Mainland

I have found a new secret that I am excited to share with you.However, this is going to be a hard one to solve for. Rather, a harder one.This month, as I always do, I looked at our franchisee survey results to find an insight, and found one that was more prevalent than month’s before. YouTube.When looking at where people gained their research, I noticed this as new consistency from the voices of franchise owners. They used the website, they used 1851, they used Facebook, they used LinkedIn, as they usually do, but this time I saw a lot more YouTube. Roughly 30% referenced it in the last month.What does this mean?It’s time to build up your YouTube channel: I picked four random client brands and searched for INSERTBRAND YouTube channel and found nothing. What’s interesting is that we have been conditioned to put energy toward Facebook (0 reach) and LinkedIn (0 reach) (NOTE: Join me on Coffee &amp; Analytics to gain more insights into this), yet, very few advise (or strongly recommend) putting energy into YouTube because of the expense of video. Video isn’t expensive, it’s just “harder.” Based on the candidate’s lead, this may be changing.You don’t need to be a movie director to make great YouTube content. Many franchise brokers and consultants are filling up YouTube with franchise content. The challenge is, much of it is not overly believable or trustworthy. The most trustworthy comes directly from the brand. Thus, create some rough content. The story is what counts, not the prettiness of the video quality.We started building up our video library to help franchisors solve this. Meet the Zee, Meet the Zor, Meet the Supplier have all contributed voices about franchise education. Then, we report on it. We are trying to impact franchising through video and content storytelling. And, it’s working. 5 franchisees said they used 1851 and YouTube.A new video we are creating is a review of the FDD from the zor. By creating this, we are doing a few things. One, giving the franchisor a voice in educating the franchisee about what is franchising. Two, supplementing the FDD review call with an additional information video (passive and proactive buyers can use as a tool). Remember, if we all go back to the day before we were in franchising, we would say we didn’t know what it was. Yet, we are expecting the franchisee to know what it is immediately upon landing on our Website.&nbsp;Talk with your franchisees. Tell their stories. Whether us or you, you need to give a voice back to your franchisee. Franchisees are the best tool for selling franchises.So, the tactics:Create a branded franchise YouTube channel.Create a video of you explaining why your brand.Create a video of you interviewing a member of your support staff or a franchisee.Create a video of you explaining your FDD.Create a plan to start interviewing your franchisees.&nbsp;Start creating. Start impacting search of the candidate. Start impacting the search results. Buy some Google ads for YouTube.Thus, the next thing we will push is YouTube.One more challenge though. In a world where we chase leads, it may take time for your videos to mature and create leads. But, I am now 100% confident that this should be a part of your franchise marketing mix.

Coffee and Analytics: The Next Big Secret to Franchise Marketing

1851 Franchise

https://www.youtube.com/embed/8YiwBOaDN-A

More franchisees are turning to YouTube for their research. You don’t need a movie director to make great video content; you just need to get out there. Start creating, and start impacting the search of your candidates.

the-next-big-secret-to-franchise-marketing

INFORMATION

Contact

About Mainland

Hello by Mainland

Other Publications

Learn

Download Brochure

Visit Website

MAINLAND

Facebook

LinkedIn

Instagram

SOCIAL MEDIA

Scaling the Soon-to-Be Famous: How Layne’s Chicken Fingers Leveraged a Mainland Franchise Assessment to Fuel a 110% Growth Surge

How Mainland Sees AI Changing Franchise PR and Marketing

 How Mainland Helped Right at Home Turn Local Media Into a Franchise Development Breakthrough

MAINLAND MOST READ STORIES

1851 LOGIN

GROWTH CLUB LOGIN

ABOUT MAINLAND

CONTACT MAINLAND

facebook

instagram

linkedin

First Name

Last Name

Email

Phone

Comments

Contact Mainland

Franchise buyers have more tools than ever to research brands, and artificial intelligence (AI) is&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/goodspark/why-franchise-brands-need-to-rethink-distribution-in-the-ai-era-2732127#featured">quickly becoming one of them</a>.&nbsp;<a href="https://hellomainland.com/">Mainland</a> is already thinking about how that shift could change marketing and public relations moving forward.“You watch the news or listen to the voices of this world, there is some fear over what the future of our job force will be in a world of AI,” said Mainland co-founder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/powills/">Nick Powills</a>. “Rightfully so. Anytime a new technology pops into production, it can raise some concerns for people who don't know how to use it and how to leverage it.”As a franchise PR agency,&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/mainland/info">Mainland</a> works at the intersection of storytelling, media and brand visibility. That means understanding not only where media is today, but where it is headed next.“We have to be looking at what is going to evolve and change in that category and in delivery,” Powills said. “One, to make sure we're staying ahead of the curve as a business and, second, to make sure we're staying ahead of the curve for our clients.”<h2>Media Has Changed and PR Is Changing With It</h2>Social media is one of the clearest examples of how fast media can change. In the past, brands relied on newspapers, television and radio to reach audiences. Today, anyone with a phone and a platform can become part of the media conversation.“All of a sudden, we, the people, became the media,” Powills said. “And it's fascinating because it's impacted elections. It reports on breaking news faster than anything else.”&nbsp;That change has directly impacted PR. Traditional media placements still matter, but they are no longer the only path to getting seen. Podcasts, creators, influencers and digital-first storytelling have all become part of the mix. PR has to be built across multiple channels where both people and AI are getting their information.&nbsp;“In the past, it was PR, meaning ‘Let's go get in biz journals and daily newspapers and radio and TV,’” Powills said. “Then comes podcasts, then comes bloggers. And so now the availability of the message continues to heat up.”<h2>AI Is Becoming Part of Franchise Buyer Due Diligence</h2>One of the biggest shifts Mainland is watching is how&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/goodspark/ai-franchise-sales-2732234#featured">AI is changing the research process</a> for franchise buyers. Prospective franchisees can now use tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude or Google’s Gemini to ask detailed questions about a franchise before ever submitting an inquiry form.“I can go on to ChatGPT or Claude or Gemini or whatever system I use and I can say, ‘Should I buy this franchise? What are the pros and cons of buying this franchise? Who are their top franchisees?’” Powills said. “What AI is doing is acting as my Wikipedia before buying a business.”&nbsp;As AI becomes part of the research process, brands need to think about how their stories are being found, summarized and presented before a buyer ever reaches out. That means thinking carefully about where their story appears and how AI tools may interpret it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2>The Future of PR Is Bigger Than Media Relations</h2>AI does not signal the end of PR. But it does change the job. Rather than focusing only on pitching journalists, PR professionals will increasingly need to think strategically about how stories are structured, distributed and understood by both humans and machines.“PR is going to change drastically,” Powills said. “We’re not going to be in the business of pitching just the media any longer because the media is going to continue to change. It’s going to be in the business of building influence around a product or a business.”Powills believes that this will raise the bar for communications professionals. PR professionals will need to raise their level of professionalism and deepen their knowledge base. “They’re going to have to have a strategic conversation,” he said. “They’re not just going to be doers.”<h2>Building Brand Stories for the AI Era</h2>At Mainland, the focus is on helping brands make their stories visible wherever people search for information, whether that is through traditional media, podcasts, search engines or AI assistants.“We have to make sure it’s machine-ready, it’s machine learning, it’s telling the good, the bad and the ugly and we’re transparent,” Powills said. “I think transparency is going to lift up even more as this gets stronger.”Now, franchise brands have to think strategically beyond earned media impressions and ask a new set of questions: How is the brand being talked about online? What information is AI pulling into answers? And what story is a prospective franchise buyer hearing before they ever speak to the development team?“When you’re looking at how to hire a PR agency, you’re actually finding one that is thinking about how do we integrate your story, not just in the Wall Street Journal, but in ChatGPT,” Powills said. “And it carries equal, if not greater, weight for what you can do for your brand.”AI is reshaping how franchise stories are found and shared, and the agencies that adapt early will be the ones helping brands stay visible in this new era.&nbsp; To learn more about working with Mainland, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://hellomainland.com/">https://hellomainland.com/</a>.&nbsp;

New developments in AI are entering franchise marketing, franchise public relations, PR strategy, and franchise marketing trends.

mainland-ai-changing-franchise-pr-marketing

Franchise candidates rarely make decisions overnight. In fact, most spend months researching, validating and looking for proof points before taking the leap. For&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennychaney">Jen Chaney</a> and the team at&nbsp;<a href="https://rightathomefranchise.com/">Right at Home</a>, one of those proof points came in the form of a regional media placement secured by&nbsp;<a href="https://hellomainland.com/">Mainland</a>.<a href="https://www.gazettextra.com/news/local/right-at-home-in-home-care-company-eyes-janesville-market/article_baad327d-db3b-49b0-bb59-77f09051d024.html">A feature in The Gazette (GazetteXtra)</a> spotlighted the brand’s expansion into the Janesville, Wisconsin market and highlighted the human stories behind the opportunity.According to Chaney, the coverage became a pivotal touchpoint for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-villa/">Katie Villa</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryjovilla/">Mary Jo Villa</a>, a mother-daughter duo in Janesville, Wisconsin who had been exploring <a href="https://1851franchise.com/rightathome/right-at-home-mother-daughter-franchisee-janesville-2732128#stories">their next chapter</a>. Katie spent years on the frontlines of healthcare, beginning as a caregiver in college and later working as a nurse, an experience deepened by personally caring for her grandfather during hospice. Meanwhile, her mother Mary Jo brought a background in human resources and operations, having held a variety of roles across newspapers and radio stations.After reading the article, they saw themselves reflected in the opportunity and ultimately decided to move forward with a&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/rightathome/info">Right at Home</a> franchise.<h2>The Power of Seeing Yourself in the Story</h2>The GazetteXtra feature focused on more than just a business opening. It told a story about people and community impact.“When Katie saw this article and sent it to me, my first piece of pride was, ‘Yes, she's still reading the newspaper.’ But I told her we should absolutely explore it,” Mary Jo said. “I have been so impressed with Right at Home. They were clearly selecting us, and we were selecting them.”That approach is a prime example of what Mainland’s Vice President&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliemaw1">Julie Maw</a> says is a defining PR trend for 2026:&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/mainland/top-pr-earned-media-trends-2026-2731198#stories">franchisee-led storytelling</a>. “The most powerful PR asset in franchising is the franchisee, not the brand,” Maw said.For prospective owners who may be transitioning careers, these stories act as important validation. The mother-daughter duo saw a version of their own future reflected in the coverage.&nbsp; “Katie's only 30 years old, and so yes, she has me, but you need someone other than your mom validating what your mom says,” Mary Jo said. “So I’ve been extremely impressed with the expertise coming out of Right at Home corporate&nbsp;and how they bring new owners on.”<h2>Regional PR as the Conversion Catalyst</h2>Mainland knows that&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/local-vs-national-franchise-marketing-2726180">regional and local coverage</a> can play a different role than national press, especially when candidates are already weighing the benefits of a specific market.“While national credibility gets attention, local relevance drives the action,” Maw said.The GazetteXtra article served as a localized proof point. It demonstrated demand in a specific market, highlighted community need and showed how the brand operates on the ground. For candidates already in the consideration phase, that kind of visibility can accelerate decision-making. In this instance, it became the tipping point.<h2>Activating the “Buzz Factory”</h2>Mainland’s strategy centers on what Maw calls activating the&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/buzz-factory-process-mainland-franchise-growth-2731901">“buzz factory,”</a> making sure brands are consistently visible across national and local channels throughout the research cycle.&nbsp;That GazetteXtra feature, for example, was just one piece of a larger PR puzzle designed to keep Right at Home top-of-mind while candidates weighed their options across multiple touchpoints.“PR is a marathon,” Maw said. “It’s not just a flash-in-the-pan moment.”<h2>More Than a Placement&nbsp;</h2>For Mainland, this outcome reflects a larger philosophy that PR is not just about media coverage. It’s about building a strategic narrative that&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/mainland/how-mainland-and-1851-franchise-impact-your-brand-story-supports-the-sales-funnel-2717348">supports franchise growth at every stage of the funnel</a>.Sometimes, all it takes is the right story, in the right publication, at the right moment.Growing and selling franchises is difficult. Want to learn more about how Mainland helps franchisors grow their franchises with confidence? Visit&nbsp;<a href="https://hellomainland.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&amp;%3Butm_medium=article&amp;%3Butm_campaign=mainland-secures-nearly-10-million-in-media-value-for-franchise-clients-in-early-2025-2728648&amp;utm_source=1851franchise.com&amp;utm_medium=article&amp;utm_campaign=top-pr-earned-media-trends-2026-2731198">https://hellomainland.com/</a> and see what we can do for you.

image of right at home pr feature acquired by hello mainland

When a mother-daughter duo came across local coverage about Right at Home’s Wisconsin expansion, the story helped push them toward franchise ownership.

right-at-home-regional-pr-franchise-development

The Buzz Factory Blueprint: How Mainland Amplifies Brand Narratives By Leaving Traditional Blanket Marketing Behind

buzz-factory-process-mainland-franchise-growth

image of 1851 franchise nick powills coffee and analytics webinar on multi unit conferences 

The Secret to Selling Franchises: You Spent Thousands at Multi-Unit. Now What?

multi-unit-franchising-conference-strategy-franchise-growth

Coffee and Analytics: The Next Big Secret to Franchise Marketing

MORE STORIES LIKE THIS