News and Analysis
Street Fight Daily: Legacy Retailers Struggle on Social, Insecurity Over Consumer Location Data
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… Can Traditional Clothing Retailers Compete with Digital-Native Brands on Instagram?… SweetIQ Report Highlights Influence of Local Tech on Media Mix… Consumers’ Location Data Is Being Sold Without Their Knowledge…
Commentary
How to Market to Local Moms
As publishers of websites for suburban moms and advocates for the main street merchants trying to woo them, we spend a lot of time thinking about what matters to the maternally minded. Since women are responsible for 85% of household purchases, reaching the “Chief Household Operator” is a key objective for most local merchants. While these tips are squarely directed at local business owners, many apply to hyperlocal news and blogs as well…
Latest Posts
How Reviews and Ratings are Driving Local Search
Despite the tremendous amount of press we have seen on fake reviews, ongoing interest in reviews by consumers and local search providers make it clear that these services aren’t going away. As platforms give reviews more importance and improve their ability to filter out fake ones — and government officials crack down on dishonest practices — consumer trust and use of reviews can only be expected to grow. This trend will continue to increase the impact they have on local businesses…
5 Signs That It’s Time for Your Hyperlocal Company to Pivot
The majority of hyperlocal startups will pivot at least once in their lifetimes. Many will pivot two or even three times. But as a founder who’s looking to steer his or her company in the right direction, it can be difficult to determine whether to keep plowing forward with an original concept or go a new direction. Here are five signs that it’s time for your hyperlocal startup to pivot, from industry leaders who’ve been there before…
#SFSNYC VIDEO: How Big Data Is Revolutionizing Retail
In a panel at Street Fight Summit in New York last month, experts from the retail analytics space explored the ways big data is transforming the retail industry. Wesley Barrow, CRO at Nomi and Alexei Agratchev, CEO at RetailNext talked about how retailers can maximize profit from the moment a shopper walks into their store. Meanwhile, Larry Promisel, SVP Digital Commerce at Camuto Group, offered the retailer’s perspective, saying that while privacy is concerning for retailers, the overall benefit of creating the better experience a customer wants outweighs those concerns…
Street Fight Daily: Google Adds Review Dashboard, Ads Enter The Car
“A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing commerce, and technology… Google Gives Business Owners A Single Place Online To See All Their Customers’ Reviews (TechCrunch)… Harman, Placecast Test In-car Radio Ads That Know Where You Are (GigaOm)… Uber Customer Claims Abuse And Assault By Driver. Uber Confirms: Yes, He Works For Us (PandoDaily)…
Shopkick, iBeacon and the Future of In-Store Tech
Thanks to a number of new technologies — namely, Bluetooth LE and Apple’s iBeacon protocol — in-store location is entering a new phase in its maturity. There are still a number of wrinkles in the technology to iron out — first and foremost, making it work across devices — but the new generation of beacons solve many of the issues that have traditionally limited in-store tech. Here’s where we are and what to expect…
ARLnow Expands to Third Community in Metro D.C. – Reston, Va.
Independent hyperlocal publisher Scott Brodbeck has launched a third digital news publication in the suburbs of metro Washington, D.C. His new RestonNow serves a thriving, nationally recognized planned community that was built from scratch on farmland in Northern Virginia’s Fairfax County…
Street Fight Daily: The War For Delivery, Facebook and Small Businesses
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology… In War for Same-Day Delivery, Racing Madly to Go Last Mile (New York Times)… The Future of Facebook Ad Revenue: Small Businesses (Mashable)… Nordstrom Will Use Pinterest To Decide What Merchandise To Display In Stores (Business Insider)…
Study Finds That Facebook Ads May Bolster Paid Search Performance
A new study from Kenshoo finds that advertising on Facebook may bolster the performance of existing paid search marketing campaigns. The research, funded partly by Facebook, found that users who saw an ad on Facebook and then made a purchase via a paid search link spent nearly a quarter more than those who were not exposed to the same ad…
Beyond Likes: Win Hearts with Emotional Marketing