Tag: franchise social media

Social

Franchise Social Media Best Practices You Need to Know

Post author By Rallio
Post date May 4, 2020

Being in business “for yourself, but not by yourself” is the classic allure of franchise ownership. Buying a franchise means buying into proven systems and processes, with a team that’s there for you every step of the way. From your marketing to your operations, you have a plan for starting and growing your business right from the get-go.

What’s not always immediately evident within those systems and processes are the franchise social media best practices. When we start working with clients, one of the first things we’ll take a look at is whether they have any kind of guidelines in place. Then we either add to them or help develop guidelines that work within the framework of our Rallio technology and services.

What we find time and time again is that those organizations that have a system in place from the start are successful at growing their online presence. Those that don’t … aren’t.

With guidelines, it’s clear what franchisees can and cannot do on social media. If you need to develop guidelines of your own for your franchise, we recommend implementing the following franchise social media best practices.

Be Grammatically Correct

What not to do: Fill your content with typos. Use “there” when you mean “their.” Throw in extra apostrophes where they don’t belong. Make your followers die a slow death while trying to read sentences that make no sense. Throw caution to the wind by ignoring every basic rule of grammar you’ve ever heard.

What to do instead: Triple, heck, quadruple check your content before you send it out. Get a second pair of eyes on it to make sure it’s error-free, makes sense and isn’t potentially offensive. If you happen to post something with an error in it, edit it or republish it if you have to. That’s the beauty of digital publishing — you can fix mistakes.

Through Rallio, brands have added controls in place. The franchisor can review and approve their franchisees’ content before it’s able to be published. We see many brands do this for new franchisees for the first 90 days or so.

Take Videos in Good Lighting

What not to do: Film yourself with no lights on. Stand in the sun and squint. Step into the shadows like Darth Vader. Might as well put on the mask and breathe heavily while you’re at it.

What to do instead: Get yourself some good lighting, y’all. Natural light is great — and free. Position yourself and your camera near a window, with you mostly facing the light source. Play around with the angle and time of day to find your ideal filming conditions. If the sun is too harsh, it may create unflattering shadows.

If you’re looking to step up your video game even more, you can opt for special lighting like a ring light or a softbox. Adorama has a good roundup of various lighting options here.

Honestly, though, if you had time for all that fancy schmancy equipment, you’d probably be an influencer or you’d be writing this playbook, right? So just get yo’self some natural light, brush your hair, throw on a smile and press “Record.” Upload it, write a cute caption and call it a day.

Make Sure We Can Hear You

What not to do: Post videos that make you sound like you have a pillow over your face.

What to do instead: Even the greatest lighting isn’t going to fix muffled, hard-to-hear videos. And the last thing you want is to get to the end of your recording, only to realize no one can hear you. Test out your sound quality before you record your full video. Make sure all systems are a-go-go, and then get to filming. You can also add subtitles to be safe, as we did in the video below.

https://www.facebook.com/rallio/videos/528509271386367/

Don’t Use Music You Don’t Own

What not to do: Throw on any ol’ tunes you like in your videos. Have a great Spotify playlist? Well, shouldn’t everyone hear it?

What to do instead: Use royalty-free music. If you use audio or music you don’t own, it may be taken down by the social media platform where you posted it. With royalty-free music, you can have some nice background audio without worrying your content will be removed.

A few options for finding royalty-free music include:

Be aware, though, that rules vary from site to site (and are subject to change) as far as using music for commercial use, as well as whether attribution is required. Check with each site to be sure you’re following the rules before posting.

Keep It Friendly

What not to do: Get in your customers’ faces when they write a bad review or say something negative to you. Point out all their shortcomings. Tell them they probably ate paste in kindergarten. Be the cyber-bully you’ve always wanted to be.

What to do instead: Be friendly even in the face of criticism. Offer to rectify situations where you were at fault (it happens). You can’t make everyone happy, nor should you try. When customers complain or write a negative review, use it as an opportunity to a) educate the customer, or b) improve your business.

There’s no need to argue — doing so will only make you look defensive. Attempt to take challenging conversations offline so you can handle matters privately.

Respond to positive feedback, too! Your customers appreciate when you take the time to acknowledge their kind words.

https://www.facebook.com/heidi.meyer.144/posts/10222052446008335

Think Quality, Not Quantity

What not to do: Post 43 times a day about literally nothing. Snap low-quality photos and post them without captions. Better yet, use strictly stock photos. Promote yourself shamelessly.

What to do instead: Post highly engaging, hyper-local content. Engaging content features real people and places, like the owner/operator, employees, customers and the work you’ve done. Listen and converse more than you sell. Showcase the great work you’re doing and awesome people at your company, and let that content speak for itself.

Boost Your Content

What not to do: With all that low-quality content above, just keep pushing it out there and hope someone sees it. Your followers are bound to come across it sometime. Don’t spend any money on social media — it’s free, right?

What to do instead: Boost your content. No one will see it — not your followers, not their friends and not any prospects — if you don’t pay to play. Start with a reasonable budget and ramp it up as you go. Target the audiences you want to reach, smartly and strategically; then it will be money well-spent. Popular posts like the one below are exactly the kind of content you want your audience to see.

https://www.facebook.com/1690430347907071/posts/2625624484387648/?substory_index=0

Get Brand-Specific With Franchise Social Media Best Practices

These best practices are just a taste of recommendations we make for our franchise clients. The “best practices” can vary slightly based on your goals and the type of involvement you want to have in your social media — whether totally hands-free or fully involved with the process.

If you’re looking for an even more in-depth look at best practices specific to your brand, schedule a no-obligation demo. We’ll take information about your business and customize a complete playbook tailored to your organization’s needs.

Tags franchise social media, social media

Social

The 7 Deadly Franchise Social Media Sins

Post author By Rallio
Post date April 24, 2020

The basics of franchise social media are more relevant today than ever before — particularly given the current challenges so many businesses are facing. If it’s been a while since you dusted off your social media marketing strategy, now would be an excellent time to do so.

When you do, you might come to some tough conclusions about the way that strategy is working — or not. It’s easy to let your franchise social media lag if you’re caught up in other parts of your business that you think are more important. However, your social media is honestly one of the most important areas of your business you can focus on right now.

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: We’re not here to judge. We are, however, here to shine a light on the 7 Deadly Franchise Social Media Sins that many franchise owners make.

If you’re guilty of any of these sins, we forgive you. And we’ve got a cure for each of them we think will set you on the path to righteousness with your social media pages.

Deadly Sin #1: Lust

In the context of social media: Lust, of course, is a strong passion or longing for something. It might be that you’re “lusting” after vanity metrics like a high follower count, for instance.

When we say “vanity metrics,” it refers to numbers that might look good on paper, but do not actually tell you how your page is performing. As the Content Marketing Institute explains it, “the sheen on these numbers fades when you use them to explain important business outcomes like ROI or customer lifetime value (CLTV); they become hollow digits that contribute little substance to proving your marketing is making money.”

You can lust after those followers all you want, but even if you get them, will you really be happy … er, impactful on social media? All the shiny new followers in the world don’t matter if nobody sees your content, or if they see it and don’t care.

Why would nobody see your content? You aren’t boosting it. You figured they followed you, so they must be lusting after you, too. Sorry, buddy. Unless you pay to put your content in their newsfeeds, they won’t know it exists.

Why would nobody care about your content? It could be overly promotional, trite, confusing, repetitive or — bear with us here — a tad bit boring.

The cure: The combination of great content and boosting gets your content seen. And great content is hyper-local, personable, authentic, entertaining or informational. Now put your eyeballs back in their sockets, quit chasing followers and move on to the next deadly sin.

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1047045519010372&id=405530529828544&substory_index=0

Deadly Sin #2: Gluttony

In the context of social media: Gluttony could mean consuming more than you’re contributing. It might come in the form of failing to respond to online reviews, comments and questions on your page.

If you’ve done a good job with avoiding sin #1 and you’re posting highly engaging content that you’re also boosting, you should start to see audience interaction. They’ll like your posts, share them, leave comments, post reviews and send you DMs.

Sure, it’s easy to sit back and let the engagements roll in — maybe not even noticing what’s happening on your social media pages. But sooner or later, it’s like watching Netflix for too long, when you get the question, “Are you still watching?” Or, in this case, are you still listening?

When you don’t respond to engagements, both positive and negative, it makes you look like you’re just out there enjoying your Thanksgiving dinner while your audience waits for a reply.

The cure: Set down your fork, dab your face with a napkin and jump into the conversation. You’ve got to get in the trenches with your followers and make sure they know you’re there. Get excited about serving up delicious morsels of customer service. If they get “fat” on your cheerful replies and helpful tips, they’ll be loyal consumers for life.

Deadly Sin #3: Greed

In the context of social media: Being greedy may mean you’re being overly promotional. You’re pushing sales more than you’re being social.

When you excessively post about a promotion or offer, it drives people away and may cause them to unfollow you. The key word in “social media” is, of course, social. Being yourself, posting authentic images and talking to your audience like friends is much more effective than self-promotion.

It’s like going to a party where you don’t know a lot of people. You make a few jokes, ask people what they do for a living, maybe throw in casually that you clean houses for a living and see what they say. You don’t immediately pull out your vacuum and start asking people to lift their feet as you sweep up (though you might come in handy after the party!).

The cure: Put your followers first. Be friendly, personable and charitable. Listen and engage more than you sell. Don’t be that desperate salesperson who follows people around the virtual “store,” if you will.

Deadly Sin #4: Sloth

In the context of social media: For lack of a better word, you’re lazy with your social media. Your pages are collecting dust. You haven’t posted anything in months, if ever.

It’s not hard to guess what happens when you ignore your social media pages. Nobody will see them.

By failing to put effort into your pages, you’re missing out on opportunities to connect with your target customers. And right now especially, with so many people online during the COVID-19 crisis, you’re letting leads and customers slip away.

The cure: Be diligent with your social media. Treat it like the necessary part of your business that it is. Create a buzz about your business so people become eager to hear from you. Like that alarm going off at 5 a.m. reminding you to go for a morning run, get into the habit of posting regularly to your page and interacting with your audience. Promise you can have pancakes afterward.

https://www.facebook.com/rallio/posts/1593062590846907

Deadly Sin #5: Wrath

In the context of social media: Maybe you get upset with detractors or people posting negative reviews or comments.

It’s easy to feel angry when you feel attacked, right? If someone says something about your business that’s not true, or worded meanly, you might feel like hurling back a few strong words. And it can easily turn into a public or private argument with a customer.

Although it’s tempting to get into a word battle with people online, there’s no way to win in this situation. You might as well start yelling, “I know you are, but what am I!” Arguing with a customer only gets them more upset and makes you look defensive.

The cure: Go scream in a pillow if you must, and then collect yourself. Be cool, all you cool cats and kittens. Respond professionally. Invite customers to take a conversation offline. Look for ways to solve the problem rather than focus on the words that made you angry.

When you’re patient and choose your words carefully, you always win. You’re either going to make the customer happy, you’ll be the one taking the high road, or you’ll maybe say goodbye to a customer you’re happy to see leave. You might even find ways to improve your business if you look for them.

Deadly Sin #6: Envy

In the context of social media: Perhaps you’re jealous of competitors. You envy their success, so you’re trying to be like them.

When you focus on trying to imitate others, you fail to differentiate yourself. Why be a sheep when you can be a shepherd? You have something unique to offer that your competitors don’t. You have some kind of competitive advantage — what is it?

The cure: Don’t be jelly. You can and should keep an eye on what your competitors are doing so you don’t fall behind. But you should use those observations to make your business better, to offer something different and to set yourself apart. Put on that shepherd’s cloak and be a leader.

Deadly Sin #7: Pride

Pride can take on many forms in the context of social media:

Not asking for help, thinking you can do it all yourself because no one can do it better than you. While that may be true, you’re going to burn yourself out if you do business this way.
Boasting excessively, to the point where you fail to see any potential flaws. Because everybody loves a business that can’t get enough of itself, right?
Not taking criticism well, even when it might help your business. So maybe you’re having flashbacks to junior high when your teacher took a red pen to your heartfelt essay about water conservation. Well, she was only trying to give you some constructive feedback, and so are the people who leave reviews (even if sometimes it’s not so constructive).
Letting ego run rampant. Your selfie stick is always in your back pocket.

We know you’re amazing at what you do. You wouldn’t be in business otherwise. Consider, however, that there may be times when pride is getting in the way of your success.

The cure: Be open to the idea that other people have value to add to your social media. Set the ego aside, and focus on a mindset of collaboration — with your team, with your followers, with your community. Turn the spotlight on others, and eventually, it will shine right back on you, you beautiful human.

Franchise Social Media Made Simple

Having a digital agency that always has your back can help you avoid the deadly sins of franchise social media and stay on track. Rallio works with franchises in all different industries to improve their social media, online reputation and brand management — from corporate down to the location level.

To get started and chat with our social media experts, fill out our online form or reach out to sales@rallio.com.

Tags franchise social media, social media marketing

Social

Health and Medical

What is your location doing to keep everyone healthy and safe? Take photos of your staff at safety stations in your office, complete with hand sanitizer, gloves and masks.
What are some of the FAQ you get about COVID-19? Post a video with an employee answering a handful of the most common questions your lab tends to get.
The CDC now recommends wearing face masks out in public. Post a video showing your followers how to make their own face masks using cloth, bandanas, scarves and other household materials. Remind them to wash their hands before and after wearing a mask!
Share an inspirational quote or personal story related to COVID-19! Everyone could use a pick-me-up during this challenging time.

https://www.facebook.com/ARCpointLabsofSantaFeSprings/photos/a.874354019284335/2856450044408046/?type=3

Online Education

Do you have a teacher or tutor who has gone above and beyond recently, maybe helping a student boost their grade? Post a photo of them with a shoutout to thank them for their hard work!
What colleges are your senior students planning to attend? Share photos with them wearing their college sweatshirt, holding up a logo or mascot, or somehow showing their school spirit!
As students engage in distance learning, some schools are distributing yard signs for their grads. If you have any graduating seniors, ask them to send in photos with them posing by a “Class of 2020” yard sign or a homemade sign.
Kids need your help right now, but so do parents! Share an inspirational message or quote to let them know you care and you’re there for them in these uncertain times.
Do you have a Facebook group for your local customers? Let them know how to access it! (Let us know if you need help setting up a local Facebook group to offer extra at-home learning support and resources for children and parents.)

We are grateful to our incredible Orange High School PTA for surprising each student in the Class of 2020 with a yard sign! Thanks to OHS PTA Senior Parent Representative Miki Beachler for coordinating and safely distributing (from a distance!) these yard signs. #TeamOrange pic.twitter.com/KAXaQqaPcY

— Orange_Schools_OH (@Orange_Schools) April 17, 2020

Retail Shops

Remind your customers of the contact-free options you have available at your store, such as curbside pickup.
In these uncertain times, it’s important to express gratitude for your team. Post a photo of them with a “thank you” message to let them know how much you appreciate their hard work and why you’re grateful for them.
With many people working from home, they’ll love doorstep delivery and other local options to access the products they need as they shelter at home — from pet products to work-from-home items such as printer supplies. Take a photo of a delivery driver preparing to make a local delivery.
Ask followers to snap photos of their home office setup, with tips on staying productive, ergonomically correct and healthy at home.
If you’re open, make sure you communicate that message to customers with your hours of operation and any restrictions you have in place for social distancing.

https://www.facebook.com/cwoftc/photos/a.442057212831058/1035986576771449/?type=3

Automotive Services

Are you making any deliveries or picking up vehicles for service? Take a picture of your delivery driver wearing their protective gear before they head out!
Host a Q&A on your page! Take a photo of one of your experienced team members, and prompt your followers to ask them some tire-care or service-related questions.
Record a quick video to demonstrate how to check tire tread depth! Explain how the “penny test” is a simple way to see when tires need to be replaced.
You can post other safety videos or tips, too — like how to check tire pressure, what to do if a tire blows out while driving, or even how to change a tire if you’re feeling ambitious!
Thank a customer for a great review! Your current online reviews are so important right now for inspiring confidence in your business. It’s also a best practice to respond to all your reviews, both positive and negative, and reposting a review on your social media pages only adds to the reach.

ANY size, ANYWHERE! We can get it done for you and get you back on the road. It’s just that simple!…

Posted by Rubber On Wheels on Thursday, March 26, 2020

Cleaning and Restoration

Do you have any old photos from team events? Post a throwback photo along with a caption expressing gratitude for your hard-working team, and invite your followers to comment on anything they’re grateful for right now.
Make sure you express gratitude for your customers as they continue to do business with you. Post a simple “thank you” with a photo of your team to let them know how much you appreciate their loyalty.
What are some of the awesome local jobs you’ve done lately? Highlight one or two of them so customers can see the great work you’re doing in the community.
Post a “thank you” to your hard-working team members, perhaps with a throwback photo of past team events or conferences.
Whether you’re open or closed right now, you can brighten up newsfeeds with an inspirational message or quote.

Need More Social Media Content Ideas? Let Us Know

Hopefully, this will help spark some ideas of ways you can bring life to your social media pages. Feel free to contact us if you’d love getting a weekly email with content ideas delivered to your inbox. We’ll do the thinking so you don’t have to spend time figuring out what to post, and you can focus on running your business! #winwin

As you’re taking care of social distancing, Rallio is here to take care of your social media engagement — with no initial fees. We have many different solutions for all types of businesses to help them navigate the COVID-19 crisis with greater ease. To get started, fill out our online form or reach out to sales@rallio.com.

Tags coronavirus, franchise social media, social media marketing

Social

4 Ways to Tweak Your Social Media Marketing for COVID-19

Post author By Rallio
Post date April 15, 2020

No matter what the industry, COVID-19 has affected businesses everywhere, along with the consumers who buy from them. Given the global impact this virus has had, it’s important to adjust your messaging and social media marketing to reflect the current times — whether your business is booming or struggling because of COVID-19.

Instead of a hard sales pitch, it’s about softening your message and looking for ways to be of service. The term “We’re all in this together” has become a rallying cry of people everywhere — from all industries and walks of life.

And actually, this is the perfect time to recognize that the hard sales pitch was never a very effective way to capture your audience’s attention.

Rather than use social media as a blatant promotional tool, think of it as a platform for being authentic, honest and real. Recruit the power of social media to help you tell your story, support your customers and serve your community, and you’ll be met with enthusiasm from your audience.

Follow the tips below to be more impactful with your social media marketing regardless of your industry — not only now during COVID-19 times, but going forward as well.

Tip #1: Think Gandhi, Not Rocky

You’re not stepping into a boxing ring with Apollo Creed. Knocking your customers in the face with the hard sell is only going to turn them away.

That was true before COVID-19, and it’s even more true now.

People will resonate with messaging that addresses the current reality. For many, that reality includes dealing with financial and emotional challenges like they’ve never seen before.

For others, it may mean dealing with loss and grief if they’ve lost loved ones. It could mean isolating from family or putting themselves at risk as essential workers.

Since you don’t know what each of your customers might be experiencing right now, you simply need to speak to all of them with compassion and gritty realness.

Imagine yourself as a storyteller, someone who engages your audience with compelling plots, twists and turns, surprise endings and fascinating characters. Be the type of account someone wants to follow and engage with. The deeper they get into your “story,” the more they’ll remember you and want to buy from you.

You can be playful, motivational and sometimes humorous, too. Give them something to do with all that time at home — dance party, anyone? Zoom cocktail hour? Wacky science experiment for kids? Whatever you do, do it from the heart. Be a friend, not a salesperson.

CBS Sports nailed it with their inspirational ad speaking to our collective longing for sports, greeting us simply, “Hello Friends.” Grab your tissues, y’all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCt6shOqfSo

Tip #2: Do Stuff You Wouldn’t Normally Do

Think free shipping and deeper discounts. Go the extra mile with customer service. Make every customer feel important and significant. On a more thought-provoking note, trust that what you give away will come back to you tenfold or more.

Customers are paying close attention to how you are taking care of them right now. You should be treating every customer, follower and lead like royalty.

It’s the way service should be — we’re just hyper-aware of it today. You better believe your customer will remember you including a handwritten note and a free dessert with their takeout order. Thank them by name for supporting your business, and sign it with your own name, too.

Yes, it’s April and you’re not thinking about creating the type of offers you would normally only dish out on Black Friday. But we’ll say it louder for the people in the back: These are not normal times.

When you tailor your offers for a COVID-19 audience, you are letting people know you care. You’re putting people before profits. And those people will remember your kindness.

Every time you offer free delivery, free trials, free gifts with purchase and other freebies, you gain your audience’s trust. You’re instilling confidence in your business — the type of confidence that will translate into repeat sales and positive reviews.

Tip #3: Take a Fine-Toothed Comb to Social Media Marketing

If you already have posts and ads scheduled to go out, be sure to give them an extra once-over. For the reasons stated in tip #2, you don’t want anything going out that doesn’t speak to the current COVID-19 reality.

You can either tweak your scheduled content or come up with new posts and ads altogether. For instance, if you had content set to go out that talks about enjoying spring travel, you can adjust it to speak to people who are staying home instead.

Take Airbnb, a company that obviously relies on travel. With stay-at-home orders in place, they’ve had to shift their focus to virtual experiences. In the April 9 post below, Airbnb introduces “Airbnb Experiences,” explaining that you can “take a flamenco class with Lidón in Madrid, participate in a tarot card reading with Mak in Austin, or visit a colony of penguins in Cape Town—all from home.”

(By the way, this is another example of a company pivoting to address COVID-19, as we’ve covered in several previous posts about the pet, online education, food and fitness industries.)

https://www.facebook.com/airbnb/posts/10158336490662458

Look at your recent content that’s already gone out, too. If something seems insensitive or no longer applies, you can delete it. Or if an email slipped out with inappropriate messaging, send an apologetic follow-up to practice damage control.

Be hyper-aware of every piece of content and communication that’s going out. Run it by a second and third set of eyes if you can. Being extra cautious will help you avoid offending anyone.

Tip #4: Get Strategic With Ads and Search

This is also a good time to look at your ad strategy for any opportunities to showcase high-performing content. Those “storytelling” posts you’re creating? Boost them to put them in more of your audience’s newsfeeds. Take advantage of the increase in traffic as more people go online to connect with friends, pass the time and discover new content.

Consider search, too. If you’re running PPC campaigns, add in COVID-19-related search terms to account for new search behavior. Everyday searches like “international travel” and “tax tips” will now include the additional terms “coronavirus” or “COVID,” for instance, as people look for the most up-to-date information on the global pandemic.

A caveat: The trends around COVID-19 search are rapidly evolving. This is not a “set it and forget situation” by any means. Keep yourself up-to-date on the most current search information to be sure your PPC campaigns stay relevant.

Google’s Coronavirus Search Trends page is one useful resource. Check back daily to stay in the know about how COVID-19 is being searched around the globe in different sectors.

Tags coronavirus, franchise social media, social media marketing

Social

The Pandemic and Fitness Businesses: How Social Media Can Help

Post author By Rallio
Post date April 10, 2020

When the day came that fitness studios had to shut down due to COVID-19, they were left with only a couple of choices: Keep going and figure out how to go digital, or shut down, lay off employees, and hope they’re able to recover if and when they reopen. At this point, maybe your fitness business is finding itself somewhere in between. And that’s totally OK.

With the surge in fitness businesses taking their classes and workout routines online and onto social media, you might be asking yourself if there’s still room for you. The short answer is yes — absolutely. What’s more, it’s not too late to jump aboard this quick-moving trend if you haven’t already.

Working out at home has become one of the few things we have control of today. Even with a stressful situation happening in the world around us, we can still break a sweat and do our part to stay home, stay healthy and stay on top of our workout routines.

As a fitness professional, you have an opportunity to pivot your business and serve people in a time when they’re craving your digital presence more than ever. Those who maybe didn’t pay much attention to your social media before may now be actively seeking it out — to find workouts, tips and connection with the fitness community they know and love.

You can’t be there in person, motivating them to sink lower in their squats or pick up those heavier weights. But you can certainly grab their interest and keep them coming back to your social media pages. When all is said and done, you can even have a whole new line of business when you’re able to welcome students back into your physical location.

Key Takeaways:

You can stay connected with your fitness community not only through online classes, but also short workouts featuring your instructors.
Be as creative with your business right now as you are with your workout routines. Don’t limit yourself just to the same old things you’re used to doing.
Social media gives you so many tools to create connection, and your audience is looking for it. Take advantage of this time when you have their attention and they’re craving any interaction they can get with their favorite fitness studio.

But First, Some Housekeeping

Even though your physical location is closed right now, you should still keep up with your social media marketing. Doing so will keep you connected with your audience and ensure you’re able to minimize the damage from being closed. First, though, you’ll need to do the following:

Let your customers know that while you are closed, you are still open online. Communicate regularly about what virtual classes you’re offering and at what times. Pair your social media communications with emails so there are multiple touchpoints with customers.
Update your physical location’s hours anywhere your business is listed online. Rallio’s Business Listings feature will let you quickly update your hours across the web — a real time-saver, especially considering Google My Business has limited functionality currently due to COVID-19-related staff shortages at Google.

Now Let’s Get Moving

Going online is the most obvious way to keep your classes going. Get yourself on YouTube, Zoom, Instagram and Facebook Live with classes people can take in real time or access later. Include workouts families can do together, too! Some studios are offering free content in exchange for members keeping their subscriptions active. Others have created all-new subscription services. You can decide what makes the most sense for your business.
Think of how you can be of service to essential workers. Post a series of free, short videos that healthcare workers, grocery employees, law enforcement and other essential employees can do if they’re able to take a quick break.
Take advantage of trending hashtags like #MondayMotivation and #swolemate to get your community involved. Ask members to tag their favorite workout buddy with the #swolemate hashtag and your business tagged in the post.
Get hyper-local. Your students are missing their favorite instructors. Show a more personal side of them with posts featuring their home workout spots and setups. They can also post short videos and tips, such as alternatives to weights if people don’t have them — from filled-up water bottles to soup cans and wine bottles! By the way, make sure you design workouts that can be done at home by people who might have limited equipment — not a bunch of exercises involving heavy gym equipment. (This might seem obvious, but we’ve seen some fitness pros posting “home workouts” that show them doing routines on machines at the gym. Hmm.)
Have fun with it! Peloton posted an image asking followers, “Choose Your Instructor House.” The post got great engagement from its loyal community as they decided which house full of instructors they’d hang at. How can you creatively present your instructors and staff to generate engagement with your community?

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-xfvE_Ac_e/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Get Creative

Rent out equipment. It’s just sitting there at the gym, right? Help your members by renting it out (some places are sold out of workout equipment), and you’ll help keep some cash flow at the same time.
Or, sell equipment and pair it with an online subscription. Boxing club Boxhaus is offering workout bags delivered to doorsteps and paired with a new subscription app to access classes members can do at home — looks like a brand-new line of business to us.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-pyGvkJReu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Create additional revenue streams like online workshops and trainings. We’re seeing yoga studios shift their teacher trainings online. Offer nutrition coaching with the help of certified nutrition experts. Like we discussed in our article about online education, you have something to teach — so now is the time to take it online and get paid for it.
Cook something healthy in front of your audience. Yes, they want to see that.
Offer freebies to newcomers like a free first class, free first week or free trial of your subscriptions. Create downloads like workout plans and healthy recipes you can offer free with signup.
Don’t forget about reviews — both asking for them and posting them on your social media! As we wrote in this article about online reviews, it’s critical that you have current reviews posted, not reviews from several months ago. You can also use our Revv app to send out surveys and gather positive feedback right after members complete a workout.
Partner with other businesses. If you’re offering yoga content, collaborate with a HIIT studio, for example. Tag each other in content to help support local businesses and extend your reach.

Host Events

Create live Instagram and Facebook events for a “Sip and Shop” or happy hour. If you sell any kind of products, you can showcase them here and offer curbside pickup or free local delivery. Have a couple of instructors model clothing for sale, describe the benefits of any supplements you sell, or demonstrate how a product is used. Never before have you had this kind of captive audience hearing about your products — normally they’re running out the door after class, right? Right now, they’re eager to interact with you.
Post a virtual challenge and boost it! For example, fitness chain The 12 is hosting a 21-Day Virtual Challenge with a $25 buy-in, with 100% of proceeds benefiting local efforts to purchase supplies related to COVID-19. Participants are encouraged to post their own workout videos and tag The 12 on Instagram and Facebook — great for generating local engagement.
Go live at specific hours of the day. Post short five-minute workouts to help your audience break up their time at home. Include kid-friendly workouts to get little ones moving along with their parents!
Post a “treasure hunt” kids can do at home. It might just keep kids busy long enough for parents to squeeze in a workout! You could also post downloadable puzzles, coloring pages and art projects (glitter-free, of course!). Ask your followers to upload pictures in the comments!

https://www.facebook.com/placentiafitbodybootcamp/posts/934893400262359

Friends, you’ve been training for this moment since the day you could lace up your sneakers. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re all in this together, eager to cross the finish line and get to the other side of COVID-19 even stronger than before.

Remember, the fitness community is one of the strongest, most inspiring groups of people around, and you’re a huge part of it. Hey, if this guy can build a home gym out of wood, you can do anything you set your mind to.

https://www.facebook.com/NowThisNews/posts/3318915464865221

Do you have a fitness business? What are some other strategies that are working for you right now? Leave a comment below for a chance to be featured on our Instagram page.

Tap Into the Power of Social Media

Rallio Dashboard — Our social media management tool was built specifically for franchises and multi-unit businesses. It lets you control your brand’s social and review pages from one simple spot, as well as syndicate content to different types of franchisees and set permissions.
Rallio Local — Technology is great, but humans are better. Rallio Local combines the power of the Rallio technology with the creativity of real people. Receive weekly custom, local content, custom responses to your online reviews, social ad campaigns and community management. We pair you with a Social Strategist to deliver hyper-local content that gets seen by your audience through fully managed ad campaigns.
Rallio Activate — Leverage the power of your employees to reach customers like never before. Incentivize them with rewards programs that you create, and collect assets into your brands image library. Have them submit their own photos and videos to earn points, and publish your brand-approved content on their personal profiles.

To get started, fill out our online form or reach out to sales@rallio.com. Let’s keep you growing even as we navigate the current challenges.

This is the final article in a four-part series exploring ways to respond to changing times, digitize your business and blow up your social media presence. Check out the other three articles about food, pet and online education businesses for additional inspiration.

Tags coronavirus, franchise social media, social media marketing

Social

The Pandemic and Food Businesses: How Social Media Can Help

Post author By Rallio
Post date April 8, 2020

Food, glorious food. It’s one of the few things that isn’t cancelled right now, and for that, we’re incredibly grateful. If we have to be at home all the time, at least we can take comfort in a hot plate of mac ‘n’ cheese or chocolate chip cookies, right?

Seriously, though, we’re all grateful for the people working tirelessly to make sure everyone has food to eat — not only the grocery store employees putting in extra hours and risking their own health, but also the restaurants and quick-service eateries remaining open for takeout and delivery.

If you operate a food business, this is truly your time to shine on social media. As you’re making, serving and delivering delicious meals, you can also be delivering messages of positivity and hope as you grow your business even in these challenging times. This article, the third in a four-part series exploring how businesses can pivot right now, will help you highlight the great work you’re doing as a restaurateur during the COVID-19 crisis.

Key Takeaways:

If your business is still open, you need to communicate with your customers about what to expect when ordering from you — from your hours of operation to the safety precautions you’re taking.
Customers aren’t just craving your food; they’re craving mouth-watering posts that tell them about your deals, free delivery and family specials. Feature your employees and customers for a hyper-local feel.
Now is the time to be creative rather than letting COVID-19 limit your thinking. You can partner with local businesses digitally on social media, or host live happy hours and food pairings to create greater connection with your audience.

But First, Some Housekeeping

By now, you’ve had to make some tough decisions about closing your doors to dine-in patrons. You’re either closed altogether — in which case you should still keep up with your social media marketing if you hope to reopen — or you’re staying open for pickup and delivery.

It’s critical that you let your customers know what’s happening so they know what to expect. For starters, make sure you’ve communicated your hours of operation. You can do this in a couple of different ways:

Post about it on your social media pages to tell customers when you’re open and make it clear you’re offering only pickup or delivery. Many businesses are offering free delivery right now, either directly from their restaurant or through third-party delivery apps.
You should also update your hours anywhere your business is listed online. Rallio has a Business Listings feature that will let you quickly update your hours across the web — a real time-saver, especially considering Google My Business has limited functionality currently due to COVID-19-related staff shortages at Google.

And Now for the Fun Stuff

Aside from posting about your hours, you can have a lot of fun with your social media. Here are just a few ideas of what you can post.

Obviously, at a restaurant, it’s all about the food. Snap photos of your mouth-watering creations! Include the chef in your posts — maybe shoot a video of him describing what ingredients he used. You can also include your employees: Take photos of them with their favorite dishes! Or share any photos your customers have posted with their favorite meals.
Take advantage of trending hashtags like #TakeoutTuesday and #TheGreatAmericanTakeout. Invite your customers to support local business by ordering takeout from you instead of crowding into grocery stores. Ask them to upload photos of their dishes with the hashtag — you could even turn it into a contest by selecting a random winner of a gift card to your location.

https://twitter.com/junebugcleary/status/1247658070353862658

What kind of safety precautions are you taking in light of COVID-19? Tell your customers about your cleaning and food preparation protocols. Let them know all your options for pickup and delivery.
With customers’ permission and proper social distancing, you can snap photos of customers as they pick up their food. Tell them “thank you” for supporting your business!
Don’t forget about reviews — both asking for them and posting them on your social media! As we wrote in this article about online reviews, it’s critical that you have current reviews posted, not reviews from several months ago. Customers want to know what to expect from your business today, and your reviews give them the confidence they need to place an order. With GMB not posting new reviews currently, you may have to take other measures, like directing customers to other review platforms. You can also use our Revv app to send out surveys and gather positive feedback right after a sale.
Now is the perfect time to lean into family-friendly options that bring households together. All-in-one meal kits and take-and-bake meals with instructions give families something to do together as they’re sheltering at home. Snap photos of your meal kits and caption them with what’s included, prices and why families will love eating these dishes together. For instance, Rubio’s posted a fun video of their Family Taco Kit featuring Ralph Rubio’s tips on washing hands and assembling meals — as well as what he’s binge-watching right now!

https://www.facebook.com/rubios/posts/10156906825916976

Are you giving back to healthcare workers, police, families in need, any other people in your community? Maybe you supply lunch once or twice a week and post all your photos of these special deliveries.
How about a live happy hour on Facebook or Zoom where you walk your patrons through a meal and how to pair it with a good wine or beer? Make menu recommendations for all the different people who might be in a household, from little kids who eat nothing but chicken nuggets to adults wanting a gourmet experience at home. Create opportunities for live interaction in a time when people are eager for human connection more than ever before.
Could you partner with other businesses for giveaways and promotions? In another post, Rubio’s gave fans a chance to win a yearlong Disney+ subscription in exchange for follows, likes and tagging friends. It doesn’t have to be a big business like Disney, either. You could partner with local businesses, tag each other in content, and help support each other and extend your reach even further.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-p1ggUHeBe/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Tap Into the Power of Social Media

Rallio Dashboard — Our social media management tool was built specifically for franchises and multi-unit businesses. It lets you control your brand’s social and review pages from one simple spot, as well as syndicate content to different types of franchisees and set permissions.
Rallio Local — Technology is great, but humans are better. Rallio Local combines the power of the Rallio technology with the creativity of real people. Receive weekly custom, local content, custom responses to your online reviews, social ad campaigns and community management. We pair you with a Social Strategist to deliver hyper-local content that gets seen by your audience through fully managed ad campaigns.
Rallio Activate — Leverage the power of your employees to reach customers like never before. Incentivize them with rewards programs that you create, and collect assets into your brands image library. Have them submit their own photos and videos to earn points, and publish your brand-approved content on their personal profiles.

To get started, fill out our online form or reach out to sales@rallio.com. Let’s keep you growing even as we navigate the current challenges.

This article is the third in a four-part series exploring ways to respond to changing times, digitize your business and blow up your social media presence. Watch for our future vertical-specific articles to learn how to adapt for the current economy.

Tags coronavirus, franchise social media, social media marketing

Social

The Pandemic and Online Education: How Social Media Can Help

Post author By Rallio
Post date April 4, 2020

Earlier this week, we covered the different ways pet-related businesses can pivot during the COVID-19 crisis and how social media marketing can help them make an impact in their communities. This article, the second in a four-part series, is dedicated to online education — a hot-button topic for educators, parents and children learning at home right now. Let’s dive right in!

Key Takeaways:

You don’t need to be a video or branding expert to teach your audience something on social media. Prop your phone up on a chair, work out a math problem on a whiteboard and viola! You just added so much value to a parent’s day.
Now more than ever, people are craving rich content, and you absolutely have something to offer. The only way you can use social media wrong as an educator is by not using it at all.
You can partner with local schools and businesses digitally on social media. Tag them in your content, start a Facebook Group with them, organize Zoom webinars and co-host them as an event on Facebook. The COVID-19 crisis might feel like it’s hindered your reach, but actually it’s only allowing you to think more creatively.

For Tutoring Businesses and Educators

Let’s face it: Parents have a lot on their plates right now. They’re trying to be both parent and teacher, not to mention chef, house cleaner, coach and all the many other hats they must wear.

Children have a lot on their plates, too. For many of them, this is the first time they’ve had to learn in an exclusively online environment. And although they’re no strangers to the internet, they’re not necessarily going to have a seamless transition to online learning.

Moreover, they’re isolated from their friends. Graduating seniors are having an especially rough end of the year, missing out on social activities, spring sports, grad nights and graduation ceremonies. There are no do-overs when it comes to these precious moments.

However, here’s where tutoring businesses, retailers of educational materials, music and art teachers, and other educators have an incredible opportunity to not only ease the burden on parents, but also offer extra support to students as they shift to online education. While you can’t replace the moments they’re missing out on at school, you can give them the one-on-one support they need to feel successful with their academics.

Even if you don’t have an online learning platform in place for your business, you can use other tools like Zoom, Google Classroom and your own social media pages to connect with students. In addition to providing virtual tutoring sessions, you can go live on Facebook and Instagram with fun videos, downloadable organizers and tips to entertain your audience. Why not solve a math problem or recite a children’s book in a creative video?

Connect with your local schools, too, to offer support services for educators and further your reach. Offer to create tutoring lessons tailored to teachers’ lessons plans that they can then share with their students. Use your social media pages to share all the great work you’re doing with hyper-local posts featuring your tutors and the people they serve.

https://www.facebook.com/TutorDoctor/posts/10157089037597374

For Any Business With Something to Teach

As people pick up new hobbies and strive to further their education at home, all different types of businesses can provide online lessons related to their business. Some people are simply looking to pass the time in ways that involve more than sitting on the couch and binging the latest reality show (not that there’s anything wrong with that). Others are jobless and looking to expand their skill sets as they look for new work.

You can step in and be of service during the COVID-19 crisis. As Forbes writes: “While many Americans will be forced to reevaluate their career options in the months and years to come, some will undoubtedly use this time of uncertainty and isolation to acquire practical skills that will increase their chances of finding employment once companies are hiring again.”

These online classes, many of them free, may be focused on a specific career outcome, like a technology skill, or they may be simply a dose of positivity in a time of crisis. Even higher education institutions are hopping on board. For instance, Yale is currently offering its most popular class, “The Science of Well-Being,” for free — something we all want to learn more about, right?

As a business owner, you’re an expert in something that your customers will want to learn more about. Think about some of the FAQ you tend to get over and over again. How can you answer those questions in an online learning environment while creating more engagement and connection with your customers?

You can use the same tools that tutors and educators use to teach your audience something new. Add in webinars and YouTube videos and share those on your social media channels as links or downloads, branded with your company name. When they have a question about your area of expertise, guess who they’re going to turn to? That’s right, you.

So don’t think of it as giving something away for free; think of it as building brand trust and awareness — not to mention just being a good human being in these challenging times.

For Cybersecurity Firms

With online platforms, there’s always a risk of hackers and unsafe situations, for children and parents alike. Cybersafety firms have an opportunity to teach consumers how to protect their personal information online, avoid cyberbullying and online predators, prevent hackers from accessing their online meetings, and protect themselves as well as seniors and children from the many scams that are arising out of COVID-19.

For cybersafety experts, social media provides an ideal platform to share safety tips and best practices. People of all ages can benefit from your posts and quick videos addressing some of the most common concerns and scams that have arisen from the COVID-19 crisis.

You can also partner with a variety of different businesses and institutions to further your reach, including schools, corporations and those serving elderly populations. For many people, technology is the only means to connecting with loved ones and accessing the information they need for work, school and social activities. You can step in and be of service to keep everyone safe online.

Tap Into the Power of Social Media

Rallio Dashboard — Our social media management tool was built specifically for franchises and multi-unit businesses. It lets you control your brand’s social and review pages from one simple spot, as well as syndicate content to different types of franchisees and set permissions.
Rallio Local — Technology is great, but humans are better. Rallio Local combines the power of the Rallio technology with the creativity of real people. Receive weekly custom, local content, custom responses to your online reviews, social ad campaigns and community management. We pair you with a Social Strategist to deliver hyper-local content that gets seen by your audience through fully managed ad campaigns.
Rallio Activate — Leverage the power of your employees to reach customers like never before. Incentivize them with rewards programs that you create, and collect assets into your brands image library. Have them submit their own photos and videos to earn points, and publish your brand-approved content on their personal profiles.

To get started, fill out our online form or reach out to sales@rallio.com. Let’s keep you growing even as we navigate the current challenges.

This article was the second in a four-part series exploring ways to respond to changing times, digitize your business and blow up your social media presence. Watch for our future vertical-specific articles to learn how to adapt for the current economy.

Tags coronavirus, franchise social media, social media marketing

Social

The Pandemic and Pet Businesses: How Social Media Can Help

Post author By Rallio
Post date April 1, 2020

You’ve probably heard it said by now that the real winners in the COVID-19 crisis are the dogs. As you’re sheltering at home and spending more time with them than perhaps ever before, they’re blissfully unaware of the pandemic wreaking havoc around the globe.

That goes for cats, too — though they won’t admit it. Really, any kind of animal companion you have at home is probably extremely happy you’re at their side 24/7.

For retailers and pet clinics or shelters providing products and services to our fur babies, there’s an incredible opportunity to connect with pet owners on social media throughout this time of need. Just as we humans need to get to the grocery store for food or to the doctor for certain medical needs, we have to be able to supply the basic necessities and healthcare — and all the treats and toys — for our precious pets.

Many retailers and providers are remaining open during the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring that all our pets’ needs are met. However, at the same time, they are operating under restrictions to ensure social distancing and to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. If you have a pet-related business, this first article in a four-part series will specifically help you to pivot your business model, connect with a captive digital audience and even grow your business despite COVID-19.

For Retailers

If you have a retail location selling pet products and services, you can easily pivot to offer curbside pickup, online ordering with in-store pickup and even free local delivery if you have the resources to do so. Give your customers plenty of options to get the products they need without having to leave their cars or their homes.

You could also develop an autoship program to put customers on repeat orders — creating recurring revenue without you having to do any extra work to earn their business. With so many options available for pet products, find ways to differentiate yourself so you become the retailer of choice.

If you have in-store services you’re having to put on hold right now, such as grooming and dog training, you can also offer exclusive discounts for customers to “buy now and use later.” Let your customers know they can buy gift cards or services at a discount, for instance, and save them to use once you reopen. These extra purchases can help you maintain your operations as you manage the reduction in revenue in certain areas of business.

However you’re addressing the changes, be sure to spread the word on social media. Throw in a few cute puppy pics while you’re at it — that’s key for social engagement!

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=2749303651849108&id=831710390275120&substory_index=0

For Animal Shelters

The upside of COVID-19 is that some animal shelters are completely clearing out their animal populations. As people shelter in place, they understandably want a fur buddy to help pass the time while they catch up on their Netflix binging.

Other shelters may be experiencing a greater need for foster parents and adoptions. With fewer people venturing outside the home and some shelters closing to the public as well as canceling public events, there are also those shelters that have fewer pets being adopted out. It’s a concerning situation, as shelters want to adopt out as many animals as possible in the event they experience staffing shortages due to COVID-19 (and of course they want to help their animal populations find their forever homes!).

Some shelters are replacing in-person adoptions with more creative solutions to address the COVID-19 crisis. Virtual adoptions are becoming more commonplace — with online interviews of potential pet parents and digital adoption applications. In some cases, animal shelters may be booking private appointments for a meet-and-greet outside the building’s front doors to allow for social distancing.

In place of live fundraisers and adoptions, animal shelters could go live on Facebook and Instagram. Ask for online donations and set up a system to match animals with their humans. Reach out to your usual adoption partners, like your local pet store, to collaborate online and drive more business.

https://www.facebook.com/humanesociety/posts/10157295291192842

For Veterinary Providers

If your vet clinic is staying open to provide essential pet services, you can adjust your operations to ensure the safety of your staff, customers and patients. Many providers have implemented limited-contact policies where they have pet parents call from their vehicles once they arrive in the parking lot. Staff members then retrieve pets to provide veterinary care and return them afterward, helping to limit the contact between the clinic and outside parties.

You may also be able to offer telehealth services to your patients to deliver remote care for basic health needs. As noted in this article from Today’s Veterinary Practice (TVP), veterinary telehealth is an evolving area of healthcare with the laws varying from state to state.

However, COVID-19 has given rise to discussions about how telehealth may be used in veterinary practices. Another TVP article notes, “Over the past few weeks, several states have amended their laws to allow the use of telehealth in an effort to provide patients and doctors with a way to interact without physical contact. The FDA temporarily suspended enforcement of some federal veterinarian-client-patient relationship (VCPR) requirements.”

Make sure you understand the rules in your state and how they apply to your practice. And, if and when you’re able to offer telehealth services, let your customers know through your social channels how to access those services. If you’re not in a position to do so at this time, tell your customers what you can do instead and how you’re taking the proper precautions to keep everyone safe.

https://www.facebook.com/MyAirvet/posts/587036491901298

Tap Into the Power of Social Media

Rallio Dashboard — Our social media management tool was built specifically for franchises and multi-unit businesses. It lets you control your brand’s social and review pages from one simple spot, as well as syndicate content to different types of franchisees and set permissions.

Rallio Local — Technology is great, but humans are better. Rallio Local combines the power of the Rallio technology with the creativity of real people. Receive weekly custom, local content, custom responses to your online reviews, social ad campaigns and community management. We pair you with a Social Strategist to deliver hyper-local content that gets seen by your audience through fully managed ad campaigns.
Rallio Activate — Leverage the power of your employees to reach customers like never before. Incentivize them with rewards programs that you create, and collect assets into your brands image library. Have them submit their own photos and videos to earn points, and publish your brand-approved content on their personal profiles.

To get started, fill out our online form or reach out to sales@www.rallio.com. Remember, we’re all in this together — and Rallio is here to help you keep growing even as we navigate the current challenges.

This article was the first in a four-part series exploring ways to respond to changing times, digitize your business and blow up your social media presence. Watch for our future vertical-specific articles to learn how to adapt for the current economy.

Tags coronavirus, franchise social media, social media marketing

Social Uncategorized

Top Franchise Social Media Marketing Trends for 2020

Post author By Rallio
Post date November 26, 2019

In case you haven’t noticed, 2019 is rapidly coming to a close — and soon, we’ll be tackling new challenges in 2020. Before we get there, though, it’s important to take some time to reflect on the past year’s successes and identify opportunities for growth in the coming year.

Social media is one of the areas of your business that will always be in flux, requiring continual evaluation to gauge what’s working and what’s not. To help you get set for a new year of growth on your social media pages, keep the following top trends in mind as you create your 2020 marketing plans.

Continue to Focus on Local Content

Local content continues to be critical to reaching your local target market and building an engaged local audience. Today, you’re competing not just with your direct competitors, but also with the barrage of all other types of digital media that users are consuming daily. That means your content needs to give them a reason to stop, read and, hopefully, engage with your content in some way.

Here’s what won’t work: sharing only corporate content. Although corporate content has its place on your page — say, for special promotions and branded pieces — it can’t be the only thing you post. Your local content is meaningful to your local audience and is what will get them to engage with you like the real human you are.

Personal, real-life photos and videos are what will capture your audience’s attention in 2020. Videos, in particular, are vital to your social media success, especially on mobile devices. The 2017-2022 Cisco Visual Networking Index estimates that by 2022, 79 percent of the world’s mobile data traffic will be from video.

It isn’t just engaging your local audience that matters, either. You have to keep them engaged once you grab their attention. Many users are on “social media overload” and will even voluntarily turn away from social media if they feel:

They’re wasting time scrolling through their feeds mindlessly
They need a social media or digital “detox”
They’re worried about protecting their own data, due to recent privacy concerns on social media platforms
They don’t trust the brand/person posting content because they’ve heard about “fake news”

Your local content lends credibility and gives them a reason to stay, with memorable, meaningful glimpses into the people behind the product or service. Like any good relationship, it adds value to their lives rather than causing them to feel like it’s a distraction or something from which they need to “detox” from time to time.

It’s the difference between them simply clicking like (or even love), versus taking the time to type out a response, share it and insert themselves in a conversation.

The bottom line: If you’re at a party and there are a few different conversations going on, which one would you rather join in on: the one where one person is talking about himself and everyone else is staring at their phones, or the one where everyone is laughing, telling jokes, sharing stories and having a great time? Remember, a high number of followers doesn’t mean much for a business if those followers aren’t engaging with the brand.

https://www.facebook.com/541879122868760/photos/a.597667927289879/1211714625885203/?type=3&theater

Pay to Play

Along with having great, hyper-local content, you need a healthy ad budget to get seen in the overcrowded social media space. According to Social Media Today, you should consider increasing your social media ad budget in 2020 in order to remain competitive.

“All social media platforms are improving the machine learning behind their advertising platforms. For these machines to learn, they need data, and as social media advertising campaigns run, they collect and aggregate data in search of users who are most likely to convert,” writes author Nathan Mendenhall (@NCMSocial).

So you’re not just paying for people to see your content — because goodness knows they’re not going to see it if you rely solely on organic reach — but also for that data. Spend less, and you have less data aggregation. Spend more, and you shorten the time to convince and convert leads and generate positive ROI.

The bottom line: Social media platforms have to make money, just like you. Consider paying a little more for advertising so you can start maximizing brand reach with the people you want to reach, right when you want to reach them.

Encourage Employee Advocacy

Expect employee advocacy to play a big role in the success of your social media pages. When your team members post positively about your brand, it generates social proof in a way that you can’t — in other words, people will be more likely to believe it if you’re not the one tooting your own horn.

At Rallio, our clients have had great success with activating employees who are given limited mobile access to their brand’s social media assets. They’re able to post to their own social media pages on behalf of the brand and help spread the word in an authentic way.

As they help with word-of-mouth marketing, employees are helping to build a community around your brand. From that community you may find a number of “microinfluencers” who are willing to share their honest feedback about your products or services. Consumers are more likely to trust the recommendations of their peers over a brand advertisement — even people they don’t know!

Forbes Communications Council member Haseeb Tariq writes: “Engagement trumps number of followers. An influencer can have 10 million followers who see your product or business promoted, but without enough engagement, your campaign will fall flat. Micro-influencers, on the other hand, might only have a few thousand followers, but they are often more engaged in the influencer’s posts and may not only buy your product but also promote it to their own networks for free.”

Whether it’s an employee or a microinfluencer, the concept of small, engaged communities will drive the growth of your brand and, likely, your sales. You get greater engagement at a lower advertising cost, plus the priceless benefit of gaining greater trust in your brand that’s more likely to result in conversions.

The bottom line: The days of posting content and hoping people swing by to engage with it are coming to a close in many ways. Although you may have some organic growth with good content, it will be quite slow — so slow, in fact, that it won’t keep pace with the number of people who stop following you over time. To stay competitive, you need an army of people continually advocating for your brand — in the form of both employees and microinfluencers.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc5CctxgGVa/?utm_source=ig_embed

Serve Your Customers on Social

According to Smart Insights, 28% of consumers have turned to social media to communicate directly with a company over the past year. Although email and phone communication are still popular methods of getting in touch, evidently, people also find social media to be a quick, convenient method of voicing questions or complaints and leaving reviews.

They expect fast responses, too — think minutes, not hours or days (and no, they don’t care if you’re a small business with limited time to check your social media).

The bottom line: It’s critical that you or someone on your team dedicate time daily to respond to reviews, comments and questions on the major platforms. Whether it’s positive or negative feedback, taking the time to reply to your customers lets them know you’re listening and you care.

What are some other trends you expect to be important for franchise organizations in 2020? Comment below and let us know.

If you think your franchise could use expert guidance to navigate franchise social media marketing in the new year, get in touch with us at Rallio. Give us 10 minutes, and in two days we’ll get back to you with a social media audit of your existing follower count, engagement, online reviews and reputation — stack-ranked by location and by brand average in each category. Click here to submit our quick online form and get started.

Tags franchise social media, social media marketing

Social

Need to Recruit Franchise Operators? Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Post author By Rallio
Post date August 12, 2019
No Comments on Need to Recruit Franchise Operators? Use Social Media to Your Advantage

This post originally appeared on Franchise Business Review and has been reposted with permission.

Social media has become an indispensable tool in franchise recruiting, with more and more franchise organizations using social platforms to attract new franchisees. With the ability to hone in on the exact type of operators they want to bring on board, franchise organizations are able to save time looking for the right qualified candidates. Meanwhile, prospective franchisees are using social media to research brands — oftentimes, making buying decisions before they’ve even contacted a franchisor based on what they see online.

According to the 2018 Annual Franchise Development Report, average advertising and media budgets for franchise sales and recruiting reached $202,462 in 2018. Of that, 12 percent went toward social media advertising. If your franchise hasn’t already allocated dollars toward social media advertising for recruiting, there’s no time like the present to do so — and here’s how you can begin using social media to recruit the best franchisees.

Start at the Local Level

Encourage your franchisees to share local content that shows the human side of your franchise. Not only is local content key to bringing in local business, but it’s also important for your recruiting efforts. The happier and more relatable your franchisees are, the more likely it is that prospective franchisees will take an interest in your brand. That’s because prospects, before they even pick up the phone and call you, are checking out your brand on social media to gather information and decide if you’re a good fit.

As your operators create local content, you can also share their posts through your corporate page and then boost the content. Target your boosted posts to reach the demographic, income level, age, interests and geographic region where you’re recruiting. Keep in mind that single-unit franchisees who are first-time investors will be looking for different information than experienced multi-unit, multi-concept prospects looking for their next investment.

Furthermore, you can create and boost your own franchisee “spotlight” posts that highlight successful operators. It could be a photo with a caption, or short videos that you post on your Facebook and Instagram pages and Stories. Keep an eye on the local news about your franchisees so you can bring attention to their success! Soon, you’ll have a consistent pipeline of prospects visiting your social media pages and inquiring about your franchise opportunities.

Pre-Qualify Candidates

Does your franchise development team sell franchises — or award them? Shifting to an awardmindset is an important step in bringing in the best franchisees for your brand. You don’t want your team selling to just anyone and everyone, and indeed many franchisee prospects never make it past the initial phone call because they don’t qualify to buy.

With an award mindset, you can use social media to pre-qualify candidates. Establish a recruiting Facebook page for your brand, and send prospects there from your targeted ads. From there, Facebook Messenger can be set up to ask automated questions and gather information. You can ask the questions that help you know whether a candidate is qualified and genuinely interested in taking the next steps, then follow up afterward.

This way, when your development team does get on the phone with candidates, they can be fairly certain these are good leads. Meanwhile, the people who are serious about pursuing a franchise investment will feel confident they’re pursuing a great opportunity — one that will be “awarded” to them, not “sold.”

Set Them Up for Success

As you bring in new franchisees, make sure you have the proper support processes in place to set them up for success and long-term growth. As discussed in this article featuring FBR CEO Eric Stites, one critical success factor for franchisees is access to marketing, technology and innovation.

Indeed, franchisors that provide marketing solutions are more likely to attract and retain franchisees. When you invest in innovative technologies and strategies that help your franchisees spread the word and advertise their locations, it helps to drive their success forward. In turn, franchise candidates who learn of your support systems will see that you’re committed to the growth of your franchisees.

As you’re implementing new technologies, be sure you understand and address franchisee needs at the local level. Nowadays, social media is a customer support channel, where customers leave reviews, comments and questions every day. Give them a way to manage and respond to customers via social media so they’re not missing any sales opportunities or allowing comments and complaints to go unanswered.

In this way, not only will you be supporting existing franchisees, but you’ll also be circling back to point #1 above: Start at the local level. The better the local social presence, the better your reputation — and the greater the likelihood that new recruits will take an interest in your brand.

Tags franchise recruiting, franchise social media