Topix CEO: Hyperlocal Companies Are ‘Staying the Course’
The hyperlocal news and community site has continued to chug along, with its user base growing and traffic spiking during the fall 2012 election season. We recently caught up with the company’s CEO Chris Tolles to talk about how the hyperlocal ecosystem is shaking out, how the shift to mobile is affecting publishers’ CPMs, and how Topix is engaging readers with a more moderated discussion…
Street Fight Daily: Groupon Bounces Back, Tablets Replace Registers
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Groupon’ Stock is Up 40% Since Andrew Mason’s Departure (TheNextWeb)… With Tablets, Businesses Ring Up at More Fanciful Cash Registers (New York Times)… Google Places For Business Gets Its Own iPhone App For Managing Listings (SearchEngineLand)…
Can the New Model for News Be Found in Networks?
“The old economic model is disintegrating faster than new alternatives are emerging,” former Seattle Times executive editor Mike Fancher told Street Fight. “While things seem to be falling apart, I am optimistic that new models will develop. Some will be for-profit; others will be non-profit or public. There may be new hybrid models as well. “
LBMA PODCAST: The Importance of Localization for Mobile Gaming
In this week’s episode, hosts Rob Woodbridge and Asif Khan look at why Shazam could be the biggest retail enabler on the planet; can Foursquare discover a revenue source with version 6.0; and will Layar help print turn digital dimes into dollars and will you pay $360/year for WiFi in the car? Plus special guest Darya Trushkina, VP Business Development at Game Insight…
Street Fight Daily: Facebook’s Latent Local Threat, Why Reviews Trump Social
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Facebook Local Search’s Sleeping Giant, or Just Sleeping? (SearchEngineWatch)… Why Customer Reviews Trump Social-Media Marketing (Inc.)… Personalized Commerce: Coming to an Internet Near You (AdAge)…
Study: 81% of Consumers Search for Restaurants on Mobile Apps
A new report released by SinglePlatform and Chadwick Martin Bailey finds that more consumers have searched for a restaurant on their web browser in the past six months than have done so on a mobile app. Meanwhile, 75 percent of consumers said they were more likely to dine at a restaurant based on the results of their searches…
Case Study: KBP Foods Uses Loyalty App to Reach Millennials
Customers between the ages of 18 and 34 are eating out less than they were five years ago, which is a major problem for executives like Anthony Gianino. The senior director of marketing at KBP Foods is trying everything in the book — including text message marketing, local print ads, and mobile loyalty apps — to reach his target demographic…
Street Fight Daily: Reviving Verticals, The Battle for Indoors
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… CityGrid’s Finger Bets on Vertical Revival (Local Onliner)… The Battle for Indoors (Business Insider)… The Texas Tribune: Building a Model for Sustainable Local Journalism (Knight Foundation)…
Howard Owens on What It Takes to Sustain a Hyperlocal News Site
“If there’s any clear message, it’s what I’ve been saying for the past four or five years: Starting and running a local news site is hard work,” says the Batavian editor and publisher. “You need a good model, a solid plan, the ability to work long hours and handle multiple disciplines and stick with it for years and years with no promise of ever striking it rich. If you can do that, you’re on the right track.”
TIMELINE: Two Years in Hyperlocal
On the occasion of our second anniversary, we took a look at the events in hyperlocal since we launched in 2011. Then: All Groupon all the time. Now: Not so much. The evolution of the hyperlocal landscape charts the same path as any new industry, beginning with the pioneers who take risks to prove a model; replications on the idea; consolidation and contraction; entrenchment of the ideas and business models; and legacy companies who buy or build their way in. 2013: Still the wild west, and what a great frontier it is.
On the Web (Especially in Local), Personal Branding Is Everything
Where media companies see themselves as unique, the Web sees, well, sameness. The pureplay companies have found ways to exploit that, while local companies — especially media — dismiss all that effort as irrelevant. To be a brand in the network is to behave unlike a brand and instead like a person. This is the secret to a strategic move into a world of connected human beings…
Street Fight Daily: SMBs Skeptical of Social, Crowdfunding Hyperlocal
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Survey: 61% of SMBs Say No ROI from Social (Screenwerk)… How Joey Coleman Crowdfunded His Work as a Hyperlocal Reporter (GigaOm)… Facebook Is Said to Hire Apple Maps Executive Amid Mobile Push (Bloomberg)…
Why Broadcasters Need to Embrace Digital Hyperlocal
There are lots of hyperlocal marketing opportunities are being missed daily by traditional broadcast media. This isn’t because stations don’t want the revenue — it’s because they are so understaffed and under-funded, it’s simply difficult to devote resources to learning new technologies. But this may be exactly the right time to start investing their (very small) resources to upgrade mobile apps and improve online capabilities to tap hyperlocal dollars…
CityGrid CEO: Passive Location Data Will Be ‘Transformative’ for Hyperlocal
In May 2011, Street Fight spoke with Jay Herrati, the former CEO of CityGrid, about the fragmented nature of the local online advertising marketplace and the future of the then-exploding Groupon. Recently, we caught up with Jason Finger, Herrati’s replacement, to discuss some surprises over the past two years and the coming “verticalization” of the hyperlocal industry…
Street Fight Daily: Waze’s Advantage, Location Data Drives Mobile Ads
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… As Mapping Costs Rise, Waze’s Volunteer Army Will Give It an Edge (AllThingsD)… Location Information to Make Mobile Ads More Valuable (CNET)… Foursquare Needs Check-ins to Build Strong Local Search Engine (Mobile Marketer)…
The Local Marketer’s Guide to Facebook
What steps should local marketers take to maximize the value of their Facebook presence? First, marketers should claim location pages and optimize their presence for Graph Search. Second devise a complementary content strategy for corporate brand pages. Local marketers should also consider using Facebook ads to supplement organic pages content…