The geo-fencing feature has been a huge enhancement to the push notification system and the marketability of our apps. You can fence off a specific area for your push notification, and when users enter that area, they’ll automatically receive the message on their device. By setting an active period for the push notification, you can limit the time period for the message—for instance, if you’d like all users who enter the area before 5 PM tomorrow to receive your push notification. This is especially useful when businesses have deals or events they’d like to advertise to nearby users who are most likely to take advantage.
1. Enter your push notification text within the Message box.
2. Select the “Targeted Audience” you would like to send your push notification to.
3. Select “Specific Area Users” from the drop-down in the Notification Audience section of the Location window.
4. In the next drop-down that appears below, select “Geo-fence.”
5. To jump to the location you want, you can enter a specific address and hit enter, or drag the map manually.
6. In order to edit your geo-fenced region, just click and drag the white circles on the border of the red area.
Note: We recommend creating geo-fences with a radius of at least 3 blocks. Apple doesn’t allow for extremely accurate location-tracking, so users will need to be a ways into the geo-fenced area before they actually receive the push notification. It’s better to be safe by setting the perimeters wider than you require.
7. Once your geo-fence is finished, move on to the Content section to more substance to your push notification. Here you can link to an event or coupon related to your geo-fenced message.
8. In the Send and Schedule section, select the time and date you’d like the message to be active until using the calendar pop-up called the Geo-fence Expiration Date.
9. If you would like to send the notification right away, select the Send Right Now option.
10. If you’re scheduling the push notification for later, select the time and date you’d like the message to be active until using the calendar pop-up. Then select your time zone from the drop-down menu below.
11. Once all fields are complete, hit the Send Message icon.