Local merchants can now easily benefit from social media marketing by getting “liked” for offering free Wi-Fi. More and more of these establishments have discovered the marketing power of social media tools, especially Facebook Fan Pages.
With the Wavespot service local merchants — cafes, restaurants, salons, B&Bs, fitness shops, auto repair, etc. — can offer free Wi-Fi to their patrons in return for getting “liked” on their Fan Page. Patrons get the benefit of free Wi-Fi, which is becoming an expectation among shoppers. The merchants benefit from the social recommendation of the post on the patron’s home page, as well as a new fan for ongoing marketing and communication.
Wavespot provides the Wi-Fi router/access point as well as the cloud service to manage the transactions, manages the secure Wi-Fi connections, and provides activity reporting to the merchants. The current Wavespot offering connects patrons to Facebook, which is a widespread, easy-to-use platform, but can be adjusted to support other social media platforms.
“Social Media Marketing is now an effective tool for the local merchants, no longer just the big brands,” says Jasbir Singh, President of Wavespot. “Local merchants can now convert more of their patrons into Facebook fans, benefit from the social sharing and ongoing communications with them.”
Wavespot will be giving away free Wi-Fi Router at Techcrunch Disrupt 2011.
About Wavespot:
Wavespot (wavespot.net) combines ubiquity of Wi-Fi with viral nature of Social Media Marketing to help merchants actively engage with their customers. Wavespot’s Social Wi-Fi Router along with its Cloud based Social CRM service are designed to work with independent merchants as well as franchisers like QSRs, Hotels and other multi-location enterprise.
About TechCrunch Disrupt:
TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2011 is TechCrunch’s second annual conference in San Francisco attracting over 2,500 leading technology innovators and investors and over 150 new startups. The main conference is preceded by the popular Hackathon — a 24-hour competition where over 500 top developers present new innovations. TechCrunch Disrupt follows with a format that combines top thought-leader discussions with new product and company launches. Morning executive discussions debate the most timely disruptions in the technology industry. Afternoons host the Startup Battlefield where 30 plus new companies will launch for the first time on stage, selected to present from more than 1000 applications received from around the world. Another 100 early-stage startups will exhibit in Startup Alley. TechCrunch will award a $50,000 grand prize along with other award recognitions at the conclusion of the conference. The Hackathon is Sept 10-11; the main conference is Sept 12-14 2011 at San Francisco Design Center Concourse, 635 8th Street (at Brannan), San Francisco, CA 94107.
TechCrunch is a leading technology media network dedicated to obsessively profiling and reviewing new Internet products and companies. Founded by Michael Arrington in 2005, TechCrunch and its network of websites reach over 13 million unique visitors and more than 30 million page views per month. TechCrunch was acquired by AOL in 2011 and operates a global network of websites including dedicated properties in Europe and Japan, as well as specialized industry websites including MobileCrunch, CrunchGear, GreenTech, TechCrunchIT, and CrunchBase. TechCrunch’s CrunchBase is the leading open database about startup companies, people, and investors. In addition to TechCrunch Disrupt, TechCrunch hosts other conferences and events, including the Crunchies Awards and various meet-ups worldwide, serving as community platforms for industry conversation and collaboration.
For more information, contact Steven Lamont, Chief Marketer for WaveSpot, steve(at)wavespot(dot)net, tel and fax: 415-354-9723, 1534 Plaza Lane, #113, Burlingame, CA, 94010.
