News and Analysis

#SFSNYC: GroundTruth Turns On-the-Ground Data Into IRL Transactions

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When consumers visit physical stores, the likelihood that they will complete a purchase shoots up, especially in comparison to the likelihood they will make a purchase after visiting a digital site. “Visits lead to sales,” was the message of Hongzhe Sun of GroundTruth, one of the sponsors of Street Fight Summit in New York Wednesday.

#SFSNYC: May AI Help You? The Marketing Opportunities in Intelligent Search

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Artificial intelligence is the future of search engines. Increasingly conversational, intelligent, and visual, search engines are adapting to become the centerpiece of consumer engagement, as well as a virtually new tool for marketers. Purna Virji, senior manager for global engagement at Microsoft/Bing, broke down the AI revolution in search at Street Fight Summit Wednesday.

#SFSNYC: Investors on Billion-Dollar Opportunities in Local and Where to Find Them

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Long before startups become the “next big thing” the masses talk about, investors have an opportunity to use their wallets to weigh in on the prospects for those emerging companies. At Street Fight Summit Wednesday in New York, investors pointed to voice, VR and AR, and influencers as some hot topics in local investing right now.

Commentary

‘Enhanced’ Local Listings Could Be Even More Important on Mobile

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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…

Why Local Media Companies Must Practice ‘Self-Cannibalism’

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Instead of protecting our products, we should look instead to protecting our customers, their experiences, and our relationships with them. Never begin a discussion about the future with a focus on our products or services. What does the customer want and need, even if our existing products are not a part of the answer? The world is changing and it begins with empowered consumers…

How Does Yelp Make Money and Where Is It Going Next?

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Yelp combines the nimble and engineering-driven product focus of a Foursquare or Facebook, with the direct SMB sales of a YP. It’s a powerful combo that few companies have, and few people talk about in blogospheric proclamations of category killers…

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: Yodle Files for IPO, RetailNext Raises $30M

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technologyMarketing Software Company Yodle Files for IPO (Reuters)… RetailNext Raises Another $30 Million To Track In-Store Data (TechCrunch)… Lyft Expands Its Car Hailing Service to New York (New York Times)…

6 Marketing Automation Tools for Small Businesses

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Small business owners have enough on their plates, without having to manually manage repetitive marketing tasks. Here are six marketing automation systems that local merchants can use to build smarter local marketing campaigns…

Assessing Yelp’s New Messaging Functionality

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Yelp recently rolled out a new feature that allows consumers to send and receive instant messages and interact with local businesses that have claimed their business page. While this isn’t groundbreaking, it does put “social customer service” front-and-center on the reviews site…

Mobile Media Summit Chicago Speakers Announced

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The third-annual Mobile Media Summit Chicago is on July 29th at the exclusive Mid-American Club. The summit will bring together the biggest names in advertising and marketing to discuss how mobile is changing the media mix for hundreds of senior agency, media, brand and publisher executives. Click for more, plus a Street Fight discount…

Street Fight Daily: LivingSocial CFO Departs, New Features for Swarm

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technologyLivingSocial CFO to Depart; New CEO Due Soon (Recode)… Foursquare’s Swarm iOS App Gets Mayor Leaderboards, Easier Sharing, and More (The Next Web)…
88% Of Consumers Trust Online Reviews As Much As Personal Recommendations (SearchEngineLand)…

As Home Services Market Heats Up, Handybook COO Sees Big Opportunity

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Last month, Revolution, the venture firm helmed by Case as well as Groupon chairman Ted Leonisis, led a $30 million investment in Handybook, a company that helps people book housecleaners and other home service providers. Street Fight caught up with Umang Dua, co-founder of HandyBook, to talk about the company’s evolving competitive set and the growing speculation around Uber’s valuation…

Openings and New Hires at MatchCraft, Gannett, bizHive and Google

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Every two weeks, Search Influence’s Kelly Benish — who knows practically everyone in hyperlocal — covers some of the latest job changes taking place in this dynamic industry. In this week’s edition, moves and new openings at Euclid Media Twitter, Ping4, LiveIntent, Hibu and more…

Street Fight Daily: Google Plans Same-Day Delivery, Brands Eye App-Install Ads

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technologyInside Google’s Big Plan to Race Amazon To Your Door (Re/Code)… Matt Cutts, Google’s Head of Webspam, Is Going on Indefinite Leave — Publishers Likely Won’t Miss Him (PandoDaily)… Will Brand Dollars Ever Come to App-Install Ads? (AdAge)…

An Ex-Patcher Competes in Tim Armstrong’s Town

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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

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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…