By definition, a franchise owner is a type of entrepreneur that has purchased a franchise, which is an already existing business model that the general public is familiar with. McDonald’s, Allstate, 7-Eleven, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, and ACE Hardware are just a few examples of companies that fall under the franchise umbrella. There are several benefits to becoming a franchisee as well. Such benefits include, but aren’t limited to, high profits, lower failure rates compared to other small businesses, and business assistance, the latter of which is especially handy during the early stages of franchise ownership. Even the most ambitious franchisee can benefit from digital marketing, as they can work with an online or social media marketing agency to propel their business to the next level. With this in mind, here are 5 important marketing tips for franchise owners.
1. Set digital marketing goals ahead of time. When discussing marketing tips for franchise owners, it’s important to begin with goal setting. In other words, what would you like to accomplish from a marketing standpoint? Are you looking to attract more customers on a local level? Do you wish to bring more attention to your social media channels? Key performance indicators will vary from one business to the next, so identify yours so that you can make the most of your marketing dollars. The earlier that you establish your goals, the sooner you can kick off your marketing strategy.
2. Build your presence online. There are multiple ways that this can be done, too. If you’re a franchise owner, consider creating accounts for your business on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. What this does is help your business receive more awareness than it would have otherwise. These platforms can also help with consumer engagement and customer service, allowing you to respond to comments and answer queries as they come through. Business listing sites such as Yelp and Foursquare should also be used to bring more attention to your company. Follow these steps to create a presence you can build off.
3. Consider running paid ads. If you have the means, you may wish to run paid advertisements on different platforms. These ads are especially common on social media, appearing in news feeds as users scroll through them. Depending on how effective an ad is, as well as how relevant it is to a user’s interests, they may click to learn more. Ads can also appear in search engine results, based on not only the terms that are searched for but a user’s geographic location as well. To expand on this, a user is more likely to receive an ad for a Long Island restaurant if they live in New York rather than Connecticut, Delaware, or Baltimore. Use paid ads to reach more people online.
4. Invest in search engine optimization. Speaking of search engine results, SEO is another point to discuss in regard to marketing tips for franchise owners. Did you know that Google, the leading name in the search market, processes over 3.5 billion searches each day? This greatly speaks to the reliance that the average user has on search engines, so if you’re a franchise owner, it’s worth investing in SEO. This plays into various aspects of one’s marketing strategy, including writing, editing, web design, and content dissemination. When done well, SEO is a layered process that yields long-term results.
5. Measure and evaluate progress over time. As your marketing strategy is given time to unfold, there will be data that can be collected. From there, franchisees can measure the success of their marketing before taking the appropriate steps afterward. If SEO, for example, is performing well, it would be best to stay the course. However, if rankings aren’t improving as they should, going back to the drawing board would be recommended. It would be unwise to let such valuable data go by the wayside, which makes measuring and evaluating among the essential marketing tips for franchise owners.
These are just a few things that franchise owners should know about digital marketing and the support it provides in the long term. In fact, if you own a franchise, you may want to think about upping your marketing game, which is where a seasoned professional comes into play. If you live in the New York area, you may want to consider partnering with a Long Island advertising agency. They will perform a consultation to determine the areas where your time and investment will be wisest. From there, they’ll take the necessary steps to ensure that your business reaches the attention of more people over time.
About fishbat: fishbat is a full-service Long Island SEO and marketing agency that takes a holistic business approach to their clients’ digital marketing programs. The fishbat team understands the importance of business principles just as well as the nuances of the latest digital technologies. fishbat offers every digital marketing service available from digital marketing research and planning to brand development to website and asset creation through social media management and search engine optimization programs – all custom calibrated for both B2B and B2C businesses.
