Introduction
For those who are not familiar with franchising, a franchise is a company that lends its name, logo and complete support to others who purchase the franchise and open its location or branch. The corporation or umbrella company’s owner is known as the franchisor. Certain elements of control, such as branding, are still under the franchisor’s jurisdiction over the franchise branches.
One of the locations under the umbrella corporation’s ownership is held by a franchisee. The franchisee typically pays the corporate owner a one-time fee to cover the costs of onboarding and setting up the new business. Then, in exchange for continued use of the brand and support from the franchisor, they give a portion of their profits or revenue, as applicable, to the franchisor.
Benefits Of Social Media Marketing For Franchises
It has never been more difficult for franchise businesses to stand out and maintain their competitiveness with nearly 1 million franchises operating in the US alone. Because of this, a lot of companies are using social media and digital marketing as low-cost means of expanding their franchise network, attracting new clients, and providing scalable customer service.
Social media is one of the most open and adaptable marketing platforms there is, particularly for franchise companies. The customer experience of your franchise can be enhanced, your brand can be established as a pioneer in your industry, and you can gain the trust of your local target market by creating a social media presence for your franchise. You should include social media marketing in your toolkit for building your franchise brand for the following reasons:
Utilize The Strength Of Your Franchise Network
Your franchisees can leverage the power of the group on social media with multiple locations across the nation (or even the world) to increase influence, market share, and sales in their local markets.
Provide A Consistent Brand Experience Throughout Your Company
With the appropriate branded templates, social media policies, and content digital marketing strategy in place, your franchise business can make sure that each franchisee is presenting your brand engagingly and consistently.
The Most Affordable Way To Expand Your Franchise Business
The biggest advantage of social media is that it costs nothing to start using it and create social media profiles for each of your franchisees. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on traditional advertising, you can invest these funds in social media training, management, and content creation to give your franchise owners an advantage in their local markets.
Common Issues Franchisees Have With Social Media
A social media franchise marketing strategy must be consistent to be effective. Franchisors are required to develop a successful brand and business plan. Franchisees, on the other hand, need to preserve the brand’s reputation to support its value. Some of the social media challenges faced by franchisees include
Make Yourself Stand Out From The Competition
There is fierce competition, not only between franchises but also between businesses that provide similar goods or services to those you do. Even though the franchised business’s brand is already well-known, it’s still important to dazzle and maintain the interest of the local audience. This can increase customer loyalty to your brand and keep it at the forefront of their minds.
Keep an eye on your hashtags, the branded terms that your followers are using, and the kinds of content that get the most engagement. Knowing what people are saying about your brand and related topics will help you with social listening. You’ll also get a sense of the types of subjects and content to publish more of to increase engagement.
Stand Out From Other Franchise Locations With Your Branch
When other franchisees are operating in your region or locality, it can be challenging because you will have to compete with them as well. If so, you’ll need to get a sense of what your neighborhood’s residents prefer. Here’s what you need to do to differentiate yourself from the other branches in your area:
- Examine your social media analytics to learn what appeals to your followers and target market on social media.
- Use the location of your neighborhood in your hashtags if your city has multiple branches.
- Use a voice that’s true to your brand while also being appropriate for your target audience.
- Utilize search engine analytics to learn more about your local target audience. This will enable you to more easily modify the tone of your branch and make it more appealing to them.
Lack Of Funding For A Dedicated Social Media Team
You might have to handle your social media because small branches don’t have the same resources as large corporations. You might not have the necessary skills to dominate Facebook or Instagram, which is the only issue. Regularly checking in on your company’s social media accounts is crucial in this situation.
Social media is used by 65% of users for customer support. Be active on the platform to interact with customers and give them the quick service they desire. Using a social media calendar is an additional tip you’ll find helpful. Your content can be planned and scheduled in advance with the help of a social media calendar.
Conclusion
Customers will naturally view franchisees and employees as brand ambassadors, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, any views and opinions expressed on social media accounts connected to the business by a franchisee or other team member or employee will be interpreted as the views and opinions of the parent company.
