News and Analysis

5 Ways to Use Location-Targeted Ads During a Pandemic

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Savvy brand marketers are finding ways to take advantage of location-targeted advertising to inform consumers about shifting variables such as store hours of operation and social distancing requirements. Despite some apprehension among advertisers worried about seeming to capitalize on a catastrophe, surveys show that consumers are OK with being targeted with ads right now. More than 90% of people surveyed say they think brands should continue advertising during the crisis.

Here are five examples of ways that brands can start using location-targeted advertising to more effectively connect with consumers during the pandemic.

How Advertisers Can Pursue Brand Safety without Avoiding Sensitive News Content

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Advertisers blocking all potentially sensitive content is a raw deal for advertisers and publishers, says Rachel Tuffney, EVP of US operations at Dianomi. Publishers need advertiser support for serious stories. Advertisers need to be able to tell their own stories without avoiding 50% of serious news platform content and without blocking stories that may actually resonate with the brands they want to build.

Tuffney spoke to Street Fight to elucidate the trade-offs on this issue and explain how brands can be safe without blocking all sensitive content. 

Why SMBs Are Flocking to Martech to Combat Covid Slump

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The old way of doing business isn’t working anymore. As restaurants, retailers, and other businesses work to keep customers updated about shifting hours of operation and in-store social distancing requirements, they are opening up to outside-the-box ideas and becoming more comfortable trying location-targeted marketing platforms.

Data show that digital adoption among businesses and consumers jumped forward at least five years in the first eight weeks of the pandemic. Small restaurants and retailers are eagerly adopting the same tools now that they were hesitant to try back in 2019. That push is leading technology providers to expand their offerings and develop new tools for a growing market.

Commentary

How Peoria Journal Star Did a Lot More With Less After Deep Cuts Shrank the Newsroom

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“We made it our mission, working with our publisher at the time, Ken Mauser, that we would reach out to the people of the South Side and make sure they had a place where they could tell us about the good things happening where they live,” Peoria Journal Star Executive Editor Dennis Anderon says of reaching out to neglected community members.

Most Local Merchants Unfazed by Facebook Controversies, Though Some Signs of Trouble

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By now, consequences of the negative aura surrounding Facebook’s role in customer info abuse, fake news, and Russian political meddling should have started to take hold. Yet over half of local merchants we polled said they would continue to use Facebook as they had previously, and only one in five said they may use it less.

Google’s Local Improvements—Posts Become Essential, and Mike Wins the Bet!

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“Google’s made plenty of laudatory improvements to Google My Business and associated products over the past 24 months, and there does seem to be a qualitative shift in the way it’s approaching the space,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal in their biweekly column.

Latest Posts

6 Ways Merchants Can Prepare For the Rise in Voice Search

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Forty-two percent of U.S. consumers already say they’ve used voice assistants in the last three months, and industry forecasters are predicting that 20% of all user interactions with smartphones will take place through these assistants within the next three years. Here are six ways that local businesses can start preparing.

Street Fight Daily: Retailers Emphasize Mobile Web Over Apps, Verizon and Yahoo Close Revised Deal

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… The Mobile Web is Quietly Killing Off Retail Apps… Why Verizon Decided to Still Buy Yahoo After Big Data Breaches… ‘More Options and Misunderstandings’: Media Buying on Snapchat Confuses Advertisers…

Openings and New Hires at Lyft, DAC Group and Placed

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Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. This week’s edition includes moves and new openings at Navads, Brandify and Foursquare.

Street Culture: Sitter.me Puts Company Culture of Trust and Respect First

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“The culture starts at the top and stays with the top and there is nothing more important than leading by example in that respect,” says CEO Kristen Stiles. Her company, Sitter.me, connects parents with local babysitters.

Street Fight Daily: Google Home Enables Retail Purchases, IBM and Visa Partner for IoT Payments

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Home Can Now Buy You Stuff from Over 50 U.S. Retailers… Visa, IBM Team for Consumer Payments through IoT Devices… Facebook Isn’t Going After LinkedIn, It’s Chasing a Much Bigger Jobs Market…

How 30A’s Multiple Revenue Streams Elevate the Local Site to New Heights

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Founder and CEO Mike Ragsdale explains why diversification is such an important element of 30A’s fast growth into what is now a multimillion-dollar operation. He also explains how community news sites that don’t have a tropical beachfront to boast about can create their own unique, revenue-generating brands.

Street Fight Daily: Yahoo and Verizon Near Cheaper Deal, Facebook Adds Job Postings for Brands

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo and Verizon Are Said to Be Near a Cheaper Deal… Facebook Swipes at LinkedIn by Letting Brands Post Job Openings on Pages… Snap Sets Valuation at $19.5 to $22.5 Billion as IPO Approaches…

Where Home Phones Meet Voice-Assisted Search

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Similar to the shift from desktop to mobile, local marketers need to consider how the shift to voice-activated devices will impact their strategy. The smart home hub offers a new device on which consumers will interact with local businesses.

As E-Commerce Looks for a Local Edge, In-Person Return Services Expand

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This morning e-commerce fashion marketplace Tradesy is announcing an extended partnership with Happy Returns, a consumer returns startup that offers in-person returns for online retailers. Tradesy found that customers overwhelmingly preferred to return their online purchases in-person rather than by mail.

Street Fight Daily: Yelps Adds Feature to Drive User Engagement, VR’s Future Role for Consumers

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yelp Launches New Feature for Asking and Answering Questions About Any Business… How VR Headsets Will Infiltrate the Market and Impact Advertising… Retailers Are Testing Price Increases Online…