News and Analysis
How Are Brands Preparing for Native Ratings in Apple Maps?
A foundational element of local marketing strategy could be changing. Rumors began circulating last week that Apple would be giving users the ability to add ratings and photos to local business listings on Apple Maps when iOS 14 releases this fall. That could mean big changes are in store for brand marketers who’ve grown accustomed to monitoring reviews and ratings on a core group of third-party platforms.
Apple’s move into the ratings and review space isn’t totally unexpected, but it’s still causing the local marketing community to question how the update will impact local search and discovery.
Meliá Hotels Uses Local Influencers to Drive Covid-19 Awareness
Brochures and signage are easy to overlook, but social media influencers are harder to miss. As they work to bring back guests during the Covid-19 pandemic, a number of hotel chains are relying on partnerships with social media influencers to educate guests on the new safety protocols they’ve put in place.
Street Fight’s September Theme: Mapping the Future
What does “Mapping the Future” entail? As a primary tool for consumer local search and discovery, mapping continues to undergo UX innovations and structural changes. We’ll examine these areas as well as mapping’s interplay with local search and SEO strategies.
Though mapping is more of a Street Fight staple than a trending topic, market signals indicate that the timing is right. In fact, we already got started last month with a look at Snapchat’s moves into local mapping — not just UX upgrades to Snap Map but also self-serve advertising for local businesses.
Commentary
LBMA Podcast: Postmates & DoorDash, Foursquare, Uber
This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan & Aubriana Lopez. On the show this week: Mercedes Benz, Landmark + Sony Music, China’s BingoBox, Gordon’s Gin teams up with Weve, Foursquare’s new API, Uber expands bike sharing.
Berkeleyside.com Raises $1 Million With News Industry’s First DPO
The established pure-play is now putting together a guide for how other news providers can convince their communities to make the same kind of high-response “impact investment.”
The New Face of Reputation Management: Photos, UGC Rise in Prominence
As non-review content grows in prominence, brands and small businesses with be forced to reckon with it. Like reviews, such content both reflects and shapes a brand’s reputation. Unfortunately, many brands are still behind when it comes to engaging with local reviews, so these new developments will represent an even heftier challenge when it comes to crafting an effective and scalable strategy. Brands who neglect UGC in local will suffer greatly in comparison with those who learn how to engage.
Latest Posts
Can Chat Apps Help Local Papers ‘Talk’ Their Way Out of Distress?
Messaging apps would be the ideal medium for U.S. dailies to capture committed readers in the emerging era of the “New Localism.” The big advantage of chat apps is that publishers can send questions and other “push” notifications to subscribers that promote high levels of engagement.
Street Fight Daily: Publishers’ Doubts About AMP, Snap Leverages Machine Learning for Ad Targeting
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Publishers Express Doubts About Google AMP… Snapchat Is Beginning to Use Machine Learning to Improve Advertising… Voice Search is Different, Not Better…
Street Fight’s 10 Most Popular Stories From 2016
In the local space, 2016 brought both consolidation and renewal. Major players were acquired, while other companies experimented with innovations in bots and AI, VR/AR and a new generation of voice search. Here’s a look back at the top Street Fight stories (at least in terms of traffic) this year.
Raise Report: New Funding for HelloFresh, Rent the Runway, Dynamic Yield
Every two weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This week’s edition includes funding for Numetric, Byte Foods, Xplenty, and Never Eat Alone.
LBMA Podcast: The Annual Predictions Show
This Week in Location Based Marketing is a weekly video podcast from the Location Based Marketing Association with Asif Khan and Aubriana Lopez. This week’s show is the annual predictions episode, with a look at where location-based marketing is headed in 2017.
Street Fight Daily: Amazon Gets Patent for Futuristic Warehouses, The Rise of SaaS
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Receives a Patent for Drone-Powered, Floating Warehouses… M&A 2016: The Year Ad Tech Cautiously Rose Again… Mobile Research Starts the Purchase Cycle…
Street Fight Staff and Friends Predict 2017’s Top Stories (Part Two)
As 2016 draws to a close, we’ve once again asked Street Fight staffers and columnists to look into their crystal ball and offer prognostications for what they think will be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2017.
Street Fight Daily: Digital Advertising Booms in 2016, CloudTags Boosts Brick-and-Mortar Businesses
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Digital Advertising Grew Double Digits Again to Hit $17.6 Billion in Q3… CloudTags Helps Brick-and-Mortar Stores Become ‘Connected’ Businesses… Facebook Messenger for Web Now Allows Search in Conversations…
Street Fight Staff and Friends Predict 2017’s Top Stories (Part One)
As 2016 draws to a close, we’ve once again asked Street Fight staffers and columnists to look into their crystal ball and offer prognostications for what they think will be the biggest story (or stories) in local in 2017. We’ll be running their outlooks in two installments, the first today and the second tomorrow.
Street Fight Daily: GasBuddy’s Location-Based Strategy, Voice-Assisted Shopping On the Rise
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… GasBuddy Leverages Location-Based Marketing to Drive Purchases at Gas Stations… Mobile Shoppers Turn to Virtual Voice Assistants… Facebook, Google, Consolidation: What Drove Media Deals in 2016…
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AI Won’t Fix Advertising – It May Scale Its Chaotic Nature