What Kind of Digital Marketing Benefits a Franchise?

In this very online day and age, digital marketing is a very effective tool for spreading the word about your business and attracting new consumers. Combining digital and franchise marketing involves a unique approach. Franchises come with additional considerations, such as an increased number of shareholders. But for both franchises and small businesses, your primary goal is the same: to attract new customers or clients and retain loyal ones. Read on to find out more about franchise-focused digital marketing and how these strategies can benefit your brand.

Why Digital Marketing Is So Beneficial for Your Franchise

Growing your franchise’s reputation on the Internet is essential to staying successful these days. The Internet provides a way to reach potential customers in a way you couldn’t do through traditional marketing channels.

Thanks to the opportunities provided by being on the web, digital marketing increases your franchise’s visibility worldwide. Digital franchise marketing also helps you to build a strong brand identity. Additional benefits include profit, revenue, and an increase in loyalty.

But what are the smartest ways to use the far-reaching powers of the Internet for the good of your franchise?

Social Media Marketing

It can’t be emphasized enough how much Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok drive product sales these days. Social media platforms also benefit franchises by opening up more channels of communication. This allows for interactions with customers all over the world, no matter the franchise location they are near.

In general, franchise social media marketing is divided into organic and paid:

• Organic marketing includes posts on social media and interactions with commenters. This provides an opportunity for brands to convey a more authentic voice and display their unique personality. It makes customers more likely to relate.
• The paid side of social media marketing includes ads on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, and so on.

Related to social media marketing is influencer marketing. Influencers are a trusted source for their followers, and their popularity can do wonders for brand visibility. For this strategy, make sure to partner with influencers who are a natural fit for your brand and whose fan base overlaps with your target audience.

Email Marketing

Sending marketing materials via email is an easier and more cost-effective alternative to traditional snail-mail marketing. It also saves you time. All you have to do is click the send button, and customers all over the world get the promotions that would’ve taken at least a few business days with snail mail.

To build a list of email addresses, offer customers incentives to sign up to be on your email list. This means special sales, promotions, sneak peeks at upcoming products, discount codes, and so on.

To make the most of your franchise email marketing:

• Identify your target audience.
• Make emails visually appealing and include a call to action.
• Look over performance analytics and adjust strategy accordingly.
• Choose the right email service provider.

Optimize Franchise Digital Marketing With Video Content

Video content is extremely popular across the Internet. Just look at the way the social media app TikTok has taken over digital marketing and influencing. When a product goes viral on TikTok, sales go through the roof.

Video content provides great opportunities to show off what your product or service can do. For instance, you can show people using your product or make tutorials. Or you can use video for customer testimonials.

But not just any video will do. To make your franchise stand out and grab people’s attention, your content needs to be eye-catching, unforgettable, and include a call to action.

Your competitors may be reluctant to use video and social media marketing. So that already makes you stand out.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

SEO is one of the most important digital marketing tools in general, and it will also serve your brand well in franchise marketing. By increasing visibility on search engines like Google, you can increase traffic to your websites.

SEO strategies include:

• Publishing relevant blog content
• Utilizing industry- and location-related keywords
• Making your website mobile-friendly
• Ensuring your website has a fast-loading time

Optimize Your Website

While your franchise as a whole should have a website, each franchisee should have its own landing page as well. This helps customers connect with their preferred location and allows you to get better insight into how each franchisee is performing.

An important thing to remember, however, is that you will want your digital marketing to stay consistent across the main franchise and all locations. This includes using a signature font, color scheme, logo, and so on. You want your brand to be recognizable, both online and in person.

Also, as you did with the video content, be sure to add a call to action to each of the landing pages. This is an important and beneficial strategy in successful franchise digital marketing.

How Reviews Can Benefit Franchise Digital Marketing

The 2022 figures from BrightLocal speak for themselves. Approximately 98 percent of consumers read online reviews when searching for local businesses. And 76 percent of those people said they read reviews regularly or even always.

The BrightLocal statistics also show that Google is overwhelmingly the popular choice for online reviews. This is another reason that search engine optimization is so important in franchise digital marketing.

In addition to Google, other popular review sites include Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor.

Another digital marketing strategy that works is to have an incentive for current customers to leave reviews. Oftentimes, this comes as part of a promotion or includes a discount or a bonus.

If you’re still struggling to get enough customer reviews, even when you offer incentives, don’t worry. This is an area where an agency that specializes in franchise digital marketing can swoop in to save the day.

Be sure to work with a marketing agency that has experience and expertise in both digital marketing and franchise marketing, such as InnoVision’s Global Marketing team, operating out of San Diego. Experience equals resources and connections you’ll want to take advantage of.

You’ll also want to make sure that the digital marketing agency you work with takes a customized approach. That means tailoring specifically to your franchise, your industry, your goals, and your digital presence. After all, you want your franchise to stand out from the crowd, so your digital marketing should follow suit.