News and Analysis
Triller App Sets Its Sights on Taking Over TikTok
A US-based music video platform and TikTok rival ‘Triller’ got a $28 million investment from Proxima Media and seems to have handed a stake in its business to all three major labels.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Triller is potentially valued at $130 million. Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, and Sony Music Entertainment each own a minority piece of the platform. In a press release announcing the $28m raise, Triller said that the new funds will fuel growth and product enhancements and that it has its sights set on overtaking competitor TikTok.
6 Marketing Automation Solutions for Cannabis Businesses
The cannabis vertical is filled with dispensaries, laboratories, growers, manufacturers, and on-demand delivery services. More broadly speaking, the industry is comprised of plant-touching businesses (growers, processors, dispensaries) and ancillary businesses (delivery apps, payment processors, technology solutions). What businesses in both of these categories rely on is marketing to attract and retain customers, which helps to explain why the number of marketing automation solutions for cannabis businesses is growing so quickly.
Here are six examples of marketing automation platforms aimed at the cannabis industry.
To Meet Consumer Demands, Automotive Marketing Goes Vertical
While customer feedback is coming in from every direction, the automotive industry has done a better job of funneling reviews into vertical-specific platforms than some other industries. Large auto retailers like AutoNation are making major data stack investments, while others are working to improve their online ratings and reviews by engaging more frequently on sites like Facebook and Yelp as well as on automotive-specific platforms like Cars.com and Edmunds.
Commentary
Unlocking Audiences for Brands: Uniting Client Goals with Demographic Research
Uniting your client’s instincts with actionable data from social media, keyword research, content analysis, and analytics creates a hyperlocal strategy to reach their most interested clients. There are four key strategies for marketing companies that want to take their clients beyond mere traffic increases to high ROI and conversion rates.
When Breaking Google’s Guidelines Is Almost Necessary with GMB
A couple of months ago I was helping a physical therapy business on the Google My Business Forum that was filtered out of the local results on Google because of the Possum algorithm update in 2016. In this case, the culprit was a completely different physical therapy business down the street (about a two minute walk away).
The Usability Gap: Designing the Right Products for SMBs
Surely small business owners belong to the class of ordinary users. Expecting them to invest the time and energy to become power users is a good way to guarantee that your user base will remain small. This realization could lead to a very different and more fruitful approach to product design for SMBs.
Latest Posts
Openings and New Hires at Empyr, Matchcraft, xAd and CBS Local
Every two weeks, Geoff Michener covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. This week’s edition includes moves and new openings at Ninth Decimal, Factual, and Promoboxx.
Street Fight Daily: New York Times Enters Food Delivery, Yelp’s Plans for Growth
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… New York Times Goes for Literal Snackable Content with Meal Delivery (Mashable)… More Than 146 Million People Have Used Yelp This Year (Eater)… Drawbridge Raises $25M As It Takes Its Cross-Device Tech Beyond Advertising (TechCrunch)…
How SMBs Can Take Advantage of Location in Paid Search Campaigns
One theory among local agencies is brick-and-mortar merchants haven’t been as successful with paid search because they aren’t taking advantage of location targeting capabilities. Here are eight way that local merchants can take better advantage of location in these campaigns.
Native Ads Compete With News for Audiences’ Attention — And Get It
A new Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism study find news publications tipping their revenue funnel toward native advertising. What caught my eye had nothing to do with dollars. It was all about how sponsored content could connect with readers as much as “news.” And sometimes maybe more.
Street Fight Daily: Brick-and-Mortars Crushed by Online Costs, Instagram Tests Profiles for Businesses
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Online Operating Costs Are Crushing Brick-and-Mortar Retailers… Instagram is Testing a Facebook-Like Profile for Businesses: Here’s What it Looks Like… AT&T Unwinds Web Alliance With Yahoo (Wall Street Journal)…
Street Culture: Collective Employee Mindset = Shuffleboard at Nextdoor
“One hundred and eighteen people is not a lot, but corralling those opinions is a more difficult task,” said Margie Mader-Clark, the company’s VP of human resources. “It’s about a stewardship of culture, taking care of it, making sure the negative aspects go away as early as possible.”
Belly’s LaHive: Beacon Tech ‘A Little Bit Overhyped’
The company’s CEO says that he considers beacons “an additional channel of communication so that businesses can identify when customers are inside a store and target them with special offers,” but he doesn’t see location-based tech and loyalty programs going hand-in-hand.
Street Fight Daily: Uber Gets Merchants to Pay for Rides, Shopify Teams Up with Postmates
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Uber Offers Gets Merchants to Pay for Rides… More Than 21,000 Businesses Can Now Add Same-Day Delivery Through Postmates… Vacation Rental Startups Attract $100 Million in Funding So Far This Year…
Will Phone Calls Survive the Chatbot Apocalypse?
The trillion dollar question is if this emerging chatbot technology will annihilate the phone call. Though I’m bullish on messaging and chatbots, the answer to that question is likely no.
6 Customer Analytics Solutions for Restaurants
The restaurant industry may be better positioned to take advantage of big data than almost any other vertical. Here are six examples of data platforms that restaurants can use for both sales and service optimization.
Street Fight’s Big 3
Street Fight Columns
Street Fight Categories
AI Won’t Fix Advertising – It May Scale Its Chaotic Nature