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What Local Publishers Can Learn From Starbucks
Publishers shouldn’t think about “what thing” they should do to make money, but rather “what experience am I delivering and how can I extend that experience thoughtfully?” If something adds value for readers, adds value for advertisers, and strengthens your other efforts then you should be doing it today…
How Online Review Sites Can Regain Consumers’ Trust
As long as there are economic incentives to create bogus reviews, unscrupulous people and businesses will continue to exploit the platforms that make it easy to deceive. For the local players seeking to help users in selecting a great business, use the offline world as a guide. Require an identity, build communities of real people sharing advice, and give legitimate customers a megaphone to honestly rate the service received…
Is Groupon’s Deal Marketplace Undermining Merchants?
It has been my understanding that the purpose of daily deals is purely customer acquisition — to bring in new customers, not to target your existing ones. With the new marketplace focus, however, it seems as though this is no longer the case. I recently did a search for some of Groupon’s top NYC marketplace offers and I found that the company seems to be cannibalizing the local businesses’ existing customers by using Google AdWords to bid on nearly every Marketplace deal’s local business name…
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Six Months After Spin-Off, Gimbal Continues to Grow
It’s been a busy few months for Gimbal, the beacon company formerly owned by Qualcomm. After being spun off from the tech giant in May, the company went on a hiring spree, bringing its team to more than 30 employees. Then earlier this month, the company entered into its first big partnership with push notification company Urban Airship…
Street Fight Daily: Foursquare’s First Brand Campaign, Apple Pay Arrives
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Foursquare’s First Brand Campaign Takes a Foodie Approach (AdWeek)… Google Releases Penguin 3.0 — First Penguin Update In Over A Year (Search Engine Land)… Square Encircled as Apple, PayPal Aim for Mobile Payments (Businessweek)…
How One Gannett Paper Is Reacting After ‘Slow Slide’ From Cost Cutting
In August of this year, the entire editorial staff at the Asheville Citizen-Times was required to apply for re-employment in a reorganization with new job descriptions. Executive Editor Josh Awtry told readers: “It would have been easier to change nothing in the way we operate … but we weren’t ready to accept that fate.” Here, Awtry details for Street Fight his team’s major changes…
Street Fight Daily: ApplePay on the iPad, Groupon’s Chairman Opens Up
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…… Apple Pay Is Coming To The iPad (Business Insider)… Groupon Chairman Ted Leonsis: ‘I Kind Of Fell In Love With Company’s Challenges’ (Chicago Tribune)… Google Profit Will Depend on Wringing More From Mobile Ads (New York Times)…
Raising Social Capital Is a Key to Small Business Marketing
One of the most tangible ways for small businesses, chambers, and trade organizations to build social capital is to raise funds for their community. Crowdfunding opens up a collaboration between the business community (the sponsors) and the nonprofits, by reframing the decision to contribute from management to the crowd…
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AI Is Breaking Down Data Silos — Without Breaking Privacy