News and Analysis

New Hires at Nextdoor, Airbnb, Applift

Every two or three weeks, guest columnist Geoff Michener rounds up some of the latest hires in local and digital marketing. This week’s roundup also includes new hires at TapClicks, Affinio, Tealium, Vistar Media, and Motista.

Raise Report: Standard Cognition, Clearbanc, WeWork Secure New Funding

Every two or three weeks, we round up some of the biggest fundraises taking place in hyperlocal marketing, commerce, and tech. This edition also includes funding for SalonHQ and Sojern.

What Can Brick-and-Mortar Grocers Learn from Online-Only Competitors?

To learn more about what supermarkets should be doing to meet rising consumer expectations, and what brick-and-mortar stores can learn from their online-only counterparts, we caught up with Pradeep Elankumaran, CEO of Farmstead, a pure-play digital grocer that brings local groceries to doorsteps.

Commentary

Geofencing at Events: How to Reach Potential Customers Live and On-Site

Businesses have been taking a closer look at the potential for geofencing and proximity marketing for trade shows, events, and festivals. The technology offers some rich opportunities for interactive messages, and can ensure that promotions are especially relevant.

A New Political Campaign Methodology Connects Supporters With Localized Social Media

It’s self-evident that campaigns should be promoted at local levels, where word-of-mouth buzz can truly happen within neighborhoods. As the 2016 national election approaches, campaigns have the opportunity to harness local social more directly than ever before.

Why Online Marketplaces Will Continue to Beat Word-of-Mouth Platforms in the Battle for Local Business

People seek the opinions of their friends. They care what they think, and they trust them to make recommendations on everything from a good meal to a good mechanic. It’s word of mouth marketing — the most prized of its kind since the Stone Age. And its staying power undeniably supports the rationale for a […]

Latest Posts

What 500 Local Merchants Want: It’s All in Our Latest Report

We’re thrilled to release the third edition of Street Fight’s “The Local Merchant Report” — a 70-page, 500-merchant study featuring dozens of charts, rich data, case studies, market analysis, and even pitch strategies…

Street Fight Daily: Apple’s Street View Competitor, Google Reinvents the City

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Apple Confirms Vans Are For Maps Data Improvement, Discloses Future Locations (AppleInsider)… Sidewalk Labs, a Start-Up Created by Google, Has Bold Aims to Improve City Living (New York Times)… Digital Device Use Influences $1.7 Trillion in In-Store Retail Sales (eMarketer)…

The Connected Local Economy: A New Way to Understand Innovation in Local

As a new generation of local technology companies approach the public markets, it’s critical for us to agree on what “local” actually means today — and how that differs from the its definition a decade ago.

What the Rise of Slack and HipChat Mean for Small Business

On the surface these messaging app seem to offer businesses better internal communication. In reality their value is rooted in real-time, contextual streams of business data within an environment that invites collaboration. That’s a fancy way of saying these are chat apps with loads of integrations…

Street Fight Daily: Verve Mobile Buys Beacon Startup, MindBody Files for IPO

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Mobile Wallets, Smart Coupons, And iBeacons: Verve Mobile Acquires Fosbury (VentureBeat)… Wellness Startup Mindbody Isn’t the Cure for This Ailing IPO Market (Pando)… Google’s Amazing Location-Aware Search Finds Answers About Nearby Places (Search Engine Land)…

With New Software, Apple Looks to Bring Together Local Search and Commerce

Apple showed off updates to its three operating systems Monday, announcing improvements to Apple Pay, Maps and Passbook that have implications for the local search and commerce sectors…

How 10 Top Media Execs Think About Audience and Engagement

Here are fresh, sometimes iconoclastic thoughts on how to engage modern audiences. They come from media executives who have demonstrated they know how to do it, and have been assembled by the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications…

Street Fight Daily: Apple’s New Software, Facebook Hands Out Beacons

A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… With New Software, Apple Looks to Bring Together Local Search and Commerce (Street Fight)… Facebook Is Handing Out Free Beacons to Retailers (Recode)… Google Capital-Backed Thumbtack Hit With Manual Action For Unnatural Links (Search Engine Land)…

Can Home Services Really Be Uber-ed?

Homeowners don’t “Uber” a $15,000 window replacement job. They don’t contract for a new sunroom on their mobile phone. And they don’t sign on for a $30,000 kitchen remodel without spending hours of real time with a designer and salesperson…

5 Ways Mobile Is Improving the In-Store Shopping Experience

Hyperlocal tech has the power to revolutionize the in-store shopping experience, but whether those changes ever come to fruition will depend largely on retailer adoption. Here are five examples of ways that hyperlocal technology is being utilized in stores right now…