Today, I want to share two pieces of advice that are particularly useful to certain types of business - and will be exceptionally quick to implement. I've also created a free download that might help some people implement one of these ideas even more quickly.
About two years ago, I made a recommendation to a client in the UK, and I've just seen it used by a hotel in the USA. If your business offers public computers with internet access - such as those in hotel lobbies, libraries, etc - this is for you:
Tip 1: Put up a sign, next to your public computers, with a call to action; typically this could be something like 'Find us on Facebook' or 'Follow us on Twitter'.
Here's such a poster in use, at the Ledgestone Hotel in Yakima. (Click the image to embiggen.)
Sadly, it doesn't look like the Ledgestone is doing much with their Twitter account; this probably disappoints people who go to their page, and so they don't end up with as many followers as they could do. Remember - getting people to your Twitter page (or Facebook, or whatever else you're asking them to do) is only the first stage - there has to be something there for them when they arrive.
The second tip is more for people who offer wi-fi - this could be all manner of hotels, conference venues, airports, aeroplanes, train stations, coffee shops, etc. For places that offer free wi-fi, this can work even better:
Tip 2: You control the first page visitors see after logging on to your wi-fi. Don't waste this with a dull message; make the page interesting, and put some calls to action on there.
People have probably logged on to do something - but many will welcome a distraction - particularly if you keep the request brief. Create a nicely styled, but simple page, and add a couple of message on there. Some examples could include:
- Follow us on Twitter / Like us on Facebook: you could incentivize this, for example: if you're a coffee shop, then offer a free latte to new followers
- Sign up to our email newsletter: this will only take them a second if you make sure the form is right there on the page, and again this can be incentivized
- Don't forget to check in on foursquare: ideal for almost any location, and this is as good a time as any to remind them to check in
- If you're enjoying your stay, please review us: particularly useful for hotels, where online reviews can increase visibility; I'll go into a little more detail about this below.
There can be some issues with sites noticing that a lot of people from the same IP are visiting, particularly when it comes to review services. Local search expert David Mihm advised me that he's heard Yelp in particular does try to filter our multiple reviews from the same IP, and that TripAdvisor's fraud rules do include clauses that might get you into trouble (such as offering incentives for people to write reviews is not permitted.)
I'd recommend that there are two steps around this type of issue:
- Try to appeal for reviews only from people who already have accounts on those sites (e.g.: "If you're a Yelp member, please review us here...." or "If you have a Google account, please leave a review here..."
- Make this 'post-wifi-login' page available on the public internet; review sites should be able to recognize that lots of people are being referred to your page from the same URL - if it's public then they'll be able to visit that page, and should figure out what is going on.
I've built a quick free template for you to to download as a starting point. You can visit the file, or download it, by clicking this link: free wifi login CTA page.
(That was created based on a template from LayoutGala; I'm not going to add any licence to it, other than use it however you want. You should change the image that are in it to be local files at the very least.)
Honestly, it doesn't take long to print off a couple of small posters (or even to publish a nice wifi login page) so I'll hope to see social-media CTAs cropping up all over the place soon. :)
Tip #2 was implemented within minutes of reading this post; as an SEO for a group of hotels which offer free Wi-Fi i'm confident the landing page will boost our followers, email signups and prompt guests to leave a testimonial.
I'm always looking for call to action opportunities and suffice to say this one has been overlooked so thanks for sharing!
Regards
Danny
It's this taking action part that warrants praise, so you get a thumbs up.
Having been a consultant I can say that consultants are the lowest of life forms. Without having skin (e.g. implying "arse" for you Brits) in the game or the ability to transfer urgency & priority, then all our hot-winded recommendations are virtually useless.
Thanks for getting something done, dannypenrose! Knowing is not hard, but getting it done is another matter. Do you have results after 1 day of implementation? :)
Hey Danny,
I'm glad you were able to swing into action so quickly and get this live!
If that new post-login page is public, I'd love to see it. Feel free to post a link or drop me a line on [email protected] if there's anything you can share.
Thanks!
Excellent tips Rob! I made such a webpage (tip#2) for my family's B&B house on an island in Croatia a month ago. I must say it's simpler to design such page then to configure nocatsplash on local router :)
Beside that what you suggest, I also included on that page our house rules and some info about our little town like museum exhibitions, ferry timetable, etc. I recived very positive feedback from our guests.
Cheers
Ivan
Some other good ways to increase your twitter followers and facebook fans:
1. Include your twitter username on your business card and company letter head.
2. Promote your latest offers through twitter.
3. Organize contest on twitter
4. Use twitter or facebook fan page as one of the main tool to communicate with clients.
Really good tips Rob, especially on the call to actions next to public use computers. I've only ever seen this done once when I was travelling and as you said its incredibly easy to implement.
The Foursquare one is a great idea as this is getting bigger all the time. Can definitely help increase your popularity and spread the word a little.
Good post Rob - I've recommended this plenty of times to clients. Especially large blue-chip companies this kind of small offline activity can really drive awareness of their social media channels. Since a lot of wifi solutions are outsourced, I've love to see those providers include this kind of functionality to make it really easy for companies like this to promote facebook/twitter etc. It's really a no-brainer!
It's funny that Ledgestone hotel in Yakima implemented your first tip, by putting a sign next to their computers, but nothing on their home page on their website asking visitors to "follow on twitter" or "follow us on Facebook" !! I wonder why? did you have a chance to look at their site before your wrote your post? or did I miss it?
Hey,
I hadn't looked at their site before I wrote the post (though I did look at it a week or two before, when I booked in there!) - I wanted to make this 'in real life suggestion' since it should capture people at just the moment that they can do something about it.
If you're on a hotel's site, you are probably trying to get some details and make a booking. Having a badge saying 'follow us on Twitter for the latest deals' may even reduce your conversion rate.
However, when someone's sat down in a hotel lobby (or connected to a hotel wi-fi), there's every chance that they just want to kill a few minutes - or even check their email and Twitter. If that's the case, then you can get them to add you right there and then - you could even play on their emotions a little, and suggest something like "Following us on Twitter is a great way to say thank you for the free internet connection :)"
Unfortunately, many hotels (large brands) cannot control the WiFi logon screen... which makes the sign next to the computer incredibly useful. Great tip!
Excellent tips Rob. The first one I have come across in the hotels and have recommended to few clients.
But love the second tip - Simple but yet so effective.
Thanks for sharing.
Panera has a call to action on their wifi login to sign up for their newsletter. I can't find a screenshot of the sreen after you log in, but I do want to point out their TOU page. It's one of the friendliest I've seen for a restaurant that offers wifi. https://www.flickr.com/photos/fajalar/474473650/
Great post! Sometimes it can be difficult to bring something new and fresh to our hospitality clients. Thanks for the tips!
The local takeaway has a sign about their Twitter and Facebook profiles. They use them to promote offers through them. Just shows that social media platforms are taking over the offline world as well. How many people ask, what's your Facebook profile name?
Simple, easy and important tips. :)
We taken even the simplest thing for granted without realizing that a simple call to action can make a huge difference.
KISS = nice.
Nice post, especially since I just came from Lunch at a local Offerdahl's (Breakfast and Lunch joint down here in South Florida) and noticed the 'Facebook & Twitter sign' for the first time outside. The could probably also use a QR barcode outside, that would be helpful too.I think they offer free wifi, but I have never used it. Maybe I should go check it out and see what the landing page looks like. I may now have a great idea to pitch. :)
For the Hotels and Motels, tripadvisor.com has some great tools to help with reviews.
We recently had a client print out the review flyer to add to all of their rooms.
When you are in Tripadvisor, you can manage your listing and they will provide you printable documents (business cards & flyers) with information about how to leave a review for the hotel you are at. They have lots of other tools, but these were some of the easiest for our small client to implement.
It's funny that you mention this. 90% of my meetings are in Panera or Starbucks. I had stopped going to Starbucks because they charged me. Now that both venues have free wifi, I have more meeting options.
Panera uses their splash screen to threaten the user. Don't use a table with more seats than you need etc. It always annoys me. So I just ignore it and would never react positilvely to a call to action while that's on the screen.
At Starbucks they are always trying to sell me a CD. I bet if they just tried to get a social media action instead of a sale, the conversion rate would jump skiy high. Of course any number is higher than zero.
Good information! I can see that many business users provding wi-fi facilites have missed out on this article - big time. Travel Lodge who's wi-fi I most recently used was everything you have advised against - and could be much better. There page where you enter your wi-fi code is very dull and unappealing and the average user am sure at £5 a hour will use the wi-fi then immediately log off as theys nothing else to keep you there. Definetly something for business owners to consider.
Thanks for the great post. To me this reinforces the 'tell your customers what to do' mantra that I preach when planning a website build with a customer. In the same vein as Tim Ash's landing pages, you have to guide your customers/visitors toward an action and goal.
Nice tips Rob. James Svoboda said it above best: "Simple yet brilliant"
Your wifi landing page layout is excellent as well. I would have a blast A/B testing if it were my baby.
Simple yet brilliant!
I think Starbucks did something like point 2, remember signing up to them to be able to get free wi fi and got free coffee's etc, must have loads of people following them on twitter and facebook due to tactics like these. I have also found some hotels have very useful landing pages with signing up to their twitter to recieve latest info on dinner specials, special offers on rooms etc, gives you the oportunity of making the most out of the deals.
I cant say I have ever noticed anythink like point 1 before though, I personally don't think I would pay much attention to a banner/postcard sat next to a computer with a couple of links on it.
Hi Rob.
Thanks for the tips... the first one is something I've seen used quite a lot in local shops. They use that can of badge with the Facebook page address at the cash line but also in their tickets and business cards, that are always given for one reason or another to the customers.
The second tip is surely interesting and is something I will suggest to my B&B clients.
Thanks
PS: I take the occasion to wish Merry Labour Day to all the American SEOs/Marketers. Have fun today and leave this page and go do something out! ;)
Great tips, especially designing the Wifi-login page so that it offers something to its users. These small changes can give a big edge against competitors and should not be underestimated!
Doh! There goes the cat, I had it in the bag for quite some time now. It's amazing how infrequently people utilize WiFi sign in pages. A lot of wasted opportunity there.
Anyone in the hotel industry been successful with a Facebook contest? What tips would you have for someone looking to do it for a hotel for the first time?
Good post. I think it`s an ideal method to make the most of what you have, especially if it doesn`t cost the business anything (or anything more than what they are paying for already). Hotel`s are becoming more technologically switched on, offering wi-fi, fulll internet access and if they can promote the business through Facebook or Twitter, then why not? Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
Minor point, but:
Embiggen?????
What butchery of language is this?
Is Enlarge not good enough for you?
Hey Buono, good spot.
It was actually a reference from the Simpsons, you'll notice them sneaking in from time to time.
Hope you enjoyed the post!
R
is this a case of a noble spirit embiggening the smallest black hat?
:-D
I love the Simpsons reference! Besides, it's a perfectly cromulent word...
I would never tought about that hehe, nice and easy tip.
Great tips Rob. Simple, at the same time interesting and great ideas to follow.
Great tips! Thanks!