Social media marketing is still a minefield for many franchise owners. Rebecca Newenham reveals the secrets to making it work for you this year.
There is no getting away from the power of social media platforms. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram all have massive reach and could be fantastic marketing tools for your business. But for busy franchise owners, social media can also seem like a significant time drain, with limited return.
Use these daily, weekly & monthly checklists to make social media work for you and your franchise.
Daily social media tasks
Interaction is essential for social media, so many sure you are logging into your platforms every day to reply to direct messages, comments and chats and check mentions. Engage with other users, including influencers and industry news accounts and retweet relevant or topical content. Comment in Facebook groups and LinkedIn groups, offering recommendations where you can. Update Instagram/Facebook stories and reels to share what’s going on in your business.
Weekly actions
Scheduling is a brilliant way to maintain a consistent presence on social media. So put time aside each week to create posts, source images and find relevant content to share from other accounts. Then add them into your scheduling tool, and you are ready to go! Make time if you can to research similar profiles, target audiences and check in on your stats and progress towards targets. Use this information to tweak your posting schedule if needed.
Monthly social media management
Analysing your social media performance is critical, so review your key metrics each month. Benchmark your performance versus competitors. Think ahead with content planning by researching topical content and ideas. Check upcoming awareness days for inspiration. Social media activity must align with your business goals, so ensure what you are planning is on track with your ideal target customer and key marketing messages. If you are trying to raise awareness of your business, then follower stats are an important measure. By contrast, if you’re focused on selling tickets to an upcoming event, then conversion rates will be your vital metric.
The world of social media is constantly changing, and it can be daunting. But using checklists can make sure you stay on track. Don’t try and do everything – it’s much better to pick the one platform that best fits your target audience and do it well than try and spread yourself too thinly. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If social media isn’t your bag, outsource it to an expert so that you can get on with growing your business.
