BIA/Kelsey's newest advisory service - Social Local Media - launched yesterday, and on today's webinar, Neal Polachek, Andrew Shotland and I will connect with you to learn about your challenges, successes and needs in this vast and evolving ecosystem. Among the questions…
Leading up to next Wednesday's launch of Social Local Media, and next Thursday's webinar, we've been sharing our data and insights and encouraging your feedback to help guide our coverage. Starting today, we're opening ourselves up to you even more…
As Social Local Media -- BIA/Kelsey's newest advisory service -- marches toward its Feb. 23 launch and Feb. 24 free webinar, we're using social media channels to present data to our audience and learn more about your challenges, successes and…
The debut of BIA/Kelsey's newest advisory service - Social Local Media - is fast upon us, with the launch set for Wednesday, Feb. 23, and an introductory webinar to follow the next day (2/24). Over the next eight business days,…
The "getting social" challenges for local businesses are simple to understand, yet hard to address: taxed time, strained resources, lack of platform awareness, tactical needs, fuzzy measurement tools and more. Postling doesn't propose to solve all of them, but it…
There are gobs of research supporting social media's evolution into a mainstream marketing vehicle for businesses of all sizes. BIA/Kelsey's Local Commerce Monitor Wave 14, for example, found that 48 percent of SMBs already operate a Facebook page. However, there's…
In December, we discussed the implications of Groupon's pact with public Wi-Fi network provider JiWire as a potentially significant next step for social commerce -- hyperlocal group buying that leverages geotargeting to serve nearby deals to connected customers. The partnership has…
Facebook created quite a stir (again) with the recent projection that its global revenues could surpass $4 billion in 2011 ... the majority coming from small businesses that are self serving. Now Twitter is abuzz, as eMarketer predicts that top-line income will triple…
It's been an active week for The Washington Post Co. First, it added to its portfolio of vertical sites with the launch of Service Alley. Now, it is hatching a subsidiary brand -- SocialCode -- to act as a full-service Facebook…
Many national retailers have operated Facebook pages for years, and now local businesses are on-boarding at an alarming rate (BIA/Kelsey’s LCM 14 survey revealed that 48 percent of SMBs already have a dedicated page). These stats augur social shifts 2011:…
Just days after consolidating Adify and Cox Cross Media into the integrated advertising network Cox Digital Solutions, the company is making waves again. This time, it's acquiring in order to expand scale by scooping up IB Local Network from Internet…
LivingSocial created a stir when an e-mail circulated from the group buying site informing deal-a-day aggregators that they would be dropped as affiliates. However, as 8coupons cofounder Landy Ung and The Dealmap CEO Jennifer Dulski reminded the ILM:10 audience last month, not all aggregators…
One of the principal questions in the local marketplace heading into 2011 is how location-based services (check-ins, barcode scanning) and deals will continue to synergize to create an integrated user experience? Just as important, what role will Google play? An early…
In his keynote address at DMS ’10, Yext CEO Howard Lerman pointed to the imminent release of a tags product in response to Google Tags and emphasized that tags could grow into the standard local advertising unit. Sure enough, the…
Groupon's smashing success has spawned hundreds of clones and, given its relatively simple technology and the absence of entry barriers, buoyed those imitators that they too may strike it rich in social commerce. Wildfire Promotion Builder comes at it from a different angle.…
Just in time for holiday search, shop and feast, both restaurant recommendation site Urbanspoon and local reviews hub Yelp are ramping up their mobile efforts. Urbanspoon's updated iPhone application adds a new layer of recommendation capability by allowing users to…
With destination sites, white-label providers and aggregators all crowding into the deal-a-day space, the struggle to differentiate and scale is complex. DealOn, which operates its own group buying sites in 16 markets and also offers white-label branding, thinks it has…
To date, most location-specific advertising requires in-store check-ins to unlock discounts and special offers. Naturally, that necessitates having a storefront that lends itself to walk-in -- and check-in -- traffic. Foursquare, Gowalla, Loopt and others have garnered first-mover hype with these…
Local and vertical content is eagerly sought by national players, from The New York Times to Yahoo, MSN/Bing to AOL. Now, Thompson Reuters is leading the local, vertical charge for wire services. In an aggressive push to lure traditional U.S. media…
During the 72-hour whirlwind that was ILM:10, several other announcements also came down the pike. Among them: - Group buying giant Groupon continues its flurry of partnerships. The Chicago-based deal a day inked separate deals with the Chicago Tribune Media Group and…
