News and Analysis
Report: Reviews for Local Businesses Are Essential. Ratings Below 4 Stars Are Deadly
If it had not already been clear that building up a significant inventory of positive online reviews is key to attracting new customers to a business, let doubt linger no further.
A whopping 52 percent of consumers ages 18-54 “always” read reviews when searching for local businesses, and only 53 percent will consider a businesses with fewer than four stars, according to survey of 1,005 US-based consumers by marketing platform BrightLocal. Eighty-two percent of consumers overall read online reviews.
Connected Consumers Are More Demanding Than Ever – How Retailers Are Adapting
As the omnichannel approach to retail takes off, industry insiders are beginning to wonder whether giving shoppers what they want, when they want it, across any connected device, is causing consumers to develop unrealistic expectations about the types of experiences and services their favorite stores can provide.
Report: Holiday Shoppers Prioritize Speed in Retail Experience
Among the survey’s most surprising findings is how quickly shoppers are willing to abandon their favorite retailers when those stores don’t have the items they want. Aptos found that 47% of shoppers will start looking elsewhere if their favorite retailer runs out of an item they’re looking for during the so-called Golden Quarter. Additionally, Aptos found that more than half of consumers (60%) say they will abandon their baskets if they find their items for cheaper elsewhere.
Commentary
Snapchat Expands Its Foray Into Local with Snap Map
Pinterest and Snapchat both are turning digital space into a closer analogue to physical space, where we look for visual cues to understand the world. In different ways, both apps are collapsing the distance between virtual and real.
Comparing Enterprise and SMB Attitudes on Local Tech
In recent Street Fight surveys, both brands and local merchants reported that they are increasing the digital portion of their marketing spending. Over half (57%) of local merchants surveyed said that was the case, and 40% of the enterprise local marketers agreed.
One Size Does Not Fit All in the SMB Digital Market
“At the very least you have to recognize your day-to-day experiences both discovering and interacting with small businesses are wildly different from customers in rural markets,” David Mihm tells Mike Blumenthal in their biweekly chat.
Latest Posts
How Local Publishers Can Make the Most of Non-Local Traffic Surges
When local stories go viral, the often do so at the expense of local advertisers who see no added value in this influx of poorly targeted leads. So how do local publishers benefit from the periodic bonanza of visiting traffic without alienating their base?
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Tracks Offline Commerce, Uber Seeks $2 Billion In Leveraged Loans
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Taps GPS, Square to Track Your In-Store Visits and Purchases… Uber to Raise Up To $2 Billion in Leveraged-Loan Market… Pinterest Takes a Page from Facebook’s Playbook and Steps Up Its Ad-Targeting Game…
Why Attributes and Identities Matter in Local Search
Google continues to remind businesses that location data is the foundation of their brands. The question is whether your business is taking advantage of the opportunities Google is creating to use location data to build your brand.
5 Pay-by-Mobile Vendors for On-Demand Parking
Parking is among the most popular uses for mobile payments, with 19% of consumers having paid for parking with their smartphones and 26% indicating they’d be interested in doing so. Here are five examples of vendors offering mobile payment parking solutions right now.
Street Fight Daily: Apple Opens Up Siri and Maps to Developers, Snapchat Ad Expansion
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Apple is Opening Up Siri, Maps, and Messages to Outside Development… Snapchat Launches a Colossal Advertising Expansion, Ushering in a New Era for the App… Google Pairs Facial Recognition with Location Tracking, Potentially Boosting Available Location Data…
Bypassing the Hurdles to Bring Programmatic to SMB Advertisers
SMB advertisers care about reaching consumers, not the nitty gritty of technology covered in the ad trades. Local media companies and smaller agencies should focus on how programmatic technology helps them sell that outcome, rather than get stuck selling the technology itself.
Case Study: Virginia Retail Chain Shifts Print Ad Budget to Social Channels
Kim Glover, A. Dodson’s director of marketing, says that Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest make up the core of the retailer’s online marketing program — however the company is “always ready to evolve” with its customers as new platforms gain in popularity and usage.
Street Fight Daily: Microsoft to Buy LinkedIn, Google Maps Local Search Ads
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… 10 Things to Know About the New Google Maps Local Search Ads… Siri To Be the Focus of Apple’s Developers Conference… What Happened to Austin When Uber and Lyft Left Town …
8 More Community Sites Climb to Michele’s List Revenue Pinnacle in 2016
Overall, 78% of the 96 sites in the closely watched survey of independent news sites reported revenue increases in 2015, with 13% saying they doubled revenue and close to a third reporting gains of 50%.
Street Culture: Birdzi Finds ‘Liberation’ in Lack of Corporate Hierarchy
“What happens a lot of times in corporations is you find that decisions are made that can’t be questioned,” says CEO Shekar Ramen. “We don’t have any of that and we want to maintain the flat nature of our company as much as possible.”
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem