Tribune Hands Off TribLocal to Data-Rich Journatic
Old-media Tribune Company’s decision to invest in new-media startup Journatic, and let the fast growing content production company take over operations – but not ownership – of its TribLocal hyperlocal network, isn’t just about cost-cutting. Journatic has the resources and — just as important — the vision to use data to drive editorial content, all the way down to the neighborhood level…
Prescription for Patch: Become an All-in-One SMB Marketing Solution
There is a real opportunity to offer businesses a service that bundles together as many online promotional vehicles as possible into a simple, low-cost package that makes it easy for them to communicate with their customers. If Patch decided to go this route, the company would be well-positioned to make the service work. Unlike other local start-ups, it has the resources to build this kind of integrated system…
Selling a City to Tourists Via Hyperlocal
There is an emerging opportunity for cities to subsidize hyperlocal marketing efforts through hyperlocal platforms. For example, a city agency could create a neighborhood-based promotion on top of mobile payment play LevelUp in which a visitor who shared that they say, ate lunch at a traditional tourist destination, could win a promotion to receive a free round trip train fare to a peripheral neighborhood if they ate dinner at a restaurant in the neighborhood…
Why Do We Check In?
“I did not want to be mayor of my dentist’s office. Why did I even check in?” read a tweet posted last week by Digital First Media’s Steve Buttry. Buttry was echoing a thought that I’ve had a lot lately about my own habit of checking in to Foursquare: I don’t know exactly why I’m checking in, or what I get out of it — yet I do it anyway, usually several times per day.
Is Online Sports Video Content an Ideal Draw for Local Ads?
Local has long been regarded as the sleeping giant of digital advertising; a sector seemingly waiting for someone else to develop the ideal solution to help advertisers capitalize on its massive potential. In recent years, the broader media conversations have moved toward mobile and social — yet video has been proven to have the most upside for both local consumers and brand marketers…
With an Inherently Local Ad Base, Publishers Can Take the Mobile Lead
Local businesses already recognize the need to follow the eyeballs from traditional media to mobile, but they are looking for partners to facilitate the move. Publishers are that partner. They already have the relationships with local advertisers. They already are a trusted guide, their publications a reliable channel, and they’ve already bought into the value of mobile…
Why Don Draper Would Hate Hyperlocal
Many brands are still stuck in the days of Don Draper, failing to see that the potential for a lasting bond is even greater with hyperlocal (and delivers better ROI). Campaigns on services like LevelUp, LivingSocial or Tackable have more resonance precisely because they are tied to where you are. They tap into your good feelings around, say, your favorite pizza place, a connection that doesn’t require the same kind of shaping by big media or advertising mavens.
When Credit Card Companies Can’t Process Hyperlocal Risk
If you are working with merchants in any capacity and processing payments for them, then you can probably expect credit card processors to give you a hard time. They might accept your account and then shut you down, or charge you prohibitive fees and cap the amount you can process, stifling growth…
The 5 Most Important Things SMBs Can Do Online
Taking your local business online doesn’t necessarily mean you’re trying to tap into a massive network of potential new customers. Perhaps that is the endgame for some ambitious entrepreneurs, but for many businesses — especially local and service-based business — the aim is to build and maintain meaningful online and offline relationships at a local level…
When Tools Become Channels: Rethinking Local Promotion Distribution
Promotional commerce between small businesses and local consumers is undergoing a massive reconstruction. In the process, media channels are being forced to proactively adapt or wither into irrelevance. Media channels no longer enjoy the spoils of having critical mass in consumer reach and limited competition…
Local Stores Become Showrooms for Online Buying
“Showrooming” refers to the act of using local stores as showrooms for more price-competitive online purchases. Retailers can get on the right side of this trend by beating Amazon at its own data-centric game. That means launching apps — or working with those that aggregate retail feeds, such as Milo — through which personal recommendations and incentives are offered to in-store buyers…
As Facebook Readies IPO, Local Strategy Is in Focus
Considering that 70% of small businesses already use Facebook as a promotional tool through Pages, the company has a serious leg up on the competition. Transitioning these users into paying customers means cutting into Google’s massive market share of local ad spend, and potentially replacing the search giant as the de facto marketing tool for local businesses online…
Giving National Campaigns a Local Edge
By developing a highly-customized local digital advertising strategy that complements existing campaigns, retailers and brands can consistently and effectively drive sales that help to increase revenue and create a more personal relationship with customers…