4 Critical Digital Marketing Lessons to Enhance Franchise Development
March 4, 2015
The All Points PR team attended the International Franchise Association (IFA) Convention in February where we were able to mix and mingle with franchise industry insiders and soak up insight that we as a franchise public relations firm thrive on. In particular, we brought back many lessons from social media marketing and content marketing panels, round tables and seminars that left an indelible mark. Lauded for the many teachings the team returned with to enhance the work we do on behalf of our franchise clients, these were the top takeaways regarding digital marketing.
Facebook works with those who pay
Like, share, post – how complicated can Facebook really be? As it turns out, it’s not as cut-and-dry as some might think. Rivaled only by Google in terms of complex ad policies, many franchises have turned to Facebook not only for brand enhancement but also for lead generation.
Facebook’s policy is to try to show people the ads that are most pertinent to them. Based on a 1-10 scale, relevance scores measure how well an ad performs for its target audience. They are a reflection of positive and negative interactions and have a minimal impact on cost and delivery in a brand management campaign. Relevance scores have always been an integral part of Facebook’s ad algorithm, but just a few weeks ago, Facebook has chosen to make these scores visible to consumers.
These metrics give your brand a quantifiable number to judge how well its ads are performing. This is an ideal way to track your ad campaigns and adjust your audience and message to achieve the same goals for the same (or less) money.
Get personal with digital content marketing for franchise development
Anyone in the business of sales knows how important targeted outreach can be. Specific to franchising, development teams court prospective franchisees constantly through e-blasts, blog posts, emails, phone calls, direct mail and in-person meetings.
Instead of blasting your prospects through every channel as often and aggressively as possible, consider asking them how they would most like to be communicated with. Save your time and resources and target your interactions to the prospect individually. Cater your outreach to your leads directly and always maintain an honest and open line of dialogue to ensure you’re both finding the best fit.
The importance of video cannot be overstated
Video is a critical component of content marketing. Research has shown that 70 percent of marketers use video in their strategies, and another 82 percent indicate that video content marketing is successful.
When a franchisee is interested in becoming part of your company, one of the first questions they’ll likely ask is about company leadership. Try putting your CEO in front of a camera to speak directly to franchisee prospects. The CEO can discuss the strength of the business opportunity, what they look for in franchisees and other details about the company that might not be obvious to the naked eye.
As an added bonus, these videos can be repurposed on social media and in your other content marketing efforts. A short video is a compelling way to get to know your business outside of printed or online marketing collateral.
Partnering with franchisees rounds out your brand
Franchisors and franchisees have the ability to foster a mutually beneficial relationship to engage on the national and local level. By working together, both parties can grow – the franchisors helps build brand awareness that can result in an increase in leads, and the franchisor strengthens community ties.
From a financial and business development perspective, franchisors have a wide range of resources, a high level view, a sense of aggregated costs and profit motivation. They also possess a system of best practices and branding protection. Franchisees, too, have the benefit of local relationships, data collection, digital content creation and local customization on their side.
If the franchisor shares its knowledge with its franchisees and franchisees bring local insight to the franchisor, both parties will be well positioned to grow advantageously and strategically.
Digital content marketing is an increasingly important component to your overall brand and growth strategy. All Points PR, a Chicago franchise PR firm, helps our franchise industry clients enhance their digital presence daily.
