It's no secret that I love technology. I have been a geek since I was a little kid, and I still embrace it and love to learn into my senior years. I have worked with computers since my teens. I've built multiple recording studios, ranging from patching together a recorder with a PA system to a full-blown digital commercial recording business.

I was one of the first in my circle to get an original iPhone, and I have been amazed at how much smartphones, smartwatches, and technology have integrated into our lives.

One of the less sexy but very useful tools that I rely on is AirTags. They have been around since 2021, and not much has changed. I bought a 4-pack back then, and I still use them today. I have had to replace the batteries, but that's all the change or maintenance I have ever had to do.

I used them to track our POD (moving box) when it left Illinois and came to Raleigh. I have one in the collar for Layla (our dog), another is on my keys, and the last is in my briefcase. Although I have never lost any of those (thank God), it gives me peace of mind knowing that I can find them if ever lost or stolen.

Find My…

That same technology can be found in Apple technology, including phones, AirPods, computers, and more. If people turn it on, you can even find where people are. It's kinda creepy but helpful at the same time. I can tell when my daughter is at work or at home. This can be convenient to know when I can call or text. Also, Kim (my wife) can see and watch when I arrive at a city, a meeting, or even the golf course. It's a mutual respect for our safety and privacy that blends into trust and peace of mind.

This technology has saved my AirPods twice. Once, when I was walking Layla in the winter, my white AirPod popped out of my ear into a snow pile. Yes, I was able to locate which pile and dig to find it by making it make a sound. The second time is when we hired movers, and one of them stole the case. I was able to track it to a bar and get them back (with the threat of calling the police).

Underappreciated?

Although AirTags and Find My are a relatively small part of the entire Apple ecosystem, I believe that the integration and the system Apple created are often overlooked and underappreciated.

Each AirTag emits a secure, unique Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signal. This signal is picked up by any nearby Apple device (iPhone, iPad, Mac) that’s part of the Find My network—not just your own devices.

There are many tag systems available, some of which have monthly fees. Those work with cellular data (hence the cost). Apple has the largest share of the smartphone market, so in the US, you can be fairly confident that some iPhone will be nearby to capture that signal and share it back to you securely.

The bottom line is that for less than $10 each, you can have a tracking device, and no cost for the tracking of your phones, equipment, and accessories (Bluetooth compatible and enabled).

Tracking Marketing

The Golden Ticket in marketing is doing some advertising, and then tracking a purchase from view to cash. The problem has always been that there is really no exact science to that process.

You can often track a click to your website and where it came from, but it's the who that is not as trackable. That is primarily hindered by privacy laws, and rightfully so. AirTags have a feature that alerts you when a tag is following you but not registered to your Apple ID. That is to prevent unwanted stalking. Similarly, we don't want good-meaning or nefarious people tracking our every move and click online.

You can, however, track visitors once they arrive at your website. Although Google Analytics provides traffic insights, it cannot track what happens once they enter your website.

There are multiple ways to track users once they enter your website, but you should inform them that you are doing so. WordPress (and other platforms) plug-ins like CookieYes will alert them, which makes your website GDPR compliant.

• Custom Cookies – can be written to a browser to track when a user hits a particular page, and then record where they have gone.
• Software Tools – such as WP Forms have a Customer Journey add-on that tracks movement through your website and repeat visits.
• Complete Systems – software like HubSpot takes an integrated approach, but can be expensive

Although these tools help you track when someone acts on your content within your website walls, how can you track via social media?

Connect & Follow

AI, with all its productivity gains and automation advantages, has a downside as well. Bots are taking over posting, and they are trained to amplify content that gets your blood pressure up and juices the algorithmic autonomy. If a topic has two sides, you can find bots that post both sides within minutes, confusing both the bots and their followers.

The best way to track people is to connect with them. Find your customers on your favorite social media platforms and ask them to connect. You might get half of them to do so. If you receive a connection request from a client, respond promptly. If they don't connect on LinkedIn, you can at least follow them.

This gives you a way to feed content to them and see if and how they react. You can also see what issues they are engaging with and see if you can add value to the conversations.

The bottom line is you can tag them and they can tag you and follow activity in a socially acceptable way while not being too creepy.

Closing Thought

Although some technology, like AI, is changing daily at a rapid pace, tools like Bluetooth still have value.

The key thing that makes AirTags so useful is the complete Find Me system Apple has created. That is the difference between how they work and how the other, non-Apple tags differ. Many of those can work with Apple, but are much less effective outside the Apple ecosystem.

That means that tagging customers is important, but tracking them as legally and ethically possible is the best system you can create to maintain and grow your business.

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Comment below and share your thoughts, ideas, or questions about business-to-business sales and marketing today! Do you have a sales or marketing communications strategy that works for you? What tips or techniques can you share that work for you and your business?

To learn more about this and other topics on B2b Sales & Marketing, visit our podcast website at The Bacon Podcast.