There are many things you should concentrate on when researching your potential franchise, such as competitiveness, territory availability, possible locations, franchisee profitability, franchisee satisfaction, etc.
However, there’s one more thing you need to look at. Something that is very crucial in today’s business world….social media
Before deciding to purchase a particular franchise, it’s important that you know its social media marketing abilities. This is because franchisors need to have a solid social media presence for their franchisees to stay competitive nowadays.
Plus, they have to know how to convert their social media presence into money for franchisees under them. But what can you do to find out? How can you tell whether a franchise you are considering is making the most of social media?
Check Them Out Online
First of all, go to the franchisor’s website and search for social media icons. You should find at least two or more icons of the following: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and Pinterest. Bear in mind that some franchises may not be on every social media platform due to the research they have done to know whether a certain platform produces results for them or not. You need to discuss this with franchises as you move closer to making a purchase.
Once you have found the icons, click on every one of them. Stay on each social media page for about 5 to 10 minutes and check these three things:
1. Dates
When last posts or images are shared? Ideally, a franchise should post to the social media page the same day you visit the website.
2. Comment Volume
Determine the number of comments they received after their first few posts. Do they get a lot of them? Does the franchisor also send in their comments?
3. Tone
Are the posts written in the right tone? The right tone is one that goes in line with the franchise brand.
For example, if the franchise model you are considering has a fun side to it, it should show in the posts they dish out on their social media accounts.
The Value of Social Media for Franchisors
We recommend that you spend an ample amount of your research time evaluating the social media presence of every franchise opportunity you’re considering, and for a good reason.
According to a survey by Social Spout, 57.5 percent of customers are more likely to order a product or service from a company they follow on social media.
With that being said, below are five important things franchisors use social media for:
- Conduct polls
- Brand awareness
- Host contests
- Engage their audience
- Achieve customer satisfaction
Use Facebook as the Yardstick
With approximately 3 billion users, Facebook is currently the most popular social media platform in the world. That’s the reason you have to spend a large chunk of your time on this channel when researching a franchise’s social media accounts
As mentioned earlier, customers are more likely to purchase a product from a brand they follow on social media. And it is easy for prospective (and existing customers) to follow and engage with companies they like on Facebook.
When you land on the Facebook page of a franchise you’re interested in, you should go to the photo section. This will let you know the human side of the business since pictures often show interactions between the company’s employees and their customers. You can also determine how great a franchise is at using social media, e.g., their Facebook page, by looking at how they handle public holidays.
For example, what does the franchise company you are interested in do on Veterans Day?
Are their posts for this special day written in the right tone? Did they appreciate military veterans for their brave service? Did they give a shout-out to their franchise owners who are veterans (if any)?
To conclude, it’s important to research the social media presence of the franchise opportunities you are looking at before making your decision.
However, you should not base your decision on whether or not to purchase a franchise on social media presence, but considering how social media influences customers’ buying decisions nowadays, it would be a great idea to spend an ample amount of time researching this.
