Constant Contact Rolls Out Digital Coupons for SMBs
Email marketing giant Constant Contact has rolled out a new coupon feature as part of its growing online marketing tools platform. The new service makes it possible for small businesses to offer discounts based on a given set of criteria such as increasing revenue and attracting long-term customers, within a single integrated resource…
Constant Contact Rolls Out New Features For Contact Management Platform
Constant Contact has upgraded its contact management platform, integrating the platform with its suite of online marketing tools. Additions to this platform include the ability to monitor growth tactics as well as enabling small businesses to expand their engagement with a “did not open” email report…
Case Study: Using a Card-Linked Loyalty Program to Gain Customer Insights
In an effort to separate her upscale resale boutique from competitors in the area, Karma Couture business manager Sarah Kirinsky has started working with vendors like Swipely, PunchTab, Constant Contact, and Perfect Audience. She uses the platforms to reward loyalty, host online giveaways, and retarget existing customers with email newsletters and exclusive offers…
Street Fight Daily: Massive Layoffs at CityGrid, FTC Expands Regulations On Location Data
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology… IAC’s CityGrid, Parent Of CitySearch And Urbanspoon, Lays Off Two-Thirds Of Staff, As Local Ad Push Bites(TechCrunch)… FTC Updates COPPA With New Restrictions On Location Data (AdExchanger)… Is Yelp A Bully Or Just Misunderstood? (BuzzFeed)…
Street Fight Daily: Google Maps to Get Overhaul, PlaceIQ Raises $6.75M
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Google Maps To Get A Major Design Overhaul (SearchEngineLand)… PlaceIQ Raises $6.75 Million To Serve You Ads Based On Your Location (PlaceIQ)… Yelp and the Wisdom of “The Lonely Crowd” (The New Yorker)…
What Will It Take to Make Self-Serve Ad Platforms Work for SMBs?
Self-serve advertising platforms have been seen as a potential lynchpin for creating successful hyperlocal business models —potentially bringing down the cost of merchant acquisition to the point where serious profit can be made. But self-serve is easier proposed than done. We asked a few different leaders in the local marketing space what they think will be the key to establishing a self-serve model that works…
Study: 82% of SMBs Use Facebook for Marketing, 25% Use Twitter
“Facebook remains the dominant platform because it simply has more active users than any other social network,” Mark Schmulen, general manager of social media at Constant Contact, told Street Fight. “It effectively offers marketers the biggest potential reach to engage with customers. In addition, Facebook is a more mature marketing platform, offering marketers highly targeted advertising products and customizable brand pages that enable them to run promotions like sweepstakes, coupons, and user-generated contests.”
Street Fight Daily: Google Expands Local Delivery, Hiring in Hyperlocal
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Google Starts Testing Google Shopping Express In SF, With Free Delivery From Target, Walgreens, Staples And More (TechCrunch)… Apple Hiring ‘Ground Truth’ Managers To Improve Maps (Search Engine Land)… Did Poor Collaboration Lead To The Termination Of NYU’s Blog With The New York Times? (NYU Local)…
Street Fight Daily: Groupon to Stick with Model, Retailigence Nabs $6.3M
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal content, commerce, and technology.… Groupon CFO: No Changes to Business Model (Wall Street Journal)… Local Search Update for Google Maps iOS Could Hurt Yelp (Venture Beat)… Retailigence Bags $6.3M for Online-to-Offline Marketing (Vator News)…
Case Study: Pizza Chain Finds New Ways to Build Email Database
As the director of marketing at Stone Hearth Pizza in Boston, Alex Chamberlain is always on the lookout for ways to grow her email database. She’s found that the best way to acquire new email addresses is by requiring customers to input their contact information when redeeming limited-time deals and promotions…
5 Ways Small Businesses Can Grow Their Email Marketing Lists
Many businesses struggle with finding ways to grow their email marketing lists, especially businesses that haven’t developed methods for acquiring their customers’ contact information during transactions that occur at the point of sale. Here are five tips from email marketing experts about how merchants can grow their marketing lists and deliver more effective email messages…
Case Study: Boston Tattoo Shop Uses Deals to Build Email Database
At Stingray Body Art in Boston, events and promotions manager Adam Femino takes a more-is-more approach to hyperlocal marketing. In the past few years, Femino has used digital platforms like Groupon, LevelUp, and Privy to acquire new customers, promote brand awareness, and grow his company’s email database…
Study: Positive Daily Deal Experiences Don’t Ensure Repeat Business
A new study of why consumers use daily deals paints a pleasant picture for local merchants looking to get new customers in the door — but it remains to be seen if they can get those customers to keep coming back. The study also concludes that more than one-third of consumers are more eager to buy deals from local, small-to-medium sized business as opposed to big, national brands.
Five 360-Degree Marketing Platforms for SMBs
One way that SMBs can cut down on the time they spend creating and managing their hyperlocal marketing campaigns is by signing up for a 360-degree platform that brings many of the most popular digital marketing tools under one roof. Here are five comprehensive platforms that small businesses can use to streamline their online marketing efforts…
6 Email Marketing Tools for Hyperlocal Publishers
By sending out email newsletters with links to the most important stories of the day, hyperlocal publishers can help their content go viral and build a loyal readership with low acquisition costs. Here are six email marketing platforms with built-in tools to help online publishers automate the process of creating and publishing daily email newsletters, as well as other important marketing materials…
Selling Local Is Hard — Here’s What You Need to Do to Make It Work
For the past couple of months I’ve been testing a new targeted local online advertising product as part of my fellowship project at the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute.The test has been essentially to sell the product to regional businesses within a given market. And at the end of the two-month trial, after calling on more than 150 businesses multiple times, I have a much greater appreciation not only for local salespeople but for the brands in the marketplace that can sell local…