Changes in marketing trends are constant. Being up to date can be challenging, especially with the recent global pandemic disrupting things. Now we live in a brand-new world where the old way of life we knew has all but vanished.The consumer has changed, and recession-proof businesses know that they must adapt their franchises to meet emerging needs. It’s the same when it comes to planning your marketing strategy. The strategies that worked in the past might not work anymore.

How to Market Your Franchise in 2022?

It can be challenging to market a franchise in multiple markets in different locations. Marketing strategies tailored explicitly to franchise business models can help you overcome this challenge.

Consistency is key in franchising, as you market not only one company but several, so branding and marketing must be consistent across all of them. Therefore, you, as the franchisor, along with your franchisees, must follow a marketing strategy that keeps your brand consistent.

Top 4 Strategies in Franchise Marketing Today

The following are the top four franchise marketing strategies. These will help you market your franchise business effectively and consistently. Let’s get started!

1. Clever Use of Content Marketing

Social media posts, blog posts, and videos are all forms of content marketing. If you can take full advantage of this marketing method, you will be able to give your audience something of value and interest without being too in-your-face.

The key to content marketing is finding topics in which your target customers are interested. These steps will help you create a successful content marketing strategy:

Step 1: Platform Selection

Think about where your target customers like to spend their time on the internet. What is their preferred method of learning? Do they prefer watching videos or reading? Depending on the answers to these questions, you will need to post your content in different forms and on different websites.

Step 2: Idea Generation and Research

Decide which topics will be of interest to your customers. Do they want to know more about your franchise’s history? Would they be interested in learning about your products or services? Are they looking to learn more about the industry?

Find out what questions people in your target market ask on platforms like Reddit and Quora. Alternatively, you can keep an eye on your competitors’ posts.

Step 3: Content Creation

Once you’ve chosen the type of content you’ll publish, you can begin creating it. It is imperative that you produce quality content. For consistency, you should also create a social media content calendar if you post a lot of content on your social media channels.

2. Consistent Social Media Experience

Since you manage multiple locations, customer service should be a top priority. Therefore, social media is crucial to listening to and responding to your customers. 

Creating a positive brand image through positive interactions will increase your brand’s social shares and ultimately increase your revenue. A social media marketing campaign can include paid advertisements on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, etc.

The use of branded hashtags can help you create more brand awareness as well as generate more conversions. Create attractive ads, use hashtags, and provide excellent customer service to make the most of social media. This will give your ideal buyers a unified image they can trust and believe in.

3. Leaning into Brand Advocacy

A company’s greatest asset is its employees. You will be able to expand your reach enormously if you allow them to share pre-approved content on their own social media profiles.

Over 79% of companies report that employee advocacy increases brand visibility, according to a survey by Hinge Marketing. You will not only increase brand awareness through this method, but you will also save on marketing costs since you can reduce other marketing expenses.

Employee advocacy can be managed in three ways:

Approach 1: Central Marketing Board

In this case, a central authority is responsible for employee advocacy efforts on behalf of all franchisees. As a result, your franchisees will have little say in implementing employee advocacy as stipulated by the company’s board.

Approach 2: Board of Franchise Representatives

Franchise representatives will work with the parent company to develop employee advocacy strategies. In addition, each representative will assist you in creating a social media and brand messaging policy that is appropriate for your brand.

Approach 3: Decentralization

There will be no restrictions on how franchise owners develop their individual advocacy strategies. This method, however, will only work if franchise owners are provided with the necessary training to ensure brand guidelines are followed.

4. Conversion-Rate Optimization

An effective conversion rate optimization (CRO) strategy relies on constantly improving your website’s searchability and overall design. It is crucial to make it easy for visitors to find your website and encourage them to take specific actions.

In particular, search engine optimization (SEO) improves the visibility of your website for ideal customers. 

Your ideal customers will be more likely to find you if your website is optimized for local SEO. According to a Bright Local survey, approximately 93% of internet users search for local businesses online.

Having a mobile-friendly website is also crucial to your site’s success, as it is predicted that 72.6% of users will access the internet solely through mobile devices by 2025.

Split tests, or A/B tests, can also increase conversion rates to supplement SEO tactics. The purpose of A/B testing is to set two versions of a webpage against one another and determine which webpage performs better.

If you run A/B tests, you’ll be able to get more visitors to convert, whether they become leads or customers. 

Wrapping Up

You are now ready to choose which marketing methods will be most effective for your franchise business. If you decide to use any or all of these strategies, remember to maintain consistency throughout your branding and marketing.