Out Riding GeoFences: Interact and ReachLocal Partnerin’ Up to Wrangle Enrollment

Strategy August 03, 2018

Did you know that of the 3.5 billion internet users, 3.03 billion are active on social media? With numbers like these, it’s no wonder that businesses and non-profits are more focused than ever on trying to effectively reach these audiences.

Over the years, Interact Communications has become a leader in the effective use of digital advertising by community and technical colleges. Our recent geofencing ad campaigns with strategic partner ReachLocal represent the next evolution in a long history of innovative practices for targeting and converting college prospects into students.

From a marketing standpoint, what makes social media so useful is not just its ubiquity, but the opportunity it provides to use demographic information to tailor messages to specific audiences. The success or failure of a digital ad campaign is often based on how well a college has tailored its message to its target audience.

Geofencing adds another layer of efficacy to digital marketing by allowing entities to target potential consumers based on a set geographic boundary or “fence.” For example, in April, Norco College in Southern California ran a geofencing campaign around Coachella, a local music festival that in 2017 was attended by 250,000 people and grossed $114.6 million.

“We haven’t seen the data yet for the geofencing around Coachella, but we have seen the data for the digital campaign from Feb-March,” says Ashley Etchison, Director of Strong Workforce, Strategic Communications, and Marketing at Norco College. “We are very impressed with the results so far, particularly how much traffic has been driven to the website.”

Like Norco’s YouTube videos, which have received tens of thousands of views in just a couple of months, geofencing represents another innovative way to effectively target “college-ready” prospects and turn them into students.

Curious how digital marketing and geofencing can help you reach your target audience and grow your enrollment? Call or email us today for a free consultation