TripAdvisor Buys Listings, Menu Management Company SinglePlatform
As SinglePlatform’s name suggests, the acquisition is a sign of changing and challenging times for search-related internet businesses. Facing pressure from a Google juggernaut that is increasingly mapping out any imaginable search experience on its own properties, digital services that connect consumers with restaurants or places to visit when traveling are consolidating, aiming to offer holistic information that keeps searchers coming back.
Good Uncle’s Cerilli: ‘We Could Change the Face of Franchising’
If Wiley Cerilli’s new venture has its way, geography won’t be as limiting a factor in determining who has access to gourmet food and celebrated dishes from famous chefs. The company, which recently raised $2.2 million, will launch this fall in smaller cities and towns, linking local populations to big-city food via a mobile app and delivery service.
5 Tools for Publishing Product Inventory on Social Media
Small business owners are pulling out all the stops to drive traffic to their social media pages, but many aren’t giving enough thought as to what happens once people have agreed to “like” or “follow” their businesses online. Here are five tools that businesses can try to spur further engagement…
Here’s What A Good Lead Looks Like in Local
Radius uses the core technology developed at Fwix — a system for aggregating and structuring the billion of references to places across the web — to track the activity of local businesses, and then packages the information in a business intelligence product for firms looking to sell to local businesses. Street Fight recently caught up with Darian Shirazi, the company’s founder, to discuss the digital traits of a great prospect and who’s winning (and losing) in the local marketplace…
A Year After Big Scores by SinglePlatform and Yext, Locu Makes a Quiet Push
It’s been nearly a year since Yext announced a massive round of funding and SinglePlatform sold to Constant Contact within a week each other, and the value proposition for a real-time data and content network continues gain steam. As both firms put that capital to use, a third company, Locu, is trying to carve out its own share of the market with a similar model and sizable — albeit smaller — stack of cash…
Study: 81% of Consumers Search for Restaurants on Mobile Apps
A new report released by SinglePlatform and Chadwick Martin Bailey finds that more consumers have searched for a restaurant on their web browser in the past six months than have done so on a mobile app. Meanwhile, 75 percent of consumers said they were more likely to dine at a restaurant based on the results of their searches…
In Lead-Up to Expansion, SinglePlatform Adds Yelp to Publisher Network
SinglePlatform has added Yelp (and its 100 million unique users) to the network of local publishers across which the company distributes business and product information — namely, menus — from its base of local merchants. The partnership is a coup for Constant Contact, which snapped up SinglePlatform for $100 million last summer, as it looks to begin the process of introducing the product to its existing customer base over the next few months…
Yext Expands into Rich Content With Expanded Listings
Yext has rolled out a new feature called Power Listings +, which brings rich content lists to its existing Power Listings product. Businesses can now syndicate staff bios, event calendars, and product availability information in real time across a network of search engines, mapping services, and mobile apps as part of their existing subscription.
7 Tools Restaurants Can Use to Post Menus Online
Menus are among the first things that a customer looks at when trying to decide which restaurant to visit, and restaurants with outdated menus on their websites — or even worse, no menus at all — are likely to be passed over by consumers. A number of marketing platforms have stepped in with solutions that make it easier for busy restaurateurs to publish and update their menus online. Here are seven popular options…
Transaction Overview: Constant Contact Acquires SinglePlatform
While a clear strategic fit, Constant Contact made a bold financial move with this acquisition. Valuation paid is clearly based on the expectation of strong revenue growth in 2013 and beyond as well as the strategic value of SinglePlatform’s products and customer and publisher relationships…
Constant Contact Snaps Up SinglePlatform for $65 Million
Constant Contact announced this morning that it has snapped up Single Platform, a service that allows businesses to manage their online presence, for $65 million in cash. The New York-based startup’s solution, which began primarily as a way for restaurants to digitize and publish menus, will be integrated into Constant Contact’s local marketing suite…
7 Strategies for Creating Effective Mobile Websites
Savvy marketers are ramping up their mobile offerings in an effort to generate attention from the 51% of consumers who say they’re more likely to purchase from retailers with mobile-specific sites. There are some basic principles that marketers large and small can follow to ensure their mobile sites generate the greatest ROI possible. Here are seven tips from experts in the mobile marketing industry about what small business owners should keep in mind.
5 Online Marketing Strategies Every Restaurateur Should Know About
Creating an effective online marketing campaign isn’t always a simple task — especially for restaurant owners that are used to focusing the majority of their time and energy on what’s happening in the kitchen. In recent years, a number of hyperlocal platforms have stepped in to make it easier for independent restaurateurs to develop websites, manage social media, and cultivate better relationships with their customers online…
SinglePlatform Expands With YP.com Partnership
When you go to YP.com now, you can find not just listing information, but also information about what the business is selling and for how much. This effectively moves YP.com up in the purchasing decision funnel, shortening the user’s path to a purchasing decision and making it more likely that they’ll finalize that decision onsite…
Foursquare Brings Explore Update to Mobile
The once geo-social-pioneer-turned-local-juggernaut, has updated its Android and iPhone applications with many of the local search features launched a few weeks ago on Explore for the Web — namely, better filters and in-search photos, as well as improved recommendations through wider access to Foursquare’s dynamic dataset…
Street Fight Daily: 08.10.11
A roundup of today’s big stories in hyperlocal media, technology, advertising and startups…
SinglePlatform has raised another $3.25 million to launch new products. “If you want to monetize local, you will need to go through SinglePlatform one day, because they’ll own the best, trusted relationship with the merchant,” a confident venture capitalist says. (Business Insider)…
One year after the launch of TBD, the local news project barely exists. Journal Register’s Steve Buttry quietly lifts a glass to his TBD colleagues and shares some lessons for other digital pioneers from his TBD experience. (SteveButtry.com)…
Empowering Local Restaurants Online
In 2011, pretty much every restauranteur knows that their business needs some sort of Web presence. They may just need a functional way to let people know their address and menu, or they may want a more sophisticated marketing outreach, but online is certainly part of the equation. The problem is that most restaurateurs aren’t versed in Web design, and many don’t know exactly what they should be doing online and why…
Doubling Down on SinglePlatform
Your average small business owner has a limited marketing budget and precious little time to spend on their online presence — those that do have the resources want to see short term, tangible returns on their investment. SinglePlatform, a one-stop shop for restaurants to build a digital presence, may have an inside track on finessing this elusive small business relationship…