Where does your target audience gather to talk about the great lunch they just had or to catch up with their co-workers, friends and relatives? This is a question that many executives from leading restaurant companies are asking themselves. Margie Myers, senior Vice President of communications at Dunkin Brands was recently interviewed by Sarah Lockyer from Nations Restaurant News at the 2009 NRA show in Chicago. Margie was asked about brands using social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and MySpace. She said, "The water cooler keeps moving and you need to be everywhere your customers are. Social Media isn't going away, but you don't want it to. How great is it that you can connect directly to the customer?" I couldn't agree more.
When used consistently, and as part of an overall marketing strategy, social networking sites are a great way to reach out to consumers nationwide and beyond. So how do you get the ball rolling to increase the "foot traffic" to the front door of your Facebook Fan Page? The most efficient option is a managed WiFi service such as a One WiFi Hotspot.
As opposed to having a simple "open" WiFi router in-house, a managed Hotspot allows you to have control over your guests' session while surfing at your locations. This allows you to redirect them after they login directly to your brand's page of your choice of social networking sites. Being pushed to be-friend your company's page with the promise of being first in-the-know about special offers and new products your page will grow organically from an existing customer base fed directly from your locations.
Once you have that strategic element in place, the viral effect of these social networking sites take over and your number of friends grow. When you have a great circle of friends, sending them offers, coupons or announcements to increase return visits and bolster brand loyalty is fairly simple and easily measured. So in this instance a managed WiFi solution such as the One WiFi Hotspot is one leg of an inexpensive three-legged marketing stool.
Managed WiFi Hotspots are a fantastic and effective vehicle to drive your customers directly to your page and allow you to make lots of friends quickly.
