Here is today’s roundup of news related to local marketing and advertising, local media, technology, local commerce, consumer behavior and more.

In the battle for mobile engagement, branded apps hold untapped value (April 12, 2019)
MarTech Today: “Consumers spend an overwhelming majority of their mobile internet time within apps. Recognizing this trend, the world’s biggest brands have developed apps as tools for providing services (like checking a bank balance) or making a purchase (through an e-commerce store). But many of these apps have untapped potential. Beyond basic transactions, branded apps can be used as powerful video delivery mechanisms that increase engagement and brand loyalty.”

Aligning content and SEO for search success (April 12, 2019)
Search Engine Land: “Here are some best practices to get content and SEO teams working together throughout the creation process to ensure your pages are well-suited to succeed in organic search.”

How Can Brands Make Customers Feel Like Individuals? (April 12, 2019)
Marketing Charts: “While personalization may be a favored tactic of marketers, consumers can feel differently – and in some cases, consider it creepy. Another disconnect exists between marketers and consumers: nearly three-quarters (73%) of consumers believe that brands are struggling to meet their expectations for delivering a personalized experience, compared to fewer than half (43%) of marketers, per findings in a report by RedPoint via the Harris Poll.”

Pinterest introduces new conversion features for Promoted Pins and Videos (April 11, 2019)
Marketing Land: “The new campaign features come to Pinterest in advance of its pending IPO, allowing advertisers on the platform to define conversion goals with greater accuracy.”

Awash in Data, Marketers Still Find Ad Targeting Capabilities Lacking (April 11, 2019)
eMarketer: “The push for more effective ad targeting remains one of marketers’ chief priorities, evidenced by two reports released this year. More than half of client-side marketers worldwide said leveraging data for more effective segmentation and targeting is among their top three organizational priorities in 2019, according to an Econsultancy and Adobe survey concluded in December 2018.”