Street Fight Daily: Facebook Canvas Ads Flourish, Google Tests Click-to-SMS Extension
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…
Facebook’s Genre-Bending Canvas Ads Demonstrate the Social Network’s Strength (Business Insider)
Facebook says that people have watched over a hundred years’ worth of video in Facebook Canvas ads in the four months since it launched alone. Brands like Netflix, Target, and Macy’s have since signed on with Canvas. It’s a great example of how Facebook’s formidable tech expertise can translate into the kind of advertising revenue that keeps its market cap at a healthy $323 billion.
Google AdWords is Testing Click-to-SMS Ad Extension (Search Engine Land)
Wouldn’t it be cool to allow prospects to text you for more information? Well, Google is now testing an ad format that lets your prospects message you, similar to call ad buttons. Recode: Search ad decline report may explain Google’s Friday stock drop.
Case Study: Franchisee Sees Better Customer Retention with iPad POS (Street Fight)
Social media plays an integral role in most local merchants’ marketing strategies, but Oilerie’s Lori Hackman says business owners have to do more than just post occasionally on Facebook or Twitter to get people engaged and motivated to come into their stores.
Furniture Retailer Puts Customers’ Instagram Photos in Facebook Carousel Ads to Boost Sales (AdWeek)
West Elm, the furniture and housewares retailer, has been consistently testing user-generated content across channels for the last few years, mining pictures from the #mywestelm hashtag. More recently, it found a sweet spot by employing UGC from Instagram posts in Facebook carousel ads, which allow marketers to use multiple images in a single ad unit that viewers can swipe through.
#SFSW16 Video: Rethinking Restaurants — Local Tech Remakes an Industry (Street Fight)
Restaurants are a particularly large and important vertical in local, and as such they’ve long been a testing ground for a variety of digital products. Now a new generation of companies is starting to use local marketing and delivery services to rethink what a restaurant is and how we think about our dining experiences.
The Evolution of the Mobile Payment (TechCrunch)
It’s anticipated that there will be more than 4.8 billion individuals using a mobile phone by the end of 2016. A recent report noted that 39 percent of all mobile users in the U.S. had made a mobile payment in 2015. To understand how big this industry is going to be, you need to understand the history of mobile payments and their evolution over time.
Startup Challenges Uber, Lyft with Lower Fares, Higher Driver Commissions (Recode)
Juno, which has yet to set its official launch date, may still be in beta mode but has already amassed 9,000 drivers since May. Uber-drivers-turned-Juno-drivers say Juno is better for drivers because the company only takes 10 percent commission (compared to Uber and Lyft, which take more than 25 percent), and the company actually listens to their suggestions and concerns all while offering riders cheaper fares.
U.S. Government Spent 20% More on Internet of Things Last Year (ReadWrite)
The private sector may be driving new Internet of Things (IoT) technology, but a new study shows the US government is rapidly hopping on board. The study revealed that federal agencies are rapidly boosting their spending on sensor-driven technology. In fiscal 2015, the federal government spent $8.8 billion on IoT, representing a 20% jump.
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