News and Analysis
Street Fight’s April Theme: Local Commerce in the Time of Coronavirus
We’ll devote coverage this month to the virus’ continued outbreak and its effect on local business. Of course, the airwaves and ether are already filled with pandemic coverage, and we won’t look to compete with that. Rather, we’ll be writing specifically about the crisis’ impact on local commerce, marketing, and related subjects.
In fact, we’ve already gotten started. Our March theme of reputation management barely got off the ground before we and many of our contributors came to the realization that it didn’t really feel right to talk about anything other than Covid-19. Don’t worry, we’ll give reputation management an encore performance later in the year.
This Startup Is Helping Local Stores ID Customers During COVID-19
Chatbots are helping resolve customer service issues when businesses are closed and call centers are slammed, but brick-and-mortar stores are still struggling to adapt to an online-only business format. Pure play ecommerce outlets have spent years developing systems to manage transactions and verify customer identities, but most retailers on Main Street are accustomed to seeing shoppers in person and visually checking IDs.
A San Francisco-based startup called Persona is offering to help those local businesses adapt by giving away its online ID verification service for free during the COVID-19 crisis.
7 Delivery Apps Keeping Restaurants, Grocers Afloat During COVID-19
Dozens of states have banned dine-in service at restaurants, and nearly as many are requiring retailers to close up shop in a bid to slow down the coronavirus outbreak. As local businesses deal with the enormous financial implications that come with closing down to customers, many are trying out delivery services for the very first time.
For restaurants and other local businesses interested in offering their products via on-demand delivery, here are seven delivery platforms with which local businesses can partner during the Covid-19 crisis.
Commentary
How Publishers Can Survive Facebook Churn: Top Expert Weighs In — Part II
“The smaller scale might be an advantage when it comes to trust,” Grzegorz Piechota told Tom Grubisich. “Local publishers can offer services Facebook will never be able to provide at a global scale such as checking all the facts, verifying all the ads, or providing a 100% guarantee of brand-safe context.”
Latest Posts
How Should SMBs Track ROI From Local Search?
It’s likely that many local merchants misunderstand the importance of using tracking metrics to inform their marketing practices, or they feel overwhelmed at the thought of adding yet another task to their overcrowded plates. To find out how these business owners could be doing a better job of tracking local search metrics, we asked top experts in the field.
Street Fight Daily: Keeping Up With Mobile Shoppers, Google’s Mobile-First Index
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook, In Cross Hairs After Election, Is Said to Question Its Influence… FAQ: All About Google’s Mobile-First Index… How Walgreens’ App Update Will Leverage Beacons to Improve the In-Store Experience…
LBMA Podcast: Instagram, Netflix, LiveNation & LetGo App
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: GM + IBM & Mastercard, AliPay coming to U.S., Staples Easy Button, Shell + NavAds, Lyft and JetBlue, Google pilots with Myer, and Custom Curated Experiences.
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Buys CrowdTangle, PlaceIQ Teams with Nielsen Catalina
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Buys CrowdTangle, a Social Analytics Tool for Publishers… PlaceIQ Teams with Nielsen Catalina Solutions on Detailing the CPG Purchase Path… Google’s Tiny Radars Tweaked to Identify Everyday Objects in a Home…
Imagining a Local Search Pathway for Snapchat
Snapchat may be considered by many to be “the next Facebook,” but its approach to social media and interactions couldn’t be more different. From its emphasis on moments to the uneasiness the founders have with ad personalization, the company is certain to blaze a trail all its own the the local space.
Street Fight Daily: Yahoo Says Verizon May Ditch Deal, Branded Content on Mobile Sees Success
roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Yahoo Raises Possibility Verizon May Back Out… Click-Through-Rates for Branded Content on Mobile Double That on Desktop… LinkedIn Makes It Easier for Businesses to Send Sponsored Direct Messages….
Mobile 1.0 Had Its Own Uber: Recalling the Birth of the Future
Somewhere in the nascent days of flip-phones, when I headed up AOL’s mobile products division, we came across a little company with an ambitious goal: let people hail a cab or black car virtually using their cellphones. The company, Qsent, had been working on a mobile-phone version of a service called iQtaxi.
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