Franchise brands are producing more content than ever before. They are posting on LinkedIn, recording podcasts, writing articles and investing in PR. But that does not mean people are actually hearing the story.
With AI changing how franchise buyers research opportunities and social platforms becoming more crowded, franchisors are facing a distribution challenge. Brands that want to compete today cannot rely on a static franchise website and occasional social posts.
“Everyone’s doing a podcast, everyone’s communicating a fake story on LinkedIn, everyone’s saying something,” Charles Internicola, CEO of GoodSpark Franchise Growth Accelerator, said in a recent webinar. “It’s getting tougher and tougher to distribute your story, or at least for people to hear it.”
To compete for attention, brands need to build a stronger narrative that buyers can actually trust.
One of the biggest missed opportunities in franchising today is the franchise website itself.
“The website is the most important place for a story, but it's the least used place for stories today,” said Nick Powills, chief strategy officer at GoodSpark. “You can pick up any franchisor website, and there's usually a picture of a building. There's usually empty restaurants. It says, ‘Here are the fun facts. Fill out this form. Here is the process.’”
Brands should treat their website more like social media. That means regularly updating it with franchisee stories, behind-the-scenes content and real examples of what ownership looks like inside the system.
“Build content that is constantly flowing and build it around the people that have already said yes from an investment recommendation,” Powills said.
That consistency matters even more as AI becomes part of the franchise buying journey. Buyers are increasingly using AI tools to compare brands and research opportunities before ever speaking to a franchisor.
“If your website is optimized the right way, and you’re treating it like social and you’re conveying a genuine narrative, well, when candidates have been pushed toward the FSO brand and do their research, why aren’t you optimizing your website so AI is recommending you as an alternative?” Internicola said.
The reason some franchisors are struggling with AI is simply that they don’t know how to use it yet. AI adoption is comparable to the early days of Facebook, when brands had to learn how to use the platform before benefiting from it.
“Once you understand how to leverage agents or use AI as a read into your data files to start building things that are stronger in your voice, it’s great,” Powills said. “But until you know how to do it, it’s almost impossible to do it.”
Some franchisors also misunderstand what social media should actually accomplish. “We’ve turned it more into media than social,” Powills said.
Social posts that just promote products or announcements instead of creating interaction with audiences aren’t as effective. Brands should use their posts to create conversations that promote engagement online.
“Put a question at the end of your posts, engage an audience and say, ‘Hey, we just signed a franchisee. Where should we open up next?’ That's where you start getting people to say, ‘Okay, I can interact with this.’ And someone might go, ‘I love this brand, go open in this city,’” Powills said.
Brands also need to support their social content with paid distribution. This can mean starting small by committing to posting once a week and paying $25 to promote it.
Strong marketing cannot compensate for weak business fundamentals. Franchisors should spend more time discussing what ownership realistically looks like for franchisees.
“The bigger opportunity in sales is really connecting and owning where your economics fall into place,” Internicola said. “Talk about estimated investment, return on investment, how long it takes to recoup that investment.”
Franchisors should evaluate their messaging through the lens of franchisee growth rather than just franchise sales. Focus less on simply selling territories and more on helping candidates understand what success and growth inside the system actually looks like.
“Reevaluate your franchise sales website not from a sales perspective, but from a growth perspective for franchisees,” Internicola said. “That could be a good starting point.”
Watch the full webinar above or on YouTube.
For more information on GoodSpark and its services for developing franchises, visit https://www.goodsparkfranchise.com/.
GoodSpark
SPONSORED
As artificial intelligence changes how franchise buyers research brands, franchisors need stronger websites, better storytelling and more intentional distribution strategies to stay competitive.
Franchise brands are producing more content than ever before. They are posting on LinkedIn, recording podcasts, writing articles and investing in PR. But that does not mean people are actually hearing the story.
With AI changing how franchise buyers research opportunities and social platforms becoming more crowded, franchisors are facing a distribution challenge. Brands that want to compete today cannot rely on a static franchise website and occasional social posts.
“Everyone’s doing a podcast, everyone’s communicating a fake story on LinkedIn, everyone’s saying something,” Charles Internicola, CEO of GoodSpark Franchise Growth Accelerator, said in a recent webinar. “It’s getting tougher and tougher to distribute your story, or at least for people to hear it.”
To compete for attention, brands need to build a stronger narrative that buyers can actually trust.
One of the biggest missed opportunities in franchising today is the franchise website itself.
“The website is the most important place for a story, but it's the least used place for stories today,” said Nick Powills, chief strategy officer at GoodSpark. “You can pick up any franchisor website, and there's usually a picture of a building. There's usually empty restaurants. It says, ‘Here are the fun facts. Fill out this form. Here is the process.’”
Brands should treat their website more like social media. That means regularly updating it with franchisee stories, behind-the-scenes content and real examples of what ownership looks like inside the system.
“Build content that is constantly flowing and build it around the people that have already said yes from an investment recommendation,” Powills said.
That consistency matters even more as AI becomes part of the franchise buying journey. Buyers are increasingly using AI tools to compare brands and research opportunities before ever speaking to a franchisor.
“If your website is optimized the right way, and you’re treating it like social and you’re conveying a genuine narrative, well, when candidates have been pushed toward the FSO brand and do their research, why aren’t you optimizing your website so AI is recommending you as an alternative?” Internicola said.
The reason some franchisors are struggling with AI is simply that they don’t know how to use it yet. AI adoption is comparable to the early days of Facebook, when brands had to learn how to use the platform before benefiting from it.
“Once you understand how to leverage agents or use AI as a read into your data files to start building things that are stronger in your voice, it’s great,” Powills said. “But until you know how to do it, it’s almost impossible to do it.”
Some franchisors also misunderstand what social media should actually accomplish. “We’ve turned it more into media than social,” Powills said.
Social posts that just promote products or announcements instead of creating interaction with audiences aren’t as effective. Brands should use their posts to create conversations that promote engagement online.
“Put a question at the end of your posts, engage an audience and say, ‘Hey, we just signed a franchisee. Where should we open up next?’ That's where you start getting people to say, ‘Okay, I can interact with this.’ And someone might go, ‘I love this brand, go open in this city,’” Powills said.
Brands also need to support their social content with paid distribution. This can mean starting small by committing to posting once a week and paying $25 to promote it.
Strong marketing cannot compensate for weak business fundamentals. Franchisors should spend more time discussing what ownership realistically looks like for franchisees.
“The bigger opportunity in sales is really connecting and owning where your economics fall into place,” Internicola said. “Talk about estimated investment, return on investment, how long it takes to recoup that investment.”
Franchisors should evaluate their messaging through the lens of franchisee growth rather than just franchise sales. Focus less on simply selling territories and more on helping candidates understand what success and growth inside the system actually looks like.
“Reevaluate your franchise sales website not from a sales perspective, but from a growth perspective for franchisees,” Internicola said. “That could be a good starting point.”
Watch the full webinar above or on YouTube.
For more information on GoodSpark and its services for developing franchises, visit https://www.goodsparkfranchise.com/.
Sign up for the 1851 Franchise newsletter to get our biggest stories before everyone else
By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy.
No related articles found
