News and Analysis
Retailers Use AI for In-Store Experimentation, Customer Service
Brick-and-mortar retailers are looking for an edge in their fight against the e-commerce behemoths, and as the battle rages on, it’s looking like artificial intelligence might be the answer.
Street Fight Daily: Google Revamps Maps, Echo’s Market Share Slides as Speaker War Heats Up
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Google Maps Platform Arrives, Changing the Game for Developers… Amazon Echo Losing Market Share as Smart Speaker Rivalry Intensifies… Square’s Loss Widens As Spending Picks Up…
Who’s Using Local AR? And How Often?
According to a recent survey, AR users like what they see, with a whopping 73% reporting high or very high satisfaction. But non-users report explicit disinterest, with the biggest reason being the rather daunting “just not interested.” This presents a big hill for AR app developers to climb.
Commentary
Should Local Publishers Really Try to Morph Into Marketers?
Publishers can make the transition from a publishing company to a marketing solutions company. But to do so is not just about developing a new product offering — it’s a change in the industry they are in. That doesn’t mean they can’t still have a newsroom or produce content. But it does mean content won’t be the focus…
Reputation Management: Making the Connection with Small Businesses
Now that everyone has a timeline of online activities going back several years — one that family members, prospective employers, and potential life partners are looking at and judging us by — we have all become public figures to an extent, and at the same time we’ve had to transform ourselves into hall monitors of our own online activities. So why hasn’t reputation management become a de facto part of every small business marketing plan?
Where Do Business Listings Come From?
At some point in the future, local data must become purely digital, because the phone book will not be around forever. But until a critical mass of U.S. businesses understands the rationale for managing online data, this fundamental problem will continue. We need the concerted effort of all local search players to educate the local business community and advocate for the transition to digital data…
Latest Posts
Location, Relevancy, and the Search for Personalization
Marketers today have access to an unprecedented amount of data about consumers and their environment that go well beyond location, ranging from their demographics and shopping behavior to the time of day and weather. However, local marketers continue to fail to leverage this throve of new data to create and deliver relevant, quality and personalized ads to consumers. And it’s a big missed opportunity…
3 Key Trends That Are Transforming Local Online Marketing
Small businesses face increasing marketing complexity driven by more fragmented media outlets and more online channels, and a vast array of marketing technology that is supposed to “help” them simplify this dynamic. SMBs are being forced to rethink where they advertise and how to stay in touch with existing loyal customers….
Street Fight Daily: Airport Tracks Travelers, Yahoo Looks to Contextual Search
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.…At Newark Airport, the Lights Are On, and They’re Watching You
(New York Times)… More on Mayer’s Search Plans for Yahoo: The “Three S’s” and Slipping Through a Microsoft Loophole (Recode)… Apple’s IDFA Crackdown Reverberates Through Mobile Ad Ecosystem (AdExchanger)…
6 Ways Merchants Can Encourage Customers to Complete Mobile Transactions
Just 3% of SMBs in the U.S. have websites that can handle mobile transactions, according to a recent survey by hibu and Impact Research. One of the reasons why merchants have been reluctant to adopt the right tools for dealing with mobile transactions is because they don’t understand what’s in it for them. Here are ideas for local merchants who are interested in how they can encourage more customers to complete transactions via mobile…
Street Fight Daily: Baseball Bets on Beacons, Square Ramps Up Salesforce
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.… Major League Baseball Completes iBeacon Installation at First Two Ballparks (Recode)… Square Cuts More Custom Pricing Deals For Merchants And Ramps Up Sales Hiring (TechCrunch)… On-Demand Ride-Sharing Startup Lyft Is Raising Another Big Round Of Funding (TechCrunch)…
Could a Hybrid Model Scale Community News and Keep the Passion?
Neither big media nor independent journalistic entrepreneurs have succeeded in finding a scalable model for hyperlocal news and information. So why couldn’t we try a hybrid approach that adopts what’s best about each? It begins with editor-publishers who have a passionate commitment to community, and would be balanced by a scaled business model that will pay attention to cost curves and be open to new revenue opportunities…
Openings & New Hires at CO Everywhere, PlaceIQ, and LiveIntent
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, jobs at AOL, Yahoo, Google, VendAsta and Ballantine Communications.
LBMA Podcast: PlaceIQ, Dwango, Nokia and Blue Bite
On the show: The topt stories during the past week in location and contextual based marketing including stories from Microsoft, Foursquare, Shopcloud, Ryerson, NTT and Dwango, ShopRite and PayNearMe. Our mobile minute with Chuck Martin examines what 77% of consumers want in return for their location data. Our app of the week is Spo.tt Messenger.
Street Fight Daily: Fashion Retailer Tests iBeacon, Local’s Most Innovative Companies
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology.… Fashion Retailer Tries on Apple’s iBeacon for Size (Street Fight)… The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Local (Fast Coppany)… Uber Car-Hailing App Expands in China’s Congested Market
(Wall Street Journal)…
5 Tools Merchants Can Use to Serve Targeted Promotional Offers on Twitter
Small business owners know that Twitter can be a useful tool for marketing, but many are unsure of where to begin when it comes to serving up paid promotional offers on the popular social channel. With its own unique language and tools, Twitter is a foreign land to many SMBs. For marketers who take the risk, however, the rewards can be great. A number of hyperlocal vendors are stepping in with platforms that bridge the gap for SMBs looking for more strategic ways to target consumers on Twitter…
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