What’s the Big Deal with Beacons? We Break It Down in New Paper

Beacons are one of the most buzzed-about and least understood technologies to emerge in the past few years. Early adopters are already using beacons, but many other businesses are still trying to figure them out. To help marketers understand the details of how beacons work and the significant impact their technology will have on shaping the future of location-based marketing, we developed a comprehensive Beacon Marketing 101 guide.

In today's hyper-connected world, location drives many of the best and most useful mobile experiences: local search, on-demand services, location-based social media, and navigation. All of these are about helping people go places – mobile devices are called "mobile" for a reason. And in order for location-based apps to function, a mobile device needs to know its location. In the past this information has been provided by GPS technology, which unfortunately has significant limitations in determining precise location.

That's where beacons come in. Beacons allow mobile devices to determine their precise location in many situations where past technology has fallen short. For marketers, this means the ability to deliver location-relevant content in real-time with unprecedented accuracy and in entirely new environments, such as in-store.

Today's digital marketers have rightly identified location as the most powerful customer context. Beacons elevate the accuracy and applicability of location-based marketing to new heights. While many ad networks continue to build increasingly complex demographic profiles to engage consumers, the simplest solution is often the best. Taken together, time and location form the strongest vector of intent.

The full Beacon Marketing 101 white paper addresses the following topics in detail:

• What are beacons?

• How do beacons work?

• Beacon software options

• How are beacons being used? Specific examples from:

  • Macy's, American Eagle and Shopkick
  • Major League Baseball
  • Facebook Place Tips

• Beacon permissions

• Xone, Yext's new beacon-enabled product

Download our free Beacon 101 white paper today to learn everything you need to know about how beacon technology works and the revolutionary opportunities it has created for marketers to significantly improve their location-based marketing strategy and enhance local customer engagement.