Here we hope to answer any questions that you may have about Beaconit. If you could not find the answers that you were looking for, please contact us.
Geofencing Questions
What is a Geofence?
A Geofence is a virtual perimeter for a real-world geographic areas. They can be used in a multitude of different ways (often for mobile marketing). For example, Beaconit uses geofences to delimit zones for location based notifications.
What is Geofencing?
Geofencing is a marketing strategy that uses geographical locations to specifically target an audience. For example, advertising banners online use geofencing to fit the banner content to the location of the user. Beaconit, on the other hand, uses geofencing to allow apps to send only relevant notifications by filtering users depending on their location.
What is the range of a Geofence?
The range of a Geofence is from 50 to 50’000 meters.
Can I define an altitude/elevation?
It is possible to limit the range to a defined altitude/elevation by using iBeacons.
What is the accuracy of Geofencing?
The accuracy of Geofencing is about 10m.
What is a Geofencing Notification?
Geofencing notifications are messages that are send to a person when they are in the vicinity of a specific location, for instance a store, a festival or a restaurant, delimited by a perimeter called geofence. Beaconit offers a plugin that allows apps to send notifications to people entering/exiting predefined geofences.
What is a Geofencing campaign?
A Geofencing campaign is setting a notification that your users will receive whenever they approach any (or a set) of your stores.
What shape can a Geofence have?
Geofences are a radius around a location, thus shaped round.
Do app users have to opt-in to Geofencing?
Your app users don’t have to opt-in to Geofencing but they have to agree to share their location and receive push notifications.
Geotrigger Questions
What is a Geotrigger?
A geotrigger is a ‘ping’ that a mobile device with you app sends when it enters a geofence. It works in the same way as a geofence, but does not send a push notification to the user.
What is the range of a Geotrigger?
The range of a Geotrigger is from 50 to 50’000 meters.
What is the accuracy of Geotrigger?
The accuracy of Geotrigger is about 10m.
Beacon Questions
What is a Beacon?
A Beacon is a bluetooth device that triggers close-by devices to perform actions. Beaconit uses them to delimit zones for location based notification in smaller areas.
What is the range of a Beacon?
An Beacon usually emits in a 0 to 30 meters (0 to 100 feet) radius.
What is the battery life of a Beacon?
Anywhere from 12 to 48 months depending on the vendor.
What is the difference between an iBeacon and a Beacon?
The generic term is “beacon”. iBeacons specifically refer to the Beacons powered by Apple.
What is the accuracy of a Beacon?
The accuracy of a Beacon depends on the vendor, but is usually 2 meters.
Can I use Beacons to measure foot traffic?
Yes, it is possible to use Beacons to measure foot traffic.
What is a Beacon Notification?
Beacon Notifications are messages that are sent automatically when someone approaches an Beacon. They can be placed in specific areas in a museum, a restaurant, an event venue, at certain aisles of a store, or any other location.
Does Beaconit sell Beacons?
Yes. Beaconit sells beacons manufactured by Kontakt.io
What Beacons vendors do you support?
We support all existing vendors. However, we advise the use of Kontakt.io beacons.
Notification Questions
What is a notification?
Notification is a message you can display to an app user outside of your app’s normal user interface. You can use it to broadcast important information to your users such as new events, updates etc.
Who can receive my Geofencing Notification?
All users who have downloaded your app and accepted push notifications can receive geofencing notifications when they approach the geofence you have created.
Will my people receive the same notification more than once?
No, an app user by default can only receive the same notification once. If you want your users to receive a notification multiple times you can create multiple notifications in one geofence with different time spans.
Can I create rich notifications?
Yes you can. You can read our blog about customizing notifications. However, we advise our clients to use a simple text and put a link instead, because people respond to it better.
When will my people receive the notifications?
Your users will receive notification at the specific times you have chosen, when they enter or exit your geofences. You can also set a minimum amount of time someone has to be in a Geofence or Beacons area before receiving a Notification (dwelling time) or a cooldown period, in which your users will not receive notifications at all.
Can I personalize the notifications?
Yes, you can adjust your notifications according to your users’ locations, demographics, preferences etc.
Can I set a dwelling time?
No, you can’t set a minimum amount of time someone has to be in a Geofence before receiving a Notification.
Can I only send notifications near my store?
No, you can send notifications in all the geofences you created or wherever your beacons are installed , even if they are really far away from your store.
What is a push notification?
Push notification is a message delivered to app users even if they are not actively using your app. It can include any sort of important information you wish to broadcast such as new events, updates etc. It is important that the users have to accept push notifications in order to receive your messages.
Who can receive my Beacon Notification?
All users who have downloaded your app or Google Chrome app and all Android devices through Google Nearby and accepted push notifications can receive Beacon notifications when they are nearby a Beacon device or in a Geofence.
Is there a character limit for the notifications?
It differs per platform. For iOS approximately 130 are shown. Android allows larger notifications, depending on the version and device. We always advise to keep messages as short as possible and to always include location awareness, e.g. ‘You are near…’ in messages for high click through rates.
Is an internet connection necessary to receive a notification?
No, your users do not necessarily have to be connected at the particular time you want them to receive the notifications. The notifications are stored beforehand on their mobile devices when they have internet connection. An internet connection improves the location detection of the device, so better results are achieved when an internet connection is available.
Can I add opening hours to a notification?
Of course! Your can send notifications to your users during opening hours to increase their relevance. You can do that directly from our dashboard.
Can I resend notifications?
An app user by default can only receive the same notification once. However, you can define periods during which you can resend the notification e.g every one week, month, year etc.
Is it possible not to show a notification?
Yes, this is possible with the use of the notification filter.
Can I send notifications from a mobile site?
No, but you have the option to turn a mobile site to an app with Appcelerator (for example) and then send notifications.
What is a Location Based Notification?
Location Based Notifications are messages that are send to app users when they approach a specific location, for instance a store, a festival or a restaurant.
Can I send multiple notifications in one Geofence?
Yes, you can send multiple notifications per Geofence but with different timespans. You can manage that through our dashboard.
Can I add images, videos, sounds, buttons or links to a notification?
Yes you can. You can check out our blog about customizing notifications. However, we advise our clients to use a simple text and put a link instead, because people respond to it better.
Can I define specific notifications for specific Geofences or Beacons?
Yes, you can do this directly from our dashboard.
Can I limit the number of notifications per person per day?
Yes, you can set a cooldown period during which your user will not receive notifications. This way, you can avoid sending too many notifications in a short period of time.
Can app users turn the notifications off?
Yes, it is possible, although this is optional. Users will be automatically asked if your app could use their current location (if they weren’t asked this before). You can then ask them whether they want to receive notifications but this is not mandatory. Also it is possible to add an option to the settings in your app ‘enable/disable notifications’.
Can I see how many people received / opened my notifications?
Yes, Beaconit gives you access to analytics so you can see how many people received or opened your notifications, in which times etc.
Beaconit Account/Subscription Questions
How do I create an account?
You can create an account here.
How many Geofences can I create?
You have the possibility to create as many Geofences as you want.
How many notifications can I create?
There is no limit to the number of notifications you can create.
How many notifications can I send?
There is no limit to the number of notifications you can send.
How many app users can receive my notifications?
All your app users can receive your notifications if they agree to share their location and to accept push notifications.
Can I import Geofences or notifications?
Yes, you have the possibility to import both geofences and notifications.
Can my users create their own geofences?
Yes, they have that possibility with the API. For more information read our documentation.
Do all my users need a Beaconit account?
No, your users don’t need to have a Beaconit account to receive location based notifications.
Can I create an account for free?
Yes, you can create an account for free here.
How many Beacons can I support?
You have the possibility to support as many Beacons as you want.
Do I need different subscriptions for different apps?
No, if you have more than one app, then you need to add multiple apps (no. of apps) feature at your subscription.
How many logins can each account have?
Each account can have from one to unlimited logins, depending on the plan. Sign up to find out more.
Can Beaconit build my app?
Yes, Beaconit can build your mobile app if you need it.
How is the Beaconit different from a voucher app?
Voucher apps collect all the necessary information about the available deals and on-going sales, and display it in their apps. However, most consumers don’t think about these apps when they are actually shopping. This is where our service comes in – it allows voucher apps to send relevant messages to their customers when they walk by the interesting offers, such as invitations for local events, updates on new collections and personalized deals. Thereby, Beaconit can be an interesting marketing tool for voucher apps.
Do I need an app?
Yes, you do need an app in order to send location based notifications.
How much does Beaconit cost?
It depends on what your needs are. You can find the pricing table in our dashboard.
Do I need different subscriptions for different platforms?
No, one subscription covers all different platforms.
Can Beaconit manage my campaigns?
Yes, Beaconit can manage all your campaigns.
What payment methods do you support?
We support Visa, Mastercard and American Express credit cards.
Data/API Questions
Can I see the results of my campaign?
Yes you can see the results of your campaigns. Beaconit gives you access to analytics so you can see how many people received or opened your notifications, in which times etc.
Can I see how many people received / opened my notifications?
Yes, Beaconit gives you access to analytics so you can see how many people received or opened your notifications, in which days and what is your CTR result campaign etc.
Can I measure how long people stay in my store?
You can measure how long your app users stay in your store by installing a Beacon.
Can I segment my app users into specific groups?
Yes you personalize the notifications you send by segmenting your users into specific groups e.g according to their age, preferences etc.
What is the average conversion rate / CTR?
Compared to the other forms of location based marketing we see very high conversions of 25-40%. Our clients experience app retention boosts up to 300%.
Developer Questions
Do I need an app?
Yes, you need an app. Then you can implement the Beaconit Plugin with a few easy steps.
Does the Beaconit Plugin conflict with other plugins?
No, the Beaconit Plugin is compatible with all other plugins.
Does the Beaconit Plugin work in my country?
Yes, the Beaconit Plugin is able to send notifications in every single country in the world.
Does the Beaconit Plugin work when the app is closed or in the background?
Yes, the Beaconit Plugin still works even if the app is closed or in the background.
Can Beaconit build my app?
Yes, Beaconit can build your mobile app acordingly your business needs and specifications or install Beaconit Plugin in an existing apps.
Is the Beaconit Plugin available for Android & iOS devices?
Yes, the Beaconit Plugin is available for Android & iOS devices.
Why does the Beaconit Plugin needs background location on iOS?
The Beaconit plugin needs background location so it can update its notifications based on the location of the device. This allows the Beaconit Plugin to support more geofences than iOS allows by default.
Does the Beaconit Plugin use GPS?
Yes, the Beaconit Plugin works with GPS.
Is it difficult to implement the Beaconit Plugin?
You only need to take a few steps to implement the Beaconit Plugin. For an easy implementation guide please go to Guides and choose the guide you want.