Social media is where your franchise stops being a corporation and starts having a personality
With the rise of globalisation, people started looking for something more than just a product. Today customers want a connection on a deeper level, empathy, and meaning. Thankfully, social media allows any brand to create and evolve a personality, allowing it to have genuine interactions with its customers, leads, and society. This anthropomorphisation has become a cornerstone in some of the most successful SMM strategies, and if used correctly, it will positively impact your franchising business in at least seven ways.
Brand awareness
Social media is a heaven-sent tool for any marketer out there. Never in history was it so easy to spread brand awareness as it is today, and it’s all thanks to these gathering platforms, where people spend approximately two and a half hours each day. Combined with the fact that over 4.6 billion people have at least one social media profile, these platforms are the perfect place to spread the word about your franchise. Brand awareness on such a scale is impossible anywhere else, so being active in your social media will ensure your growth in audience, leads, and even sales.
Helps you lure talent
Being active on social media opens a lot more doors when you are looking for talent to help you grow your business. 79% of people use social media when looking for new employment opportunities. At the same time, about 75% of job seekers consider the employer’s brand before applying, and 52% of them check the company on social media. Needless to say, keeping an up-to-date social media profile that highlights your brand culture and personality is indispensable in luring the best of the best to help you in your business efforts.
Builds strong relationships
Social media is where your franchise stops being a corporation and starts having a personality. That’s a cornerstone of establishing a genuine relationship with your customers. No one wants to talk to a corporate entity – one that lacks humanity and empathy and has only one motivation – money. Social media is the one place where you can give support, find like-minded individuals, and, most importantly, share your gratitude towards your partners, employees, and even customers. This will inspire loyalty and connection beyond the business relations you have outside social media.
Connects you with consumers
By its definition, social media is a place where you should make a connection with your customers and allow them to communicate more instantly with you. Around 68% of customers claim to prefer to interact with companies directly on social media.
Moreover, social media messaging is a great way to enhance your customer support. As mentioned, people spend on average 2.5 hours on their social media of choice, so naturally, they will prefer to seek help there. Making yourself available will show them you actually care not only about their money but also their experience.
Stimulates engagement
People don’t go to social media channels to have a one-sided conversation. That’s what media outlets are for. Instead, they seek engagement with their peers and, more often than not, the brands they prefer. Done right, customer engagement on social media can amplify your franchise’s brand awareness efforts and your customers’ loyalty. It will increase customer advocacy by 25%, and about 66% of people will see your franchise more favourably. All you need to do to earn these perks is to answer whenever someone writes a comment or a message. It’s not that hard.
It’s cost-friendly
Being at the start of your franchising business can be challenging. I know that better than anyone. Everything is tight, especially the budget. When Fantastic Services was first starting, social media were in their infancy stage, and they were still to prove themselves to be a valuable asset. Today, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and many others are probably the most cost-friendly way to spread the word about your brand. Creating a profile on almost all social media is absolutely free, and if you decide to invest in paid ads, it’s still one of the most cost-effective ways compared to other marketing channels.
Gets your voice heard
Last but not least, social media is the one place you can spread not only your sales messages but your ideas and values and actively change people’s mindsets. It’s not easy to be a thought leader and an authority figure in your industry, but if you have ideas worth spreading, social media are the platforms to do it. With over half of the human population using at least one, it’s definitely a forum you wouldn’t want to miss.
There are no downsides to being part of at least one (preferably several) social media outlets. It’s free, it’s highly useful, and most importantly, it’s fun.
This post was written by Rune Sovndahl, co-founder and CEO of Fantastic Services. They are an exhibitor on the FranchiseShow247 Cleaning & Domestic Services floor and you can visit their FranchiseShow247 exhibition stand here.
