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 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.
The Quantitative Evidence That Reputation Management Works
At times, the research findings published in our industry seem a little suspect. But in one vertical in particular, there’s a body of academic research that speaks to exactly the kinds of questions we want answered about reputation management—namely, does online review monitoring and response really make a difference to a business’s bottom line?
Latest Posts
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.
Charting Google’s Shifting Priorities in the New Local Search Survey
For many years, Physical Address in City of Search was the most important ranking factor, but it has now been overtaken by Proximity of Address to the Point of Search (Searcher-Business Distance). As such, the canonical local search use case has become a mobile user searching for a business nearby his or her current location.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Suffers Data Collection Setback Abroad, Pitfalls of Location Tech for Brands
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Gets Slap on the Wrist from 2 European Privacy Regulators… Brands: Prioritizing Location-Based KPIs Can Have Its Drawbacks… Uber Won’t Be Forced to Stop Developing Self-Driving Cars During Its Lawsuit with Alphabet…
The Current State of Google Maps — Fake News, Fake Reviews
“It’s incredible to me that given all of Google’s focus on new local products that they are still getting some of the basics wrong,” Mike Blumenthal tells David Mihm. “People who rely on Google more and more to find local businesses need to know that the fundamental metric of the business quality, reviews, is fair and well policed.”
Friends Don’t Let Friends Dial Drunk — There’s a ‘Mode’ for That
Drunk Mode is an app that helps users navigate their inebriation — and avoid making embarrassing calls at 2 am. (I’m looking at you every 22-year-old.) CEO Josh Anton, who will be speaking at Street Fight Summit, developed his suite of location-based apps after getting one of those late-night phone calls from a friend.
Street Culture: Balancing Structure and Exploration in Company Culture
Environment, talent, and process all encourage the growth of innovation, according to IT research firm CEB, which was recently acquired by Gartner. But there’s a balancing act that must take place between structure and exploration — especially for smaller companies on a fast upward growth curve.
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