News and Analysis

The Numbers on Mobile’s Role in Holiday Shopping This Season

The results of a survey released just last week by mobile ad firm AdColony go beyond the already stale proclamation that the mobile revolution has taken over retail, pointing instead to granular details about just how consumers are using mobile today. We provide the highlights.

Google Reviews Hit with Massive Spam Attempt

Google reviews, increasingly essential to the online search presence of brand and SMB brick-and-mortars alike, were hit by a massive spam attempt last week. At least 2 million fraudulent reviews were posted, according to ReviewFraud.org.

Kroger Pushes Boundaries with Mobile Holiday Strategies

Feeling the pinch from online-only grocers, many brick-and-mortar supermarkets are beginning to dip their toes into mobile marketing this holiday season. Kroger, on the other hand, is jumping all the way in.

Commentary

Facebook’s Ad Platform for SMBs Has Come a Long Way, But Still Has Room to Grow

More and more local businesses are turning to Facebook to launch hyperlocal ad campaigns. And for good reason — the company has greatly enhanced its SMB ad offerings in the past year. As a relatively young ad medium, though, Facebook hasn’t really mastered the game yet.

INFOGRAPHIC: The Complex SMB Marketing Ecosystem

As the head of digital strategy for a broadcaster operating local TV stations, I’ve been challenged to clearly understand the digital marketing space from an SMB perspective. So I’ve developed a chart, both to enhance my understanding and to assist SMBs in identifying potential suppliers.

Why Social Recommendations Are Vital for Local Online Marketplaces

There can be little disagreement that building a word-of-mouth platform is difficult. But if social recommendations are the gold standard, why should we expect users to pick solutions that provide the convenience of scheduling and booking but lack the trust of word-of-mouth?

Latest Posts

Movie Theaters Missing the Mark on Local Advertising Battle

A recent data analysis by digital marketing company Where2Get, for its “Brand Battle” series on Street Fight, compared the success of AMC Theaters and Regal Cinemas. A winner between the two did emerge — AMC, by a hair, as both companies could do better to address their local marketing strategies across the country.

After 2 Spinoffs, Journal Media Group Looks to Strengthen Digital Offerings

The new Journal Media Group includes the 17 dailies that used to be part of E. W. Scripps and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which used to be owned by Journal Communications. We asked the company’s president, Tim Stautberg, about what JMG will be doing to succeed in both print and digital…

#SFSW15 VIDEO: Tying TV and Mobile to Measure Real-World Store Visitation

Far more than being just another media channel on which to advertise, mobile represents a “new connective element that allows you to build [a] new model for consumer behavior,” said PlaceIQ’s CEO Duncan McCall earlier this month at Street Fight Summit West.

Street Fight Daily: Square Eyes IPO, Thumbtack’s SEO Struggles

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Square Expected To Go Public This Year (Forbes)… Thumbtack, A Startup Backed by Google, Returns to Google’s Graces After SEO Hiccup (Re/code)… Dunkin’ Donuts CMO Discusses the Risky Move to Mobile Loyalty (AdAge)…

How SMBs Can Capitalize on ‘Micro-moments’ in the New Path to Purchase

A new Google and Ipsos study indicates that consumers use mobile devices more often, but for shorter periods of time. These short periods of time have been dubbed “micro-moments” and they are changing the ways consumers research and buy…

#SFSW15 VIDEO: Yelp VP Talks Food Delivery and the Impact of Mobile

Street Fight CEO Laura Rich sat down with Mike Ghaffary, vice president of business development at Yelp, last week at Street Fight Summit West to discuss the local reviews firm’s latest strategic moves and mobile’s impact on the local tech industry.

LBMA Podcast: ‘Buyable Pins’ From Pinterest, Zopper Raises $20M

On the show: Samsung & Jurassic World offer Best Buy exclusive content; Alibaba tests new QR codes for a nifty idea; Periscope’s map view; Google’s connected fabric Project Jacquard; Geotraq’s patent for Cell-ID module; Facebook Messenger turns off location; Baidu invests in VisionMedia…

Street Fight Daily: Jack Dorsey’s New Gig, Uber’s Biggest Market

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Jack Dorsey, New Twitter Interim CEO, Will Remain Square’s CEO (Recode)… Uber is Raising $1B To Crack China, Soon to be its Largest Market Worldwide (TechCrunch)… Twitter Tests Out Location-based Search for Tweets, Photos, and Videos (Twitter)…

#SFSW15 VIDEO: Deep Linking Will Solve Some — But Not All — of Mobile’s Problems

With mobile now accounting for the majority of Google searches,  it’s fair to say that the mobile majority has arrived. But the platform still lacks some of the infrastructure that helped the web spawn two decades of unparalleled growth — namely, the ability to easily move from app to app. But a technology known as […]

Case Study: Using Pre-Order Apps to Streamline Lunch Operations

Given its location in the mid-Market area of San Francisco, Alta CA has a unique clientele. The bustling neighborhood restaurant has customers who are willing to try out the latest apps and services, and as a result it’s become a sort-of testing ground for hyperlocal marketing solutions…