How Publishers Can Create Hyperlocal Magazines Using Flipboard’s New Tools
This morning Flipboard launched a new web application called “Flipboard Editor,” the latest in a series of tools that allow users to create magazines for the Flipboard app. The new editor makes it even easier for users to create beautiful magazines (of already existing content) that they can share with other users. As Flipboard grows out not only its aggregation tools but also its user base, it’s important that hyperlocal publications take notice…
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Reportedly Circles Waze, Klout Dips Into Local Commerce
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Reports: Facebook Is Buying Social Mapping/Traffic App Waze For Up To $1B To Court Mobile Users (TechCrunch)… Klout Dips into Q&A and Local Commerce with Launch of New Questions Feature (GigaOm)… Trulia Agrees to Buy Real-Estate Software Maker Market Leader For $355 Million (Wall Street Journal)…
Groupon Rebounds in First Quarter Without Mason
Eric Lefkofsky, who is serving as co-interim chief executive with Ted Leonsis, opened the earnings call Wednesday evening with an apology to investors, admitting that the company had “spread [itself] too thin and failed to focus on things that will have the greatest impact.” Part of that extension, Lefkofsky admitted, was overinvesting in a secondary businesses like Groupon Goods at the cost of its more profitable local segment…
Employees’ Overtime Suit Forces Daily Voice to Seek Bankruptcy Protection
Daily Voice, the recently scaled-down regional network of 41 community news sites, filed for and won Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. The move gives the company relief from an expensive class-action suit by two former reporters who said they and other Daily Voice staff worked overtime consistently but were never paid for the extra hours…
AOL Chief: We Will Use ‘All Means Possible’ to Get Patch to Profitability by Q4
AOL’s hyperlocal media network Patch has rolled out its redesign from a handful of pilot communities to around 100 markets across the country, Tim Armstrong, AOL’s chief executive, said during an earnings call Wednesday morning. The move comes as AOL focuses in on Patch’s model, pushing the closely-watched hyperlocal news network to reach run-rate profitability by Q4 of this year…
In the Era of Networked Local Journalism, Everyone Can Contribute
A big opportunity exists for local publishers and media networks to curate and aggregate everything happening in a locality. This is the journalism of inclusion. If local contributors are curated and authorized to post in real time, content distribution is more efficient. As readers learn to understand this format, local media starts to look more like a community bulletin board, with users expected to factor in the credibility of the posters…
Street Fight Daily: Google Maps to Get Overhaul, PlaceIQ Raises $6.75M
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Google Maps To Get A Major Design Overhaul (SearchEngineLand)… PlaceIQ Raises $6.75 Million To Serve You Ads Based On Your Location (PlaceIQ)… Yelp and the Wisdom of “The Lonely Crowd” (The New Yorker)…
Yext Redesigns App in Shift from Data to Content
A week after scoring a big integration with Facebook, Yext has redesigned its mobile application to focus on content creation. The move comes as the company looks to transition its network from a tool for merchants to occasionally update a phone number or address across multiple properties to something akin to a content marketing network where brick and mortar businesses can create and distribute photos and posts from a single location…
5 Platforms Local Retailers Can Use to Connect With Online Shoppers
Merchants with physical outposts are increasingly relying on hyperlocal solutions as a way to connect with consumers who prefer shopping online. These platforms give retailers a way to put their products in front of local shoppers, without actually requiring them to set up an online store or negotiate the logistics of shipping and delivery. Here are five platforms that merchants can use to get the job done…
What Will It Take to Make Self-Serve Ad Platforms Work for SMBs?
Self-serve advertising platforms have been seen as a potential lynchpin for creating successful hyperlocal business models —potentially bringing down the cost of merchant acquisition to the point where serious profit can be made. But self-serve is easier proposed than done. We asked a few different leaders in the local marketing space what they think will be the key to establishing a self-serve model that works…
Street Fight Daily: FoodPanda Raises $20M, TripAdvisor Schemes for More Reviews
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Rocket Internet-Backed FoodPanda Raises $20M+ As It Prepares For The Next Course In Its Food Delivery Ambitions (TechCrunch)… TripAdvisor’s plan to get another 100 million reviews: Have hotels do the work (Skift)… Local Ad Network Sees Shift To Tighter Mobile Targeting (MediaPost)…
7 Ways to Increase Engagement With Mobile Ads
Marketers of all sizes are flocking to mobile ads in an effort to reach consumers on their home turf, sending targeted messages to smartphone users inside certain establishments (like coffee shops or bookstores) or within the confines of geotargeted perimeters. Here are seven ways that brands of all sizes can increase engagement with mobile ads…
LBMA PODCAST: Visualizing Your Check-ins & Twist’s Edward Marks
In this week’s episode, hosts Rob Woodbridge and Asif Khan looks at Swipp, Punch.in and Fiz. Meanwhile, Visa works with Fandango for location-based offers, and independent fuel retailers band together to create their own payment and loyalty initiative. Resource of the week is the history of location-based games in one infographic, and an interview with special guest Edward Marks of Twist…
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Adds Yext Data, DexOne Emerges from Bankruptcy
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Facebook to Add Yext’s Business Data as It Touts Search Feature (Bloomberg Businessweek)… Dex, SuperMedia Close Merger and Emerge from Chapter 11 As Dex Media (Screenwerk)… Google Calls Reports that Google Now for iOS Srains Batteries “Incorrect” (TheNextWeb)…
Group Commerce to Merge With Nimble Commerce
Three months after laying off a quarter of its staff, Group Commerce has agreed to merge with its primary competitor, Nimble Commerce, in an all-stock deal, continuing the consolidation among white-label deal companies. Under the terms of the deal, Nimble Commerce CEO Prashant Nedungadi will lead the new firm, which will retain the Nimble Commerce name…
Street Fight Daily: Twitter Brings Local Trends to Mobile, Square Poaches PayPal Exec
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Twitter Updates Its Apps with New Trends Locations (TheNextWeb)… Square Hires An Exec From PayPal To Form Payments Partnerships With Retailers (TechCrunch)… Brownstoner Founder Jonathan Butler’s Venture-ing into Queens (Daily News)…
Yelp Finds Antidote to Mobile Burn in Bundled Inventory
Shares of Yelp rose 10% in after hours trading Wednesday evening after the company reported strong top-line growth in Q1 2013. The reviews site grew its revenue by 67% year-over-year to $46.1 million in Q1, cutting its net loss in half to $4.8 million from $9.8 million a year earlier. The bump came on the back of a 81% jump revenue from local businesses as well as successful monetization efforts in nascent international markets.
Placed Launches Analytics Product to Make Local Ad Targeting Smarter
Placed, a two year-old startup based in Seattle, has spent the last two years passively tracking the physical movements of over 70,000 smartphone owners who chose to share their location with the company. Today, the venture-back firm is opening that data to marketers, launching a Nielsen-like ratings service called Placed Insights to help advertisers intelligently buy location-targeted advertising…
In Counting Actual People, Hyperlocals’ Smaller Traffic Numbers Can Be Big
With local merchants looking at more and more digital marketing options in their search for customers, community news sites have to be aggressive in selling themselves to potential advertisers (and raising revenue that will pay for editorial and other improvements). How can they make the most of their traffic numbers, which are much lower than those at most commerce-based sites?