News and Analysis

Zenreach Attract Connects Online Ads to In-Store Results

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Online metrics, like click-through rates and return-on-ad-spend, can quickly show ecommerce retailers how well their digital advertising campaigns are working. But what happens in the real world? The KPIs used in ecommerce mean almost nothing to brick-and-mortar merchants. In fact, digital approximations can actually cause merchants with physical locations to overspend on certain audience segments, while undervaluing others.

That’s something Zenreach is trying to change.

San Francisco Partially Bans Facial Recognition, Putting Technology’s Future in Doubt

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Civil rights and privacy activists asked, and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors delivered.

The city banned the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement and other municipal agencies on Tuesday, becoming the first in the country to do so. Other bills in the works in Massachusetts and even on Capitol Hill suggest that additional restrictions on the technology may be forthcoming. 

Local Social Network Nextdoor Raises $123 Million

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The digital advertising proposition for Nextdoor is obvious—what better way to drive customers into nearby brick-and-mortar stores than to generate buzz on a social platform centered on users’ physical location? Venture capitalists see the value proposition, as Chris Varelas, co-founder and managing partner at Riverwood, proclaimed Nextdoor as the “future of local community and commerce.”

Commentary

Google Maps Holiday Controversy Reflects Deeper Issues in Local Search

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In cases where community values are not unanimous, public companies are faced with an ethical question, and their answers can help to shape perceptions among users. For many, the removal of a Confederate holidays from Google Maps signals that it is truly a thing of the past.

Why Developing a ‘Near Me’ Strategy Has Become Critical for Local Marketers

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Mobile is no longer just an important or necessary element of a marketing strategy — it’s vital for the livelihood and existence of a brand. And it has led to a critical shift in shopper behavior that brand marketers are rushing to understand and adapt their digital marketing strategies to.

Why 2017 Will Be the Year of the ‘Micro Moment’

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A micro moment is the point at which a consumer searches for nearby information, for things to do, buy, or learn in real-time. Essentially, it’s a description of a new consumer mindset: one that has switched from regularity to spontaneity in shopping and learning habits, due to ubiquity of smartphones.

Latest Posts

Yelp’s Head of EU Public Policy: Europe Strategy Depends on Google Antitrust Case

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Yelp has been vocal in its disapproval of Google’s handling of search results and is one of the complainants in the European Union’s antitrust lawsuit against the search giant. Street Fight recently caught up with Yelp’s head of EU public policy, Kostas Rossoglou, to talk about the case as well as the challenges faced by European companies hoping to break into local markets.

Case Study: Chicago Photographer Generates Leads with Paid Search Campaigns

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As the digital marketing manager for Christine Waller Photography, a small photography business based in Chicago, Illinois, Conor Keenan uses many sources of traffic to generate leads. His monthly search budget runs between $250 and $500, depending on the services he’s focusing on that month.

Street Fight Daily: Amazon Building Delivery Network, ‘Research Online, Buy Offline’ Economy

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Amazon Leases 20 Cargo Planes to Build In-House Delivery Network (Business Insider)… Report: For Every $1 Online Influenced by Reviews, Offline Impact At Least $4 (Marketing Land)… Square Posts Mixed Q4 Results, but Promise of Future Profits Boosts Stock (Recode)…

5 Staffing Marketplaces for On-Demand Vendors

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The on-demand economy relies on a steady stream of self-employed workers who are willing to trade steady paychecks for flexibility and autonomy. But as the number of on-demand platforms increases, it’s becoming more of a challenge for companies to hold on to qualified workers.

UrbanSitter Leverages Online Connections to Ensure Trust in Childcare

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Who can you trust to babysit your 5-year-old? For parents, finding someone reliable and trustworthy can be quite daunting. Urbansitter CEO Lynn Perkins grappled with these issues of trust and referral as she’s grown her local commerce service into a national vertical player.

When Will We Be Able to Say That Cashless Payments Have Finally ‘Arrived?’

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The ubiquity of smartphones, new payment technology platforms, and ease of use have clearly caught the eye of many technology innovators and consumers. But why is this the year that cashless payments will go mainstream?

Street Fight Daily: Pinterest Opens Ad Platform to SMBs, Thumbtack Sees $1B in Local Services Spending

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Pinterest Fully Opens Its Ad Spigot to Every Small and Medium-Sized Advertiser (Adweek)… $1B in Local Services Spending Runs Through Thumbtack (LSA Insider)… Facebook ‘Amazed by Volume of Valueless Inventory,’ Abandons New Ad Buying Platform (AdAge)…

Booker Acquires Frederick, Expands Marketing Automation for Service Businesses

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The two companies had an existing partnership in place, and Booker has already rolled out Frederick’s marketing services to 200 of its existing customers. Following the deal, Frederick will retain its brand and will continue integrations with other business management systems.

Bot Local: Making Appointments Is Getting a Lot More Fun

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Pingup is bringing its API-powered live booking capability to “a broader range of leading-edge consumer interfaces and platforms.” This means “Pingup-powered bots” will let consumers book and confirm appointments in real time with “tens of thousands of local businesses across the U.S.”

Street Fight Daily: Verizon Fined By FCC for Tracking Consumers, Will Google+ Be Resurrected?

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… FCC Drops the Hammer on Verizon Over ‘Supercookie’ Usage (The Next Web)… Founder of 4chan Joins Google, Presumably to Work on Google+ (Ars Technica)… Facebook’s Trojan Horse Commerce Strategy (Recode)…