'll call you.

How the data explosion can help you find customers before they even know they're looking for you. Australia has reached peak smartphone, according to a recent survey that reports more than 90 per cent of adults have one. And what's more, we can't leave them alone - with many of us checking our screens more than 50 times a day. This device addiction, coupled with staggering amounts of personal information gathered by titans such as Facebook and Google, has created a wave of data business owners can ride all the way to the bank, marketing experts say. Ross Meadows, managing director of digital marketing agency Media Booth, says new techniques leveraging this data to micro-target consumers are incredibly powerful and cost effective. But many SME owners simply aren't aware of them. "When we go to a business, about 80 per cent of our job is actually educating them about what is possible," Mr Meadows says. Data surpassed oil as the world's most valuable resource in 2017, with good reason. "It's stupidly powerful and if businesses aren't using it, they're crazy," Mr Meadows says. One of the fastest-growing trends in data is using location information to target consumers through either geo-fencing or geo-targeting. These take advantage of the fact most phones not only log users' online profile and search habits (through Facebook and Google), but record their home address and track their physical movements through GPS or phone towers. Combining this data allows advertisers to target the right people (by age, gender and interests) at the right time (when they may be actively searching for your product) and in the right location (by where they live or have visited). While it sounds complex, Mr Meadows says it is actually an incredibly cost-effective way for SMEs to advertise, because they're only paying to reach an ideal demographic, rather than thousands of people who may not be interested. It's a laser focus, compared to an old-fashioned scatter gun approach. Used cleverly, these tools can help SMEs compete against larger companies with big budgets and better brand awareness. So, what is the difference between geo-fencing and geo-targeting and how can SMEs use them effectively? Geo-targeting This is the more personalised of the two tools and is used to find a 'look-alike audience' - that is, consumers who fit the same demographic profile of a business's existing customer base. (To gather this data businesses need to ensure they are using code such as Facebook pixel on their website.) The starting point is a location. Geo-targeting leverages the IP (Internet Protocol) address of phones and computers - so it targets people where they live. After selecting focus suburbs, the audience is refined according to data points such as age, gender, relationship status, interests and income (depending on how much data they have shared online), then ads are delivered via Facebook or Google to this select audience. This approach gets an extra boost from the fact people often find ads targeted to their interests (for example books, or home renovation) useful, rather than annoying. A recent Media Booth campaign aimed to find a look-alike audience to promote a new range of reading glasses for a large Sydney firm, Mr Meadows says. The company drilled down to a highly targeted demographic of potential customers and smashed the goal. "The campaign was supposed to run for two weeks but it got turned off after two days because they sold out," he says. It's important to note marketers never see an individual phone user's identity, with data profiles anonymised by providers. Geo-fencing By contrast, geo-fencing focuses purely on location - so where a consumer is, rather than who they are. It's a sphere where the most ingenious marketing is taking place. To geo-fence a zone, business owners draw a virtual ring around target areas on a digital map and push ads out to devices detected entering or leaving that defined area. The technique uses real-time GPS tracking data - often running in apps such as Google Maps - that have become so accurate, the latest iterations can pinpoint a user to within 30cm of their location. In the past, this technique has been used by small retail businesses, particularly cafes, to lasso local foot traffic. However, the increased accuracy of location data has spawned some more exciting guerilla marketing trends. In 2018, digital marketing agency Ansible launched the Dealer Stealer campaign for Hyundai which involved geo-fencing the address of rival car dealerships and pushing Hyundai ads to users' phones. It's the digital equivalent of running into a competitor's shop and handing out flyers. Geo-fencing is particularly effective because research indicates 82 per cent of consumers search products in-store before making a purchase - providing the perfect opportunity for your ad to be served. Mr Meadows says he also geo-fences trade shows to hit specific target markets. "I've got one coming up next month and I will geo-fence the entire thing because it's a small to medium business event. I will put a circle around the event and pump out ads," he says. At a recent event, Mr Meadows said attendance was 45,000 and data indicated his ads were pushed out to 38,000 users. "That's only 7,000 people who didn't actually see it. That's staggering numbers,'' he says. It's a cost-effective way to market to consumers who have already signalled an interest in your product or service, and the potential is boundless. Lawyers could geo-fence police stations, physiotherapists could focus on gyms, and pet shops or vets could target dog parks. Its use is limited, at present, only by imagination and the growing accuracy and scope of data.