Some people will tell you that established franchises have certain built-in marketing advantages over newer business models. They have powerful brands, time-tested systems, and a robust word of mouth referral program from other successful franchisees. But digital marketing can level the playing field when it comes to generating leads.
Digital Campaigns Stretch Your Franchise Marketing Dollars
Every franchise development team is looking for ways to generate, qualify, and close sales leads in a cost-effective way. Keeping in mind that digital marketing is typically one element of a larger marketing program, a great digital plan can have an outsized impact on your lead generation results compared to other kinds of advertising.
Digital marketing tactics work best when they work together. Here is a list of the most used online franchise marketing tools:
- Personas: a persona is a description of a fictional individual who is highly likely to be interested in your specific franchise opportunity. Based on demographics, psychographics, and current franchisee profiles, a persona humanizes your target audience. You can use personas to put the right messages in front of the right people in the right places at the right time to capture their attention.
- Search engine optimization (SEO): search engine optimization is the practice of identifying key words and phrases that prospects are most likely to use in an online search for a business like yours. Keywords are usually written into blogs and web pages to make your content more relevant when Google serves up its search engine response pages.
- Search engine marketing (SEM): search engine marketing places paid digital ads at the top of organic search results in places where they are most likely to be seen by your target audience. Like SEO, SEM uses keywords that resonate to grab attention and make your messages stand out from the competition.
- Social media: posting interesting facts and figures in social media such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, establishes your brand as a thought leader. Prospective franchisees are also consumers, who frequently buy a franchise from a company they know because they’re already a customer. Social media is a powerful way to reach them when they’re going about their daily lives, so your brand is top of mind when they’re ready to get serious about buying a franchise.
- Video: video content is the fastest growing piece of the digital franchise marketing mix. It’s visually exciting and improves your findability on search engines. A great video is a powerful way to let prospects see what a day in the life of a franchise owner is really like – and then it’s just one short step away to be living that life themselves.
- Franchise websites: even the best digital marketing campaigns don’t work if they lead to an unattractive website. Your website should deliver a simple, informative user experience with appropriate landing pages to keep prospects moving all the way through the sales funnel.
Custom Franchise Marketing Strategies
Successful marketing campaigns begin with thoughtful marketing strategies. If you don’t have time to step back and think about what’s working and what’s not, an honest, objective outside assessment can be exactly what’s needed to up your digital marketing game.
Accurate Franchising, Inc. can help you design a customized lead generation program that is flexible, affordable, targeted and easy to track.
Accurate Franchising, Inc. has thirty years of experience in franchise development. Contact us today to find out how digital marketing can grow your franchise business.
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