News and Analysis

6 Touchless Payments Apps for Small Businesses

The latest wave of touchless payment solutions are designed for small merchants dealing with the fallout from the pandemic. Contactless payments went from being “nice to have” to a being an essential service for retailers in 2020, as consumers around the world discovered that they really didn’t want to touch cash or POS hardware while they were making purchases at local stores.

Digital Advertising’s 2-Sided Transparency Problem

There’s another side to digital advertising’s transparency problem: Companies don’t even know what they know about consumers. Just as consumers use dozens of apps, businesses use hundreds of applications. Most, if not all, of them collect data on employees and customers. But sifting through that data, figuring out what is necessary, and determining whether it is privacy-compliant is a Sisyphean task.

Contact Center Should Be the Marketing Engine

How Should Retailers Navigate the Post-Covid Landscape?

While the return of nearly unrestricted in-person shopping heralds brighter days for brands and retailers, it is also a challenge. Consumers have gotten used to digital shopping as e-commerce soared amid the pandemic. How will retailers provide that same frictionless experience to meet elevated customer expectations in-store? Amy Vale, CMO at cash-back app Dosh, weighs in.

Commentary

5 Ways Businesses Can Leverage Location Intelligence Beyond Marketing

Michelle Zhou: Location data can provide far better optics into consumer behavior than traditional data streams. Data from smartphones, social media, and other sources can track consumer purchases and migration in real time. Using data trends and insights, businesses can develop a comprehensive understanding of their customers and make the most informed business decisions.

2018 Ranking Factors Report Emphasizes GMB and Reviews

Damian Rollison: The annual report’s main takeaways are clear: to rank competitively for local searches today, you must focus your attention on three areas: one, providing Google with as much relevant local content as possible; two, pleasing your customers, pointing them to where they can review your business, and responding to their reviews; and three, creating a useful, relevant local landing page or website with authoritative backlinks.

LBMA Podcast: Walmart’s Toy Lab, 7-Eleven & WeChat, Anything’s Big Funding Round

On this week’s LBMA show: Anything raises $42.5M, Baidu invests in Xinchao Media, Mobike + Louis Vuitton, Tencent goes all in with HERE maps, Walmart’s toy lab, 7-Eleven Canada rolls out WeChat + Alipay.

Latest Posts

Why 2017 Investments Will Take Local Companies Farther With Less

Upserve CEO Angus Davis says that seed funding is the most available right now. And because the overall economy is doing fairly well, wealthy people are increasingly doing angel investments where they previously were not.

LBMA Podcast: Admobilize + Smartlink, JCDecaux and Vivo, PlaceIQ & Shinola,

This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan and Aubriana Lopez. On the show: Leantegra, Coke + Albertsons, Nielsen Catalina, Facebook, Glympse + Microsoft Dynamics.

Street Fight Daily: WaPo Partners with Nextdoor to Cover Local, Restaurants Build Around Instagram

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… The Washington Post Partners with Nextdoor to Boost Local News Coverage… Restaurateurs Are Designing Their Establishments with Instagram in Mind… Brands Eye New Ways to Foster Innovation with Agencies..

Survey Offers a Glimpse Into How Brand Retailers Are Preparing for the Holiday Season

According to the survey from Campaigner, 42% of retailers are prioritizing social media integration as a marketing method for the holidays this year. Of the most popular social media platforms, retailers expect to invest most heavily in Facebook, followed by Instagram, Twitter, and Google+.

TripAdvisor Study Shows Room for Growth in Restaurant Marketing

According to the new survey, more than eight in 10 restaurateurs in the United States believe they should be doing more to promote their businesses, but only 17% say they’ve hired a dedicated employee to handle marketing tasks and just 1% use an outside marketing consultant.

Street Fight Daily: Facebook Aims to Placate Publishers, AdTech Consolidation Continues

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Launches News Analytics Tool in Partnership with Nielsen… Sizmek Buys Rocket Fuel, Once Worth Roughly $1 Billion, for $145 Million… How the Right Media Partnerships Can Help Brands Build Trust…

Facebook’s Self-Serve Ad Creative Can’t Be SMBs’ Only Choice

By removing some of the barriers to ad spend for small businesses, Facebook is trying to become a one-stop shop for their ad dollars. SMBs are likely aware of the problem, but they shouldn’t be willing to rely on Facebook exclusively for their marketing and advertising needs.

Case Study: Ski Resort Uses Triggered Campaigns to Convert Passholders

At Mission Ridge Ski Area in Wenatchee, Washington, director of marketing Tony Hickok is in the midst of launching and scaling a learn-to-ski program called Freedom Pass, and he’s using an automated marketing platform to target the right skiers and snowboarders at the right time.

Street Fight Daily: GroundTruth CEO Out, Marketers Struggle With Location Data

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… GroundTruth CEO Resigns Amid Investigation One Month After xAd Rebranding… Marketers Face Challenges in Working with Location Data… Google Redesigns News Feed to Personalize Search in Mobile App…

Podcasting Won’t Replace Local Radio Soon

As a local advertising medium, podcasting shows promise, but it has a very long way to go. The medium is fresh and growing, and ad inventory is far less cluttered than radio, although a little pricey at $18 to $25 CPM.