News and Analysis

From DNAinfo’s Ashes, Three News Vets Are Launching Their Phoenix in Chicago

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The site’s non-billionaire founders aim to succeed with a radically different revenue strategy from their DNAinfo alma mater — their plan for domination does not include advertising. In this Q & A, director of strategy Jen Sabella tells how she and her partners are mapping a new way to make local news work.

Street Fight Daily: How to Spark Engagement on Instagram, DNAinfo Vets Launch New Pub

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal publishing, marketing, commerce, and technology… The Guardian’s Instagram Strategy is Winning New Readers… Ad Agencies Expect to Stand By Facebook As It Loses Younger Users… Snap Finally Gives Influencers Data on Their Followers’ Engagement…

Snap Opens Its API to All Brands, Agencies, and Tech Firms

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The company is providing open access to its marketing API, a move that will allow brands, agencies, and marketing technology firms to explore advertising on the social platform more freely.

Commentary

Daily Deals Industry Moving Into Consolidation Mode

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With over 600 companies currently in the daily deals space in the U.S., industry consolidation is bound to occur — with larger companies buying up smaller rivals while other competitors go belly up. To find out more about what to expect in the deals space, Street Fight recently spoke with two industry watchers from local media adviser BIA/Kelsey…

The iPhone 4S: A Local Voice

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Apple’s integration of voice search system Siri into the iPhone 4S operating system has clear implications for local search. Mobile voice search could skew local because of the propensity to use voice when out and about and in “lean forward” mode where local commercial intent is high…

Getting Your Mobile Ad Performance Model Right

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With so much activity (and spending) pouring into mobile advertising, there is also a growing demand for new measurement tools. Local SMBs – moreso than even big advertisers – want tangible performance results that demonstrate pre-sales and sales activity…

Latest Posts

Street Fight Daily: LivingSocial ‘Ashamed and Embarrassed,’ Foursquare Loses Product Head

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology“Ashamed and Embarrassed” LivingSocial Says Ongoing 30-Hour Outage Should End Overnight (AllThingsD)… Foursquare’s Head Of Product Checks Out Of Company (CNet)… No Plastic, No Problem: Square Does Away With Deposit Limits For U.S. Businesses (GigaOm)…

Why Local Marketers Need to Start Thinking About Their Instagram Strategy

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Instagram presents an unparalleled opportunity to build and share a brand — to show a different side by leveraging this highly visual medium. Plus, the rate of customer engagement is off the charts compared to other social channels. What most marketers don’t realize, though, is that Instagram is also a local marketing channel. The reason for this knowledge gap is that, unlike Facebook and Twitter, Instagram is very difficult to manage natively…

Conference Notebook: Taking Uber Beyond Taxis, Kittens and Ice Cream

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Don’t worry OpenTable. Uber isn’t going to start booking tables — at least, not yet. During an interview at the Business Insider Ignition Conference in New York on Thursday, the company’s chief executive, Travis Kalanick, ruled out markets like hotels and restaurant reservations that do not involve delivery as potential areas of expansion for the on-demand service while hinting at a future beyond the taxi industry…

Digby VP: The Next Generation of Retail Apps Will Change Everything

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The Austin-based Digby is trying to help retailers adapt. The company’s Localpoint product, which has worked with a number of major national retailers including Kohl’s and Cabela’s, helps retailers serve offers and discounts to customers in their homes and offices, as they approach the store and within the store. Street Fight sat down with Eric Newman, Vice President of Products and Marketing at Digby to learn more about how retailers can develop richer location aware apps to speak to consumers in a relevant way and drive in-store visits…

Street Fight Daily: Airbnb Rethinks Mobile, Foursquare’s New Partner

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technologyAirbnb Makes Listing Lodging All Mobile (USA Today)… Verizon Extends NFL Play to Foursquare Ads (AdWeek)… Apple Maps Takes Off: Cue The Antitrust Lawsuit? (ReadWrite)…

How To Use Location To Find Black Friday Shoppers on Mobile

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Retailers in the U.S. will debut their Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving this year, in an attempt to expand the annual buying binge, which accounted for $11.1 billion in sales last year, by a few more hours. For one-time events where consumers often break habitual patterns, a consumer’s proximity to a store may not be the best indicator of intent. But a deeper look into where shoppers go in the past may tell a more compelling story for marketers, according to new research from location analytics firm Placed…

Selling Search to Small Businesses

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It’s no secret that national brands are investing heavily in local marketing and small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) are feeling the increased competitive pinch. After all, there are only so many people looking for a given product or service in one’s neighborhood. But while national brands will likely continue to dominate TV, print and radio advertising, digital marketing offers SMBs a rare opportunity to compete with national brands on equal footing…

Street Fight Daily: How Google Maps Lost, Groupon’s Risky Initiative

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A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technologyApple Maps: How Google Lost When Everyone Thought It Had Won (Guardian)… The Risky Groupon Initiative That Beat Back LivingSocial Perhaps Once and for All (AllThingsD)… American Express Teams Up With Mightybell To Connect Small Businesses With Each Other Locally (TechCrunch)…

Handybook Co-Founder: The Key To Scaling Local Is Great Service

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Mobile bookings services are on the rise as consumers look to use their smartphones to do more than find information about local businesses. Enter Handybook, a New York-based technology company that allows users to book household services on its site and app. Street Fight recently spoke with Umang Dua, Handybook’s co-founder, to find out more about the consumer services space and Handybook’s plans to impact the way customers book household services…

6 Tools to Track the Real World Impact of Online Ads

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The percentage of companies that analyze online-to-offline interactions is steadily growing — reaching 48% in 2013, according to Econsultancy. As interest grows, hyperlocal vendors are rising to the occasion and refining the metrics they provide. Here are six tools that businesses can use to track the real world impact of their online ads…