Museums are all about history and visitors. The WiFi is no different.
October 30th 2015: The statistics of who owns what device in the digital world are forever increasing year on year. Reaching out to a museum audience has long been achieved by face to face interaction like organised tours and talks. By implementing a SPARK® enabled WiFi network from WiFi SPARK, museums can complement their existing offering with the use of feature-rich WiFi technology.
The impact of WiFi
According to the V&A last year, around 70% of visitors own a smartphone and 95% bring it with them to the museum. About 40% also own a tablet but only 20% bring it with them. 30% of UK visitors and a huge 65% of overseas visitors turn their mobile data connection off to avoid risking a big bill. Enter WiFi. Clearly most visitors to public attractions will look for free WiFi in preference to mobile data.
Using WiFi represents a great opportunity to engage with visitors to museums, allowing interactive, real time communication and data presentation.
Rebecca O’Donovan, Marketing & Communications lead for WiFi SPARK says: “Having WiFi doesn’t just enable internet access, it allows the Museum to engage with visitors and channel messages or content straight to their device. If 95% of those visitors who own a smartphone bring it with them, it is a golden opportunity to engage directly with them.”
How to achieve results
Take advantage of the User Experience Portal. This is the first page that visitors will see upon connecting to the WiFi. This is the museum’s chance to deliver key information and to create a memorable impression, so ensure the content works on all devices.
Get up to speed with the latest technology and deliver relevant content at relevant times such as iBeacon, push notifications or welcome emails.
Consider welcoming users back to the service, as well as just the first time, it shows you recognise them and means you don’t need to ask them to register each time.
Enable easy ways to connect, such as via social media and encourage visitors to like the museums profile, driving social media trends.
Use SPARK®’s reporting module to analyse trends, returning visitors, demographics and footfall along with data showing popular downloads and exhibitions.
Museums that have adopted the SPARK® Platform include Museums of London, National Portrait Gallery, Royal Museums Greenwich, Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Oxford Museums, including Ashmoleon Museum, Pitt Rivers, Museum of the History of Science and the Museum of Natural History.
Each museum has its own customised Portal page, with a fully managed service to include content filtering, bandwidth management, reports & analytics, 24/7 helpdesk, remote network monitoring and all data protection and lawful intercept concerns taken care of.
