News and Analysis
Street Culture: Techstars Co-CEO on Coaching Startups to Define Culture
“I think that culture is one of the few problems that you have to address before they’re problems,” says TechStars co-founder and co-CEO David Brown. “If you’re struggling to figure out how to grow sales, you can wait until sales are in trouble and still turn it around. But if you wait until you’re in trouble with culture, it’s really hard to turn that boat.”
Commentary
How Long Will Local Web Video Be Held Hostage by the ’30-Second Spot’?
The 30-second spot will be the ruin of those in local media who shift this old television workhorse to the Web. Local media companies rarely run anything less than 30 seconds, because that’s what advertisers want to buy, but this is a grave error — it spits in the face of the one who has clicked through to watch a short video…
How Marketers Can Help Merchants and Consumers Win With Local Search
For the sake of local businesses and local searchers, marketers need to come to the rescue. vSplash estimates that there is a $3.2 billion opportunity for local marketers to help clean up local search and help local businesses with their digital marketing efforts. And in that number there is some low-hanging fruit — especially for marketers that already have a foothold in local markets…
‘Enhanced’ Local Listings Could Be Even More Important on Mobile
Enhanced listing services appeal to many SMBs and local brands because they are a holistic advertising medium that goes beyond the basic banner or text ad — not only do they stand out against free listings and hold the user’s attention, but they also drive conversion and social interaction at higher rates. But most sites currently lack unique enhanced listing features specific to mobile…
Latest Posts
An Ex-Patcher Competes in Tim Armstrong’s Town
Leslie Yager, who in three years rose from freelance writer for Aol’s Patch to the local editor of the network’s Norwalk and Wilton sites, was terminated in January as part of the company’s sale to Hale Global. She turned around and, days later, launched her own news site which is already a strong competitor in her former boss’s town…
Case Study: Using Hyperlocal to Get Around Franchise Marketing Restrictions
Rather than feeling stifled by T-Mobile’s promotion restrictions, Robert Keyser, A-1 Wireless’ director of sales and operation, says he challenged himself to find a local marketing solution that would fit. T-Mobile was willing to approve his use of LoyalBlocks because the company didn’t feel that the platform would hurt their brand…
Street Fight Daily: Snapchat’s Local Play, Bonobos Raises $50M For Brick-and-Mortar
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Snapchat goes local: Firm Tests Secret ‘Stickers’ for Popular Locations (DailyMail)… Bonobos Gets $55 Million Investment to Open More Clothing Stores for Dudes (Recode)… In 2014 More Money Will Be Spent on Mobile Ads Than Newspapers, Magazines and Radio (Pando)
POS Startup Shows Cashiers Pictures of Customers Who Check-in
Revel Systems, a San Francisco-based company that makes point-of-sale software, will now notify businesses when someone has checked-in to their venue on Yelp or Foursquare. The feature offers a way to help businesses take a more proactive approach to engaging a vocal minority of users who actively share their opinions…
Unlocking the Power of Passive In-Store Data Analytics
In the world of indoor location analytics there are two types for data collection: active and passive. Retailers have embraced active data via apps and are now testing beacons — but they should also consider the value that passive location data brings to the overall understanding of consumer behavior in-store…
Street Fight Daily: Village Voice Nears Strike, eBay Kills Small Business Product
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology…. Village Voice employees set strike deadline after negotiations break down (Poynter)… eBay Confirms Shutdown of Small-Business E-Commerce Software Products (Recode)… An Upper Limit For Apps? New Data Suggests Consumers Only Use Around Two Dozen Apps Per Month (TechCrunch)…
In OpenTable Deal, Signs of Deeper Convergence in Travel and Local
Two recent acquisitions by Priceline and TripAdvisor offer an early look into a logic that could drive a more comprehensive consolidation of the travel and local technology sectors. Many of the structures built to help visitors navigate new cities — and implicitly for marketers to reach tourists — might quickly become obsolete…
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