The 8 | January 26, 2018

1. Frantastic: If you’re interested in stepping up your brand’s social media game this year, we have some Frantastic news. 1851 rounded up 7 social media New Year’s resolutions for franchises, including the utilization of live content, tapping into the power of influencers and properly budgeting for social media advertising. For more tips on how to improve your brand’s presence on social media, check out the full article on 1851.

2. Franlebrity: Our Franlebrity this week has a lot of strong advice on what new franchisors should expect when it comes to lead generation. 1851 caught up with Jack Monson, director of digital strategy at Qiigo, who explained that the biggest misconception in franchise lead generation is that you can’t sell a business online. He said, “A lot of brands still struggle with thinking that it’s a fad, and that it’s for kids. This may have been true in 1998, but a lot of brands haven’t moved forward and are focusing on outdated methods. What worked ten years ago isn’t what works now.”

3. Frash Money: To learn more about what it takes to franchise a business, 1851 spoke with a few founders and asked them what they wish they knew when first franchising their concepts. Unsurprisingly, one of the first things that came to mind was Frash Money. The founders behind GYMGUYZ and Best in Class Education Center, Josh York and Hao Lam, both agree that in order to be successful as a franchisor, you need to mind your money at all times and make sure that you’re making the right financial decisions.

4. Frant of the Week: Every franchise brand needs a strong sales team if they want to be successful. And as No Limit Agency* CEO Nick Powills points out in his latest Frant, those sales people play a more important role than you may think. In the franchising industry, it’s not uncommon for leadership teams to expect more leads from their sales teams on a tight budget. The problem there is that the value of a franchise deal isn’t being properly assessed. That’s why Powills recommends taking a holistic approach to your sales team and strategy—valuing and investing in the people who fill those sales positions may lead to bigger wins for your brand.

5. Franch Forward: If you’re ready to franchise your business but don’t know where to start, 1851 has you covered. To help emerging brands Franch Forward, we’ve created a checklist of 5 things that you need to do before franchising. From organizing your business and creating a Franchise Disclosure Document to protecting your brand and leveraging technology, these steps will help you start things off on the right foot.

6. Fran Funny: The star of this week’s Fran Funny is Buffalo Wings & Rings Chief Development Officer Philip Schram. We’ll just let him take it away with YouTube’s next viral video.

7. Franspiration: “Building a greater business is all about networking, getting more minds working on a common goal and having perspectives from people from different backgrounds and walks of life.” – Robert Esposito, founder of Relocators

8. Franemies vs. Frands: Fans of the Super Bowl and free pizza have a new Frand in Pizza Hut. The brand is teaming up with former NFL player Devin Hester to potentially give away free pizza across the country during the big game. If Hester’s record for the fastest touchdown in the history of the Super Bowl—14 seconds—is broken during the Super Bowl on Sunday, February 4, Pizza Hut will give away free medium two-topping pizzas. But, there’s a catch. Only Hut Rewards members who enroll in the program before kickoff will be able to cash in on the deal.