How To Use Social Media To Grow Your Franchise

The franchise model places the responsibility of establishing a successful business model on the shoulders of the franchisor—no one else. However, even if the franchisor can prove that its corporate stores and those managed by franchisees are successful, the model is not guaranteed to sell. There are a lot of points to check off between “I have a successful business model” and “Great, I’m glad to hear that you’ll invest your life savings to open a business that follows my plan.”

That’s where new, or maybe less traditional, forms of awareness and marketing enter the equation. When managed correctly, social media marketing creates a great opportunity for franchisors and franchisees to continue to spread their name and message while connecting with local viewers (and prospective customers) in a way that is even more personalized and encourages immediate engagement.

Develop a Strategy

One of the most damaging occurrences for a franchisor is a disgruntled franchisee or one who does not follow appropriate strategy and guidelines. When building a social media strategy for the franchise, franchisors should carefully consider whether they want to run a single, system-wide social media presence; a franchisor presence and one for each respective franchisee/location; or manage the franchisor page and leave local pages in the hands of their relative franchisees.

If local accounts are made, analyzing the demographics, interests and trends of the respective populations can make for an even stronger strategy.

Hone the Strategy for Each Platform

Once an overarching strategy has been created, the execution can be optimized to ensure the proper content and messaging is reaching the intended audience. For example, franchise development content is often posted to LinkedIn, as many of the businesspeople who will be pursuing ownership are likely spending the majority of their time on professional platforms. Alternately, more casual franchise concepts or those looking to draw in a younger customer base should consider making customer-facing content for TikTok.

Efforts To Embrace

There is more than one way to grow a franchise. A proper social media strategy should reach beyond consistent “Buy this!” messaging to create an experience that truly allows the audience to connect with and learn about the brand. Here are a few ways to encourage growth.

• Engage in Education: With both prospective franchisees and existing or prospective customers, education can go a long way. Your audience likely enjoys being in the loop. A willingness to educate conveys an interest in and passion for the brand and its mission beyond just the sale.
• Create an Emotional Connection: Sharing person-first content does this organically. A brand alone won’t sell itself, but its people will. Telling employees’ stories, spotlighting community efforts and bringing the brand into a living space encourages connection, which naturally leads to growth.
• Establish a Recognizable Voice, Start a Conversation: Using a clear, consistent and recognizable brand voice is crucial. Without it, messaging can become muddled, and it does not always stand out to the audience as something that is definitely coming from a given brand. After a voice is established, the audience will be quicker to recognize the brand’s content and may even feel like they are being spoken to directly. This can start a conversation.
• Promote Events: If a local franchise location is putting on an event, the information should be posted online. This will increase visibility, likely driving up attendance and work to build out a robust social history of a community-focused local business owner.
• Share Trends: When and where it is appropriate, sharing trends can be a great way to connect with specific sectors of the audience. Even if a trend is not a direct outbound marketing effort, that content’s ability to connect with the viewer and expand a loyal following is remarkable.
• Employment Recruitment: If a local franchisee is hiring, social media is a great place to get the word out. 

The majority of these efforts will not have an immediate impact, but the compounding difference each step makes can quickly benefit the growth of the business. With increased presence comes increased connection. The more an audience connects with a brand, the more likely they will be drawn to engage with it on a deeper level, either as a consumer or prospective business owner.