Did You Know All About Beacon Technology?
Introduction
Beacon technology has covered a long way since its inception in 2013 and is continuing to grow more.
Even many experts have predicted that the technology is going to cross $25 billion by 2024. Also, it will be quite safe to say that the technology has a lot of potentials to contribute to marketing.
Have you ever thought about what all you need to know about this technology? Don’t worry because we are there to look after your needs. That’s why we are going to provide you with all the essential knowledge.
Understand Beacon Technology
The word Beacon indicates small, wireless transmitters that use low-energy Bluetooth technology for sending signals to other smart devices that are nearby.
- They are considered to be one of the latest developments within location technology and proximity marketing.
- When we put it simply, they connect and send information to smart devices by making use of location-based searching.
- They make interaction more easier and accurate.
So, this is the basic understanding of beacon in simple words.
How Does Beacon Technology Work?
You will be relaxed to know that beacon devices are simple to use.
- Each device is equipped with a CPU, radio & batteries.
- The device works by broadcasting out an identifier repeatedly.
- The device picks up the identifier, usually mobile, and marks out a significant place within your environment.
- The identifier is something that you can it to be a unique ID that your smartphone recognizes.
- After getting connected the beacon is supposed to carry out whatever function it has been programmed to perform.
Timeline Of Beacon Technology
Now, after getting clear about what beacon technology is, it’s time to move on the timeline because it will tell you how the technology evolved and what all changes came.
2013
- Introduction of iBeacon at World Wide Developer Conference
- Titan installed 500 beacons at a phone booth in Manhatten
- Apple installed 254 beacons in their US shops
2014
- 50 top retailers of the US tested beacons in their shop
- Macy installed over 4,000 devices of beacon across their shops
2015
- Some of the ostensible names like Facebook integrated beacons into their functionality
- Google developed a competitor for the technology named Eddystone that aimed to provide location-based content to smartphones.
2016
- Google announced the competitor of beacon, which had the potential to turn phones into an encrypted target.
- The popularity of the beacon started reaching its height.
2017
- Bluetooth asserted that this technology is going to turn out to be the foundation of the internet of things.
- Google presented Project Beacon
Now, your next concern must be how this technology can benefit local business owners like you. The next section is going to cover that.
Benefits Of Beacon Technology
The fact cannot be denied that this technology has a lot of potentials. So, let us have a look at the benefits.
Better online attribution with Google Ads
Making the signals of your beacon connected to your Google Ads account can let you gain a lot of useful insight into the activity of your searchers and can even help you to track in-store visits.
- When you will serve your Google search Ads, you will be able to attribute the number of online users that walk into the store.
- Tracing key interaction points of the users that have clicked your ads can let you understand how effective your ads are.
- With this technology, you can understand the impact and effectiveness of your search ads.
- With the help of a large amount of data on your marketing activity, you can understand what’s working for you and you can adopt a marketing strategy accordingly.
Out-of-store marketing
This was previously the biggest selling point for beacon technology when it was introduced in 2013.
- Even though this marketing has not done much, it still has the potential for the right businesses and marketers.
- If you wish to inform something to your potential customers, it is possible through any receptive device within your range.
- This can act as a notifier for customers that they are near your shop.
- Also, it can be about sending messages about discounts, loyalty programs, and other significant information.
Future Of Beacon In Marketing
The possibility for the growth of beacon is expected to go on in the field of marketing. It offers Google a chance to understand those businesses that use its services and to users understand the algorithms.
Among the beneficiaries, the transportation and logistics industries are the top ones.
Final Thoughts
It is quite hard to assert that how much popularity beacon technology has received. It is still starting with fresh and has enough share of setbacks.
In the end, we can say that this technology is going to benefit you a lot in understanding your audiences and complement other activities.
So, every marketer should consider using this technology for betterment!
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