Director’s Digest: Spreading the Word on Signed Agreements
March 19, 2021
At All Points, we recognize signed agreements as milestone moments in our clients’ growth journey. A signed agreement is when a new or existing franchisee signs a development deal for a specific territory, and this is the first step towards ownership and the final step in a long line of work for the franchisor’s development team.
We work with brands to leverage these announcements and in turn attract more prospective buyers to the franchise opportunity. So, how do we strategically spread the message far and wide?
Our integrated approach includes public relations, social media and content marketing working collaboratively to generate owned, earned and paid media. The goal is to leverage signed agreements and use them to showcase our client’s continuous growth and momentum.
Owned media tactics—including lead nurturing emails, blog posts and organic social media—are all created and controlled in-house. The more owned media channels a brand has, the larger their digital footprint, or the power to reach customers and followers. To increase organic impressions, we encourage our clients to share the announcement within their internal communications and encourage franchisees to share the news. Growth announcements benefit the entire franchise, as the brand continues to expand, so does their brand awareness and customer reach.
Drafting and distributing a press release to secure positive media coverage is how we leverage earned media. It’s important when pitching a signed agreement announcement to consider your audience. Is it to the franchise trades or a local business reporter? As always, tailor your approach towards a reporter’s beat to increase your chance for growth coverage.
Email blasts, banner ads, boosted social posts and other forms of paid media, help reach a larger audience beyond organic (non-paid) efforts. A small investment can have a large return, as it drives users to your franchise website to seek out more information on ownership opportunities for themselves.
No matter the tactic, make sure your messaging is consistent across the board. Highlight the caliber of people investing in your concept, and allude to the opportunity for others to develop with your brand. A signed agreement indicates a success story, so incite others to celebrate with you with each development deal that comes.
JoeyLauren Jiracek is a Director at All Points Public Relations, a franchise-focused PR agency based in the Chicagoland area, www.allpointspr.com.
