News and Analysis
Search Marketers Cater to New Customer Needs for Holidays
Grocery stores are doing more business than pre-pandemic, with average weekly household grocery bills surging from $120 to $161 at the height of statewide lockdowns this spring. Many restaurants are pivoting right now to promote their takeout and delivery options. Health and wellness websites are fielding questions about coronavirus, as are many news publishers.
Leaning into the changes means understanding and responding to the challenges consumers are facing right now and setting up a search strategy that focuses on providing the best experiences possible.
Why Savvy SMBs Are Focusing on the Post-Sale Experience
Two-thirds of American adults say they plan to shop at more small businesses in the coming months, providing independent retailers with the perfect opportunity to turn those new customers into brand advocates.
Putting the strategy into action means capitalizing on what ActiveCampaign CEO Jason VandeBoom sees as the biggest untapped opportunity for local retailers right now — the post-sale engagement.
Square and Adobe Spark Team Up to Give SMBs a Holiday Marketing Boost
In addition to selecting three small businesses to receive a holiday marketing overhaul — pairing each up with local designers to modernize their brand marketing materials — Adobe Spark and Square are helping businesses digitize their shops to process transactions in a touch-free environment, utilizing mobile technology and QR codes. The firms have also announced a plan to give five small businesses a $10,000 media buy credit and a subscription to Adobe Spark Premium.
Commentary
How Giant GateHouse Media Performed in Harsh Duke Study of Local News Sites
I went to Bill Church, senior vice president of news at GateHouse Media—the biggest publisher of newspapers in the U.S.—with questions about the quality of GateHouse sites that were put under the microscope in a 100-community study from Duke University that painted a critical picture of news deserts across the country.
How Brands Can Create Personalized Experiences for Each Local Market
Digital properties must not only gather information about people but also use it to help consumers meet their goals in a contextual and timely manner. With changes such as the GDPR going into effect, the onus is on brands to deliver a connected experience that will leave customers feeling as though brands’ use of their data is justified.
Latest Posts
How Advancing Location Tech Can Help Revitalize Retail
Despite fears of the disruption that new business models and technology bring, these are can be opportunities for brands to better understand and engage with consumers, said Cameron Peebles, CMO for inMarket. He shared his company’s insights in a Street Fight webinar yesterday alongside The Integer Group’s group media director, M.K. Woltz.
Street Fight Daily: Instagram Beats Facebook for Brands, Twitter Aims to Jumpstart Ad Strategy
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Instagram Gives Brands and Celebrities Up to 400% More Engagement than Facebook… Twitter Hires AdTech Veteran Bruce Falck to Rejuvenate Advertising Tools… Identifying Mobile Shoppers is a Top Priority for 70% of Retailers…
Get Ready for The New SMB Software Market
The SMB market is less homogenous than the consumer market, which makes it difficult to reach and serve the majority of customers with a single software product. Luckily for SMB, that won’t always be the case. Now is the time to get ready for a new SMB software market that will experience more growth than enterprise or consumer.
After Fits and Starts, Collaborative News Is Finally Making Headlines
For years, there’s been a lot of earnest talk about digital news sites collaborating to produce editorial content that had more value for users — and to help the collaborators make their often-precarious operations sustainable. But the talk produced as many fits as starts. That’s changing, and for the better.
Street Fight Daily: Updates from Google I/O, Walmart’s Online Sales Jump Sharply
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… I/O 2017: Everything Coming to Google Assistant… Following Jet Acquisition, Walmart’s Online Sales Soar as It Pursues Amazon… Twitter’s New Privacy Tools Let Users Control How Advertisers Target Them…
How SMB Networking is Driving More Referral Marketing
Many small businesses have picked up on referral marketing options, but word-of-mouth referrals are an ancillary benefit of networking with other local business owners. “The entire business community needs a way to connect and have ongoing dialogue,” says Ro Prakash, co-founder of Townsquared.
Street Fight Daily: D.C. Taxis to Replace Meters with Square, Instagram May Allow Search by Location
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Square Will Replace Meters in D.C. Taxis, Potentially Fueling Data Collection and Local Commerce… Instagram May Allow Users to Search Publicly Shared Stories by Location… Web-Retail Startups Turn to Bricks and Mortar for Growth…
Why TGI Fridays Is Thinking About Marketing Like a Startup
While marketers always try to understand trending topics among customers, for a national restaurant chain it also means finding ways to listen and react quickly at the local level. Sherif Mityas, who will speak at Street Fight Summit, says his company is working to connect more personally with the chain’s customers.
The Road Ahead: What Autonomous Cars Teach Us About Marketing Automation