Geographic targeting, or geotargeting for short, is a marketing strategy that allows businesses to deliver content, advertisements or offers to consumers based on their geographical locations, enabling more relevant and personalized engagement. By honing in on specific regions, marketers can make their messages suit local preferences, cultural nuances, and regional needs. But how to do geotargeting in email marketing? Let’s take this short trip together to find out!
How to do Geotargeting in Email Marketing?
“How am I supposed to know where my subscribers are located if I didn’t specifically ask them when they joined my mailing list?”, you may ask.
Well, in email marketing this is possible even when your subscribers haven’t explicitly provided their location. Let’s look at a few strategies you can use to achieve effective geotargeting in email marketing.
1. IP Geolocation
- How it works: When a user opens an email or visits your website, their IP address can be used to estimate their geographic location. Many email marketing platforms and website analytics tools (like Google Analytics) can track the IP address, providing a rough idea of where the user is located.
- How to implement: Use tools that provide IP geolocation data to automatically segment your subscribers based on their location. This is usually integrated into your email marketing platform.
2. Behavior-Based Location Data
- How it works: If subscribers interact with your website or a specific landing page, you can track their location through the pages they visit. For instance, if you have a page dedicated to a specific region (e.g., “Store in Stockholm”), visits to that page may indicate that the subscriber is in that region.
- How to implement: Use tracking links and landing pages tailored for different regions. When users click on region-specific links, segment them based on this data.
3. Ask Subscribers for Location via Email
- How it works: Even if they haven’t provided their location when joining, you can directly ask them to update their information. You can send a friendly email or survey asking subscribers to update their profile with their city, state, or country.
- How to implement: Include a call-to-action in your email encouraging subscribers to update their preferences or complete a quick survey. This will not only give you accurate data but also increase engagement.
4. Use Purchase or Engagement History
- How it works: If you do email marketing for eCommerce and have an online store or any type of transactional history, you may already know where customers have made purchases. By segmenting based on these transactions, you can estimate their location.
- How to implement: Use your CRM or eCommerce platform to track and segment subscribers based on shipping addresses or purchase histories.
5. Geo-Targeted Ads and Content
- How it works: If you run ads or have content that is geographically specific (like region-specific products or events), you can target users who interact with those ads and content. These interactions will help you gather location data even without asking directly.
- How to implement: Use geo-targeted ads (Google Ads, Facebook Ads, etc.) to direct people to specific pages or sign-up forms. Once they interact, you can segment them based on this data.
6. Mobile App Data
- How it works: If you have a mobile app and users have opted in for location services, you can gather geographic data through the app. This can give you insights into where your app users are located.
- How to implement: If you have an app, use push notifications or in-app prompts to encourage users to allow location tracking. Then, segment your mailing list accordingly.
7. Third-Party Data Providers
- How it works: Some data providers aggregate public records and databases to give you access to information about your users, including their geographic location. You can enrich your mailing list with this external data.
- How to implement: Consider using services like Clearbit, ZoomInfo, or similar, which offer location data enrichment for mailing lists.
Geotargeting Best Practices – Not Only Suggestive, Actually Quite Mandatory
When it comes to email marketing and marketing in general, compliance with various important regulations, such as GDPR, is mandatory and failure to comply can result in pretty large fines. When we talk about companies that are already engaged in email marketing on a global scale, bad consequences are increasingly likely. So, let’s quickly review the most important things to keep in mind when doing geotargeting in email marketing.
- Respect Privacy: Always inform users if their location data is being tracked and how it will be used. Transparency is key.
- Personalization: Use the geographic data to personalize the email content—whether it’s localized offers, events, or product recommendations.
- Testing: Test different geographic segments to understand which regions respond better to certain offers or messaging.
By leveraging a combination of these techniques, you can effectively perform geographic targeting in your email marketing campaigns without requiring subscribers to explicitly share their location upfront.
Some Additional Thoughts and Tips
🌎 It is recommended to segment your subscribers according to their location from the very beginning when starting to grow your mailing list – then it will be easier for you to leverage geotargeting in email marketing in the future. NB! Keep in mind that you will need to do some checking, i.e. mailing list management, from time to time.
🌎 Of course, you should also consider local rules, cultural differences, and etiquette, depending on the geographic location you’re targeting. For inspiration, check out our articles: Appealing to International Audiences with Email Marketing (Pt. 1) & Appealing to International Audiences with Email Marketing (Pt. 2).
🌎 If you are already doing email marketing on a global level, it is a good idea to also keep in mind local anniversaries for your largest markets, such as national holidays, cultural celebrations, or tougher times. Be sure to also consider whether your campaign fits the period in time and if everything is fine locally before targeting a specific market.
You certainly don’t want to send a colorful campaign with a joyful subject line on a day when the people of a country are observing a solemn anniversary, or during a period when the people of a country are in mourning.
🌎 Your audience may also differ in more detailed demographics in various parts of the world. For example, if your company’s customers or newsletter subscribers in Latvia are primarily young professionals in urban areas, while in England they are suburban families or older individuals in rural regions, they will most likely be interested in slightly different content and offers.
🌎 If you have carefully segmented your mailing list and are sure of the location of your recipients, why not add a little localized-personalized touch to the subject line of your email? For example, “Looking for the latest beachwear trends?” would fit areas where summer is in full swing, while for colder areas something like, “Check out our cozy discounts for those warm nights inside!” would be a more suitable pick.
But we have to emphasize it again – this can only be done if you are really sure of their location.
🌎 As a final thought, it’s important to consider that some people may be temporarily traveling to a different location. In such cases, while you can use their current location for short-term targeting, it’s crucial to focus on where they have spent more time historically.
Analyzing their longer-term geographic patterns will give you more accurate insights into their true location and help you deliver more relevant and personalized content over time.
In Conclusion
Geotargeting in email marketing is not just a trend; it’s a game changer! By understanding where your subscribers are located, you can craft messages that resonate, provide relevant offers, and ultimately drive engagement. Remember, it’s all about strategies like IP tracking, using behavior-based location data and purchase history, and subscriber surveys to gather those valuable location insights.
So, get ready to customize your campaigns and watch your open rates soar! With a sprinkle of creativity and a focus on your audience’s unique locations, you’re well on your way to turning your email strategy into a targeted success. Here’s to conquering the world with your excellent campaigns!