With more than 400 million tweets being sent worldwide each day, merchants and brands are desperate to cut through the clutter. A number of platforms are being developed that combine social media monitoring with location-based analytics, helping marketers pinpoint relevant messages in their own cities and regions. Here are five examples of these hybrid tools...

As the technology behind the most popular geo-targeting platforms continues to improve, marketers have begun to refine their tactics to improve the ROI of their campaigns. One of the latest trends in the world of geo-targeting is known as point-of-interest (POI) targeting, or geo-conquesting...

As consumers get more comfortable going online to book appointments and services, companies nationwide are rushing to keep up with demand. For larger businesses with multiple locations, however, instituting an online scheduling system isn’t always a cut and dry process. Rather than jumping in head first, Meineke Car Care Centers has taken a measured approach to online appointment scheduling. The company partnered with Full Slate and launched a pilot program at 30 Meineke locations...

What merchants really need is a clear-cut way to compare the effectiveness of their hyperlocal marketing initiatives, so they focus their energies on the platforms that work. To answer that question, we consulted with experts from inside the industry. Here are five strategies that merchants can use to track the success of their digital marketing initiatives...

Promoting customer loyalty is a broad goal that local merchants are tackling in many different ways. While plenty of platforms utilize mobile redemptions and out-of-the-box rewards or coupons to curry favor with consumers, an increasing number of loyalty providers are moving outside the virtual environment with pre-loaded physical gift cards...

As local television viewership continues to decline, broadcasters are increasingly looking for ways to expand their offerings to advertisers. One way they’re doing that is by utilizing hyperlocal channels. To find out more about what broadcasters should know before getting involved in hyperlocal, we consulted with experts in the fields of local media and online advertising...

No longer satisfied with static banner ads, merchants are increasingly demanding digital agency-type services from their local news publications. Here are six platforms that publishers can use to expand their offerings to small business advertisers...

Digital offers have proven to be an effective driver for customer acquisition, but the infrastructure required to redeem mobile coupons is something that many businesses — and particularly local restaurants — still don’t have in place. Not having the mechanism to scan barcodes prevented Sea Island Restaurant Group from offering digital coupons at its eight Sea Island Shrimp House and Tiago's Cabo Grille locations, until recently...

From apps to ads to geo-targeted push notifications, the challenge for marketers is explaining the benefits of mobile without overwhelming small business owners in a sea of technical jargon and complex language. Here are seven tips from experts in the mobile community about how marketers can do a better job of selling their products to merchants...

At Vino Vidi Vici, an Italian restaurant in Massena, N.Y., owner Crista Makdouli wanted to offer something extra to help her program stand out. “For 50 [purchases] you can get your name engraved on one of our tables, so you’ll have your own table,” said Makdouli. “For a million [purchases], we will deliver a free Ferrari with a large pizza.”