News and Analysis

How Younger Platforms Are Chipping Away at Facebook’s Dominance in Social

There’s a lot of talk in the martech/adtech ecosystem about Facebook and Instagram’s gradual loss of sway in social advertising, especially relative to video-first apps popular among young people such as Snapchat and TikTok. But how much are things really changing, and why?

A Third of Marketing Leaders Say They’re Not Ready for Third-Party Cookies’ Demise

The death of the third-party cookie on Chrome in 2023 dominated the martech discussion in 2021, but a third of marketing leaders say they are still not ready for the effect it will have on marketing. That’s according to a Lytics survey conducted by Sapio Research in October that polled 256 marketing leaders to assess the future of data-driven marketing.

mobile payments

SMBs Struggle to Accept Mobile Payments — And Lose Customers as a Result

As consumers become more familiar and comfortable paying by mobile wallet in places like transit systems with open-loop ticketing, contactless payments will become the standard in other settings, like restaurants, as well.

Commentary

LBMA Vidcast: Amazon’s StyleSnap, Coca Cola’s Summer Wrist Bands

On this week’s Location-Based Marketing Association podcast: Wrangler Jeans + Old Town Road, The North Face + Spotify, SingleCut Beersmiths plays trivia, Amazon’s StyleSnap, Coca-Cola’s summer wrist bands, ProYo + InMarket. Special: 2019 LBMA Global Location Trends Report.

Fostering Brand-Customer Relationships in the Age of Social Checkout and Chatbots

Currently, 74% of consumers visit the social media pages of brands to inspire future purchases. And as evidenced by the popularity of Instagram Checkout, sales tools like Apple Business Chat, and new ad products like Google‘s Shoppable Ads, the industry is rapidly moving towards commerce that removes the friction between inspiration and an actual purchase.

But when the path to purchase is shortened, so is the opportunity for brand and customer to interact, which is probably what attracted your customers in the first place. Especially in the world of social media, brand persona is an enduring element that differentiates your brand and creates fans out of customers.

The good news is, you don’t have to sacrifice brand voice for a social commerce strategy. In fact, with the right tools, you can enhance it.

AR Impacts Local Commerce, Disrupting Home Services and Retail

AR is emerging at a time when the physical retail world is undergoing significant transformation. Things like Amazon Go stores and the counteractive “retail as a service” movement have raised awareness and hunger for retail evolution. So AR’s retail shopping use cases fall on fertile soil.

But retail is just one way that AR intersects with local commerce. AR comes into play in another key local commerce category: home services. Innovators like Streem are bringing remote assistance to traditional service calls (think: busted pipe).

Latest Posts

Openings and New Hires at GroundTruth, Attune, Cardlytics

Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest openings and new hires in this dynamic industry. This week’s edition includes moves and new openings at VaynerMedia, dataPlor and Foursquare.

Raise Report: Usermind, Red Points, True Fit Score New Funding

Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition also includes funding for Closetbox, CircleCI, Apartment List, and Grove Collaborative.

LBMA Podcast: Red Roof Inns, Ford, Postmates, WeChat

This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan, Rob Woodbridge & Aubriana Lopez. On the show: Waivecare, Amazon’s new patent, Bosch & Continental invests in HERE. Juniper Research on QR Codes

Street Fight Daily: Faltering Snap Courts Publishers, WhatsApp Rolls Out App for Small Biz

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… As Facebook Retreats from Publishers, Snap Goes on the Offensive… WhatsApp Launches a Separate App for Small Businesses… Mobile Phones Driving Search Ad Growth…

Nucleus Marketing’s Mission for 2018: Make Media Buyers Believe in News

CEO Seth Rogin spoke with Street Fight about how the company combats fraud in web advertising, brings personalization to marketing and tries to convert young media buyers into buying space on premium news sites.

Sponsored: How Location Intelligence and Software-as-a-Service Will Take Over in 2018

Location data and technology companies thrived in 2017 and are looking to expand on their success this year. Probably the best indication that location intelligence is here to stay and growing are the better regulations and user-friendly initiatives that are being adopted by different players in the ecosystem.

Street Fight Daily: Amazon Names HQ2 Finalists, User-Generated Content Boosts Sales

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Chooses 20 Finalists for Second Headquarters… User-Generated Content Attracts Shoppers… IPG: It’s Not Just About Providing Value — It’s About Proving Value…

Lots of Facebook News — But Little Progress in Local

Instead of integrating multi-media news consumption with entertainment, community conversations, events calendars, advertising, and a buyers and sellers marketplace, Facebook is isolating them as components. While this is consistent with its separate apps approach, it likely won’t result in as much audience cross-fertilization as it should. Nor does it feel at all local advertiser-friendly.

Should Local Businesses Ask for Reviews?

Reputation management services should focus on helping businesses understand what consumers are saying and engage with reviewers by responding. Unbiased review content is a true goldmine for the brand who works with a reputation company to glean deep insights about consumer sentiment offered by consumers themselves for free.

Street Fight Daily: Lyft Expands Service for Businesses, Marketers React to Facebook’s Latest

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Lyft Concierge, a Ride-Booking Service for Businesses, Expands… The Ad Community Reacts to Facebook’s Latest Tweak of the News Feed… To Woo Amazon, Cities Tackle Everything from Traffic to Housing…