Selling a City to Tourists Via Hyperlocal
There is an emerging opportunity for cities to subsidize hyperlocal marketing efforts through hyperlocal platforms. For example, a city agency could create a neighborhood-based promotion on top of mobile payment play LevelUp in which a visitor who shared that they say, ate lunch at a traditional tourist destination, could win a promotion to receive a free round trip train fare to a peripheral neighborhood if they ate dinner at a restaurant in the neighborhood…
Hyperlocals Need to Pay Attention to ‘Red Flags’ in User Content
Copyright law offers some immunity to hyperlocals for content uploaded by the user as long as the publisher had no knowledge — or became aware — that the content my violate the rights of others. What type of “red flags” create risks for the publisher recently was addressed in a hotly contested lawsuit filed by Viacom against YouTube…
Will Wash Post Take Another Run at Hyperlocal Under John Temple?
After crashing and burning in Northern Virginia’s highly competitive hyperlocal space in 2009, it appears that the Washington Post is again looking for a way to get back into the game in its local markets. The big, signifying tea leaf is the Post’s appointment of John Temple as managing editor for local news…
Why Do We Check In?
“I did not want to be mayor of my dentist’s office. Why did I even check in?” read a tweet posted last week by Digital First Media’s Steve Buttry. Buttry was echoing a thought that I’ve had a lot lately about my own habit of checking in to Foursquare: I don’t know exactly why I’m checking in, or what I get out of it — yet I do it anyway, usually several times per day.
Is Online Sports Video Content an Ideal Draw for Local Ads?
Local has long been regarded as the sleeping giant of digital advertising; a sector seemingly waiting for someone else to develop the ideal solution to help advertisers capitalize on its massive potential. In recent years, the broader media conversations have moved toward mobile and social — yet video has been proven to have the most upside for both local consumers and brand marketers…
Getting Consent Is Key for Hyperlocals Relying on Crowdsourced Content
Hyperlocal publishers must ensure that they secure rights from their contributors to use the content — and to make clear whether a contributor is entitled to compensation. Copyright law confers ownership of content on the original author of the content (except in employment circumstances where the publisher automatically owns the content). The copyright owner solely controls how the content may be distributed…
Social Travel Apps Use Foursquare, Facebook Data to Tell You Where to Go
Because many smartphone users are already collecting information about good bars, restaurants, and photos of tourist sites on their travels through location-based services, two new companies are compiling place information from your social media to create virtual travel guides form reviews based on input from people within your circle…
Smartphone Optimization Tips Every Hyperlocal Should Know
Mobile is the commanding new digital experience. App-rich smartphones are rapidly transforming our daily lives, and it’s become vital for publishers and media companies of all sizes to create mobile products that satisfy consumer demand. What does this all mean for hyperlocal news sites, which have largely been focused on perfecting the digital experience for the desktop? Amy Gahran, senior editor of Oakland Local, shares her insight…
With an Inherently Local Ad Base, Publishers Can Take the Mobile Lead
Local businesses already recognize the need to follow the eyeballs from traditional media to mobile, but they are looking for partners to facilitate the move. Publishers are that partner. They already have the relationships with local advertisers. They already are a trusted guide, their publications a reliable channel, and they’ve already bought into the value of mobile…
Why Don Draper Would Hate Hyperlocal
Many brands are still stuck in the days of Don Draper, failing to see that the potential for a lasting bond is even greater with hyperlocal (and delivers better ROI). Campaigns on services like LevelUp, LivingSocial or Tackable have more resonance precisely because they are tied to where you are. They tap into your good feelings around, say, your favorite pizza place, a connection that doesn’t require the same kind of shaping by big media or advertising mavens.
Carrier-Based Geo-Fencing Gives Brands the Power to Push
I’ve said all along that location-based marketing will only be truly successful in attracting significant ad dollars when we realize that it more than just a mobile marketing concept — and really much more about the integration of any media that has the ability to influence somebody in a specific place. It appears that some brands are getting the message…
Consumer Privacy in Focus as Regulators Zero in on Mobile
Jules Polonetsky, co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum, says that policy makers should not confuse their desire to protect consumers with legitimate passive use of smartphone data to provide core mobile services. Those functions include using tower triangulation to locate the device in order to provide the strongest signal, ensure critical mission flows, or help users find wifi connections…
After Shuttering, Village Soup Serves Up a Living Digital Legacy
Less than two weeks after Village Soup was abruptly shuttered, the print and digital mini-conglomerate of Midcoast Maine is being resurrected. The company’s new owner, Reade Brower, who publishes Midcoast’s Free Press, praised the Village Soup publications, and said he wanted to return them to the public as intact as possible.
Can Twitter Make Local Pay?
In the next few months, Twitter plans on rolling out tools to help local merchants buy tweets. Many local merchants that are already Twitter savvy are already tweeting deals and messages to their followers and responding to comments — so the obvious question is, will they pay for what they are getting for free? And how can Twitter add additional value for local merchants bombarded by marketing tools claiming to solve their problems.
How Pandora Is Winning Over Local Advertisers
Pandora recently announced it reached 400 local advertising campaigns in 2012. The figure represents a strong start in the company’s foray into local, although clearly it’s just a beginning. Street Fight spoke recently with John Hilton, the company’s executive director of sales strategy, communication & development, about the challenges of selling Pandora to local merchants…