6 Innovative Ways to Implement Beacons for Marketing
Brick-and-mortar merchants know they need to step it up to compete against e-commerce retailers, and they know that proximity marketing with indoor positioning technology can be an effective mechanism for driving customer acquisition and retention. Here are six examples of innovative ways that businesses are implementing beacon technology right now…
Case Study: Mountain Shop Finds Balance Between Paid and Unpaid Promotions
Soon after taking over control of the 34-year-old mountain shop Alpenglow Sports, in Tahoe City, California, Brendan Madigan got to work crafting a strategic marketing plan that included both online and offline initiatives and relied heavily on social media for generating awareness among customers in his target demographics…
7 Analytics Tools to Track Local Campaigns
Gut feelings and instinct can only take business owners so far. To determine the actual value of local campaigns, marketers need access to raw data. Unfortunately, obtaining this information — and then using it to compare two or more hyperlocal platforms in a head-to-head setting — isn’t always as straightforward as it seems. Here are seven platforms that businesses can use to measure the effectiveness of their local campaigns…
3 Models That VCs Are Buying in Local Tech
Venture investment continues to pour into local tech, but tastes are changing. During a panel at Street Fight Summit West on Tuesday, Jared Fliesler (General Partner, Matrix Partners), Jim Scheinman (Founder, Maven Ventures) and Raj Kapoor (CEO, Fitmob) spoke about where the hyperlocal industry is heading and where they expect the next billion-dollar local startup idea to come from…
Tinder and Grindr Share Their Secret (Local) Sauce
During a panel at Street Fight Summit West on Tuesday, Local SEO Guide proprietor Andrew Shotland spoke with Tinder co-founder Jonathan Badeen and Grindr’s global head of sales, Steve Levin, about what’s working for the mobile personals industry and what other hyperlocal vendors can learn from their successes…
How Brands Like Taco Bell Are Buying Into Local
As director of media at Digitas, the digital agency of record for Taco Bell, Eric Perko was the mind behind the fast food restaurant’s massive breakfast menu launch earlier this year. Perko spoke with Silk.co’s Alex Salkver at Street Fight Summit West on Tuesday about his agency’s role in developing Taco Bell’s breakfast campaign and where he think digital marketing is headed.
Facebook’s Ted Zagat: ‘Clicks Don’t Matter’
During a keynote at Street Fight Summit West on Tuesday, Facebook’s Ted Zagat said that there was “zero correlations” between online clicks and offline spending. The long-time president of the reviews company admitted that the social networking giant could do a better job of emphasizing the relationship between digital engagement and reach to its local merchant advertisers…
PayPal’s Gauthier: Retailers Needs to Bring Together Products, Places and People
For PayPal’s Patrick Gauthier, the future of commerce isn’t online — it lays at the intersection of places, product, and people. During a morning keynote at Street Fight Summit West Tuesday, Gauthier, the GM of emerging retail services at PayPal, said that the challenge for retailers today is to reach consumers across mediums as much as dominating online or brick-and-mortar…
5 Tools for Creating SMB Video Promotions
As small business marketers search for new ways to capture the attention of potential customers, they’re beginning to take a closer look at online video promotions, which are cheaper than TV advertising and more eye-catching than static banner ads. Here are five tools that SMBs can use to create localized video promotions…
6 Strategies for Onboarding Merchants to a New Marketplace
Being unable to attract qualified sellers is one of the biggest obstacles a local marketplace will face. And, as Harvard Business School associate professor Andrei Hagiu described to Street Fight in an interview last summer, it’s an obstacle that many marketplace founders are unprepared to overcome. “If you don’t have buyers, then you’re not going to have sellers, and visa versa. That prevents a lot of marketplaces from getting off the ground,” Hagiu said…
6 Tools for Gathering Insight from Digital Customer Interactions
A lack of time and knowledge are two factors that explain why business owners don’t take a more active role in monitoring how they’re perceived online. However, a number of hyperlocal platforms are now aiming to streamline that process by giving small businesses access to advanced marketing automation tools and analytics suites that were once reserved for national brands and agencies. Here are six platforms that businesses can use to gather insight from online customer interactions…
5 Ways Hyperlocal Technology Can Save Malls from Extinction
Given their position in the marketplace, hyperlocal vendors are uniquely able to help physical stores fight back against the changing tide. By using features like geo-targeting, indoor tracking, and mobile messaging, brick-and-mortar retailers can band together and increase their chances of survival. Here are five ways that hyperlocal technology can potentially save shopping malls from extinction…
5 Ways to Track the Effectiveness of a Hyperlocal Campaign
Sixty-four percent of businesses surveyed by Oracle in 2013 said that the ability to track marketing ROI has been the most important change in the marketing world, however the majority of local merchants still aren’t sure how to compare various hyperlocal channels and measure the effectiveness of different types of campaigns. Here are five strategies for doing just that…
Finding the Right Point of Contact At: An Agency
Breaking into the big-time and selling to a national brand usually involves going through an agency. However, locating the best point of contact at a media planning and buying agency with hundreds—if not thousands—of employees is a process that requires experience, skill, and quite a bit of patience. Here are five strategies for finding the right person to pitch in an agency setting…
5 Platforms That Gather In-Store Analytics from Surveillance Footage
Nearly 64% of retailers have installed some form of IP-connected video surveillance system to protect against theft. Now, a relatively new category of hyperlocal vendors are providing businesses with new ways to capitalize on the technology they already have installed. Here are five tools that retailers large and small can use to make more strategic operational decisions based on the data they gather from video surveillance cameras…
6 Tools Publishers Can Use to Monetize Their Business Directories
directoryHyperlocal publishers are frequently on the lookout for new ways to generate revenue from their sites, and one of the most straightforward revenue diversification strategies involves launching a business directory. Here are six tools that publishers can use to monetize business directories on their hyperlocal sites…
Case Study: Golf Club Brings Back Deal Buyers With Rewards Program
In her role as manager at Southern Pines Golf Club, Elaine Millar is responsible for the digital marketing strategy for the 18-hole course. Millar uses her rewards program as a promotional tool to keep the customers she gains through local deal sites coming back for future visits after their promotions have been redeemed…
Finding the Right Point of Contact At: A Retail Chain
For hyperlocal vendors grappling with expansion, a national retail chain can represent the big whale. With the potential to have their platforms adopted at hundreds of locations throughout the country with just single sale, it’s no wonder hyperlocal startups are willing to devote so many resources to developing partnerships with big-name clients. Here are five strategies for finding the right person to pitch at a retail chain…
Case Study: Toy Store Upgrades Customer Experience With mPOS System
Managing the operations, staffing, and financials at his growing after-market Lego business has left John Masek with little time to spend dealing with the technological infrastructure necessary to run a traditional hardware point-of-sale system. Mobile POS systems with integrated rewards programs can give mom-and-pop businesses an edge against large retail chains…