News and Analysis
More Brands Are Scaling Digital Channels for Customer Engagement — Here’s Why
Communicating with brands on social media has become the norm for consumers. Surveys show that roughly half of all consumers who engage with brands on social media are reaching out about customer care concerns, and more than 65% of social media users across all platforms expect brands to respond, regardless of whether the initial outreach was via private messages or public posts.
Those expectations have only heightened over the past six months, and many brands have had to pivot their customer support and engagement priorities on the fly.
Earnings Season Teases Retail’s Next Normal
Earnings results that rolled out from retail giants over the past week further demonstrate what our next normal will look like. Specifically, Walmart and Target both hit record numbers. This is partly a function of Covid-era circumstances, but it is also due to each retailer’s active e-commerce momentum.
The earnings validate consumer acclimation to digitally infused local shopping. What’s more, other retailers and down-market businesses will look to replicate this success. This can all therefore be viewed as a leading indicator for retail’s next normal.
More Americans Are Using Delivery. The Change Is Here to Stay
Delivery has perhaps been the industry most clearly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. When physically going to brick-and-mortar stores became a life-or-death exercise, delivery, which had already grown under the rise of e-commerce, became an even more essential part of how local commerce functions.
Khaled Naim, co-founder and CEO of delivery software company Onfleet, touched on how delivery has changed in the past months, how long those changes will persist, and what technologies are fueling the widespread increase in deliveries.
Commentary
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.
LBMA Podcast: Alexa, Urgent.ly, 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: Digital Locations + Ampsy, Fullscreen Digital, Puig, Kedy AR, Diageo goes Alexa.
Latest Posts
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…
How Wearables Are Changing Perceptions About Location Privacy
While firms that collect location data through mobile apps were once viewed as pariahs, a shift in attitudes has more consumers turning on location services for apps and taking advantage of the benefits that sharing this data can bring. Behind the changing attitude is a growing interest in wearables.
Predictions 2017: Attribution Is Next
Sponsored Content: The companies who prove that their media is better at driving in-store visits will reap the benefits. Measurement will not come from the vendor itself but rather from third-party measurement firms decoupled both from the buying and selling of advertising and from the platforms on which the media runs.
Street Fight Daily: Here Brings Location Insights to China, Brick-and-Mortar Holiday Strategy
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Mapping Service Here Looks to Bring Location Insights, Mapping Service to China … A Brick-and-Mortar Advantage: Capitalizing on Returns to Make More Sales… Automation Gives Advertising a Moral Struggle: Is Online Reach Worth the Hurt?…
Despite Stumble in Raleigh, Will The Agenda Be Part of ‘New Localism’?
“I’m learning that the success we have in Charlotte isn’t scaleable to other distinct geographies,” said founder Ted Williams. “I’ve become convinced that the key to financial success for an organization like ours is providing a high degree of advertiser customization and customer service. “
Why Hasn’t a Killer App Emerged for Finding Local Events?
The local events space is still waiting on its ubiquitous app. There’s Yelp for restaurants. And Uber/Lyft for getting to and from. But there’s not yet a go-to for the crux of the night – the thing you do when you’re out on the town.
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem