News and Analysis
Location Targeting Presents Opportunity to Capitalize on Growing Memorial Day Spending
With eight-in-10 U.S. adults now planning to spend an average of $486 over the holiday weekend, Vistar and MFour found that Memorial Day weekend has become one of the most popular shopping holidays of the year.
NinthDecimal Launches Toolset to Identify True Growth Metrics
The omnichannel marketing platform NinthDecimal announced major changes to its measurement platform this morning, as it launches new KPIs designed to provide insights into what’s driving customer growth and acquisition for brands.
SMB OS Operators, Part III: Booker
Recently acquired by MindBody, Booker has been living out the principles of SMB OS long before we started calling it that. In this interview, Booker CEO Josh McCarter explains how his business helps SMBs go beyond typical marketing tactics to attract and keep customers coming back.
Commentary
Using Geotargeting to Follow the Consumer from Desktop to Aisle
The choice of a location-based solution should depend on what message marketers want to convey to whom and when, along with how much consumer contact and engagement they want. As consumers continue to demand the ability to shop on their own terms and the local shopping experience becomes even more entrenched in the buying psyche, retailers will need a three-pronged digital strategy with a strong geotargeting component to be competitive…
The Localization of the Enterprise
Organizations are decentralizing and adapting to consumer hardware cycles by storing data in the cloud and utilizing software services without deployments. Tech capability dictated by employees is a seismic shift that will forever change the world of technology. We’re going to see a similar shift in marketing: the localization of the enterprise…
Facebook Nearby and the Mobilization of Local
At long last, Facebook has made a serious move in the local space, and Nearby now recommends local businesses based on your friends’ likes and check-ins as well as your proximity to general business listings. I can’t think of a better or a more timely summation of what’s happened in local search during the past year…
Latest Posts
In Run-Up to IPO, Yodle Makes Its Bet on Local Marketing Automation
Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported that local marketing firm Yodle was shopping for banks to underwrite a potential public offering. In an interview with Street Fight, Court Cunningham, chief executive at Yodle, declined to comment on the reports, but talked about the the evolution of the small business marketing space, the rise of local marketing automation, and the subsequent push by these companies to bundle services into an integrated product…
Microsoft Research Project Tells You What a Neighborhood Is Thinking
HereHere, which launched earlier this year, profiles the 42 neighborhoods in New York City by collecting publicly available 311 data to reveal the most talked-about issues in the boroughs. By entering their zip code, a user can interact with an animated map displaying the neighborhood’s statuses, seeing updates like “delighted” or “uncomfortable.”
Street Fight Daily: Twitter Buys Gnip, Google Developing Microcamera Contact Lens
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… 
Twitter Embraces Its Data and Buys Gnip (GigaOm)… Google’s Microcamera Contact Lens Is Coming to an Eyeball Near You (Time)… Seeking Growth, The Payments Industry Embraces New Technologies (TechCrunch)…
Facebook’s Levy: ‘No Singular Event’ Triggered Decline in Businesses’ Organic Reach
According to multiple reports, the social networking company has “slashed organic page reach,” reducing the number of users which can see a business’s photos, posts, and updates. In a wide ranging interview with Street Fight, Dan Levy, director of small business at Facebook, talks about the decline organic reach for businesses, the evolving relationship between marketer and consumer, and the company’s unique challenge of managing 25 million business clients…
7 Tools for Re-activating Dormant Customers
The cost of acquiring a new customer is five times higher than the cost to keep an existing one, which is one of the reasons why businesses of all sizes are beefing up their loyalty programs and using social media to keep fans engaged. But what about customers who’ve fallen off the bandwagon — those whose accounts have gone dormant after not coming in for a period of weeks or months?
Street Fight Daily: Facebook Eyes Mobile Payments, Microsoft Supports Passbook
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Facebook Moves Deeper Into Mobile Payments (Financial Times)… Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8.1 Update Supports Apple Passbook Passes (TechCrunch)… A Silicon Valley Disater: A 21-Year-Old Stanford Kid Got $30 Million, Then Everything Blew Up (Business Insider) …
The New Patch: One Site’s ‘Entrepreneurial’ Editor on the First 60 Days
Patch, under its new owner Hale Global, is experimenting with new approaches for structuring and operating hyperlocal news sites, which, in general, have a reputation for losing money. One experiment is creating entrepreneurial editor-publishers for sites in the strongest markets. Sixty days into the experiment, longtime reporter Susan Petroni, explains her new dual role at the Framingham, Mass., Patch…
6 Strategies for Maximizing the Effects of Pay-Per-Call Campaigns
Pay-per-call campaigns may not be sexy, but they have proven to be extremely effective for both small businesses and large multi-location organizations. Particularly in “high-value categories” like professional services, home services, travel, insurance, and automotive, phone leads can be more valuable than online clicks or impressions. Here are six strategies that merchants should utilize to maximize the effects of their pay-per-call campaigns…
Street Fight Daily: Google Tracks Offline Purchases, Alibaba Buys Mapping Firm
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Tests a Way to Follow You to the Mall (Wall Street Journal)…. Alibaba to Acquire Chinese Mapping Firm as Buying Spree Continues (New York Times)… Digital First Names David J. Butler Its Editor-in-Chief (Poynter)…
Openings and New Hires at ReachLocal, Main Street Hub, Digital First
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, new hires and jobs at Hulu, Company Town, Angie’s List, Factual, Search Influence, and Facebook…
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Meta Is Automating Ads, But Brands Still Face a Bigger Problem