Is Your Franchise Getting Its Social Message Out?

For many people, owning a franchise is a viable career move.

It provides leadership opportunities, a chance to be the boss while having support from the main company, working with an established brand, and being part of something that you feel strongly about.

The key, though, is to help the franchise maintain a formidable presence and maintain success.

One way many franchise owners are working on this success is through social media.

Just like with any other business, social media has become a key component in the marketing of social media.

Whether your franchise is a hair salon, a frozen yogurt shop or a tutoring center, social media should be part of your marketing plan. With social media, you can promote your store, engage with customers and build relationships.

Let’s take a look at some smart strategies:

How to use social media to build a formidable local franchise

• Promotion - Some franchises will have set formats and regulations for social media. This is great – it’s easy and probably already successful Link into this to promote specials, deals and offers for your franchise. You can also look into adding in your own social media touch; check with corporate to make sure this is an option according to policy. By using various platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, and twitter, you can send out deals and specials. You should also be cross-promoting from one site to another;

• Customer Engagement - This is where you get to chime in. When your follower posts that you have served the best ice cream they’ve ever had and every employee was smiling – thank them! Repost and share. People love to see their posts be shared, and when you get a nice compliment – let the world see and respond to it. If you have a negative comment, respond. This is a great way to let your followers/customers see how you take on conflict and resolve it;

• Build Relationships - Social media is an excellent place to build relationships, not only with customers but also with other franchises (both those of your same brand and others in your community). By following others, you’ll see what is working for them as well as what isn’t, and you can share ideas and concerns with others in your same situations.

Use a variety of social media methods to market your franchise

Because different demographics tend to hang out on different social media platforms, use as many as you can. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are all big ones, but don’t forget about YouTube, LinkedIn and Google+. You never know who you may connect with on these platforms, too.

Franchises take a lot of work, but the sooner you can incorporate social media, the better.

There’s a whole world out there on social media; be a part of it!

Photo credit: BigStockPhoto.com

from Darlene Milligan http://ift.tt/1lttsNW via transformational marketing
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