If you’re a franchise business owner, you might be looking for ways to stand out more from the local competition.
Franchise businesses (where a company licenses the use of their brand, products and processes to a separate business that then operates under the name of the larger company) have been .
And no longer feel that traditional marketing methods (such as direct mail, public relations and more) are effective or worth the investment.
Digital marketing is an excellent way to reach more potential customers. The following are seven tips specifically for franchise businesses to help you stand out.
Focus on local SEO
Because franchises operate in multiple locations, it’s important for more local searchers to discover your business.
Local SEO (search engine optimization) is when search engines rely on signals (such as local content, social profile pages, links and citations) to provide the most relevant local results to the user. It’s all about delivering the best and more relevant local search engine results.
Best practices include creating a Google My Business listing, using local keywords and optimizing for mobile.
Explore PPC advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a paid strategy where you bid on ad placement, only paying when visitors click your ads. This can specifically be done as ads on search engine result pages.
This tactic helps you target the customer you’re seeking and potentially get them to click through to your website where you may have a discount offer (or something else) for them.
, as well as the difference between cost-per-click and cost-per-impression.
Consider content marketing
Content marketing can be time-intensive but also very effective. This tactic includes publishing blog articles, infographics, guides, videos and more.
Think about your expertise and how you can leverage that to address the more common pain points of your customers.
No matter the medium, the helpfulness of your content pieces will attract views as you optimize each for SEO and share on social media in an engaging way. This, in turn, will establish you and your franchise business as a thought expert in your industry.
Being seen as the expert is a big first step in building a trusting relationship with potential customers.
Engage on social media
It’s not uncommon for franchisors to provide some social media assets and suggested strategies to franchise businesses.
They might even have recommendations on which social media platforms to use.
While you absolutely can use provided assets and try suggested strategies, it’s important to remember that this franchise is your business. If something doesn’t make sense for your social audience, don’t use it.
In addition, you should feel empowered to go beyond what’s provided to you. For instance, you could do a weekly “ask me anything” Facebook Live with your audience as the owner or publish video interviews with key people in your community. You could even offer to provide additional value to your followers.
First, decide to focus on first. Then, sketch out a plan for the next month, preferably on a calendar where you can identify possible events and/or promotions you want to highlight specifically and even identify additional social media engagement opportunities (such as holidays).
Remember, eye-catching visuals as well as authenticity are critical to growing your social media engagement and reach.
If you’re looking for platform-specific advice, refer to our guides of challenges and opportunities for , and . Or, if you’re trying to reach a younger audience, for your brand.
Level up your email marketing
Just as with social media, your franchisor may or may not already provide email templates or other assets with suggested promotions or even campaign strategies.
And also like with social media, you should feel empowered to use what makes sense for your franchise business (or not use what doesn’t).
As far as the value of email marketing, it stands far above most digital marketing methods. Check out .
Keep in mind that email marketing is still one of the best ways to reach your customers and leads to share information about your franchise business.
To truly level up your emailing, you’ll want to:
As you pull together email marketing campaigns, be sure to monitor your analytics to assess what’s working and what isn’t.
And know that can help you streamline this entire process (including automation and personalization).
Re-evaluate your web design
Changing your website’s design or functionality may or may not be up to you as a franchise business.
If you do have some control over your website, it’s important to conduct regular audits. Ask yourself:
Always think from the user’s perspective. Collect feedback from existing customers. And make incremental changes according to any additional website traffic data you have access to.
Typically, visitors want to see information about your products and/or services (and pricing), your contact information and an understanding of who you are as a company in an “about us” section. Definitely don’t bury these items.
Your website is considered your most important business front in the digital age. Give it the thought and attention it deserves.
If you don’t have control over your website, it’s still important to conduct regular audits and submit that feedback to your franchisor. Things can’t be improved if no one speaks up. Think of yourself on the ground level. Your insights are incredibly valuable to any franchisor looking to serve its franchisees with up-to-date assets.
Manage your online reputation
This largely involves regular monitoring of your franchise business’s online reviews.
About 85 percent of consumers use the internet to research and read reviews before purchasing a product or service. Therefore, online reputation management is not optional. It’s absolutely imperative to the growth and success of your franchise.
Google and Yelp reviews are the most popular, but keep an eye out for:
Whether your reviews are positive or negative, you always should respond. You should offer solutions to any negative reviewers, even if you need to directly message with them or have them call you. The key is customer service.
In conclusion
Franchise businesses are all about consistency (which maintains the brand’s value), so while you want to maintain branding standards and other procedures (unique to every franchise agreement), don’t be afraid to experiment with your digital marketing where you can.
We recommend testing one tactic out first before diving into everything at one time and potentially overwhelming yourself.
In a lot of cases, your franchisor might be interested in experimenting with you to see how something goes, if it is successful in increasing customers, etc. So, be sure to communicate with your franchisor as much as it makes sense to do so.
Also, find out if you’re making any of that could be costing your franchise money.
Need assistance with your digital marketing process and more? today.
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