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When you’re doing research on a franchise opportunity you’re interested in, there are several things you need to focus on. They include:
- Franchisee profitability
- Competitiveness
- Territory availability
- Potential locations
- Franchisee satisfaction
And more.
But there’s something else you need to research. Something that’s really important these days…social media.
Before you make a buying decision on a franchise you’re interested in owning, you need to get a sense of their social media marketing capabilities.
That’s because in today’s day and age, it’s crucial for franchisors to have a powerful social media presence.
Furthermore, they need to know how to turn that presence into dollars for their franchisees. But how can you find out? How will you know if the franchise opportunity you’re interested in is doing a good job with social media?
Go Online
The first thing to do is to visit the franchisors website and look for social media icons. At a minimum, you should see icons for at least two or three of the following: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. (Note: some franchises won’t be on all social media platforms because of the research they’ve done into whether a particular platform works for them. This is something you can discuss with franchises as you progress towards buying.)
After you locate them, click on each one. Spend 5-10 minutes on each social media page and look for these three things.
1. Dates
How recent are the posts or images? In a perfect world, there should be something posted the same day you’re on the site.
2. Comment Volume
Count the comments after the first few posts. Are there a lot of them? Does the franchisor participate?
3. Tone
Do the posts reflect the right tone? In this case, the right tone should be one that aligns well with the brand.
For instance, if the franchise concept you’re looking into has a fun “feel” to it, does it reflect in their social media presence? It should.
The Importance of Social Media Today
There’s an important reason I’m encouraging you to spend some of your research time looking into the social media presence of the franchise opportunity you’re exploring. Check this out:
According to Sprout Social, customers are 57.5% more likely to buy a product or service from a brand they follow on social media.
That said, here are a few things franchisors use social media for:
- Brand awareness
- Audience engagement
- Polls
- Contests
- Customer satisfaction
And more.
Use Facebook as the Measuring Stick
As of this writing, Facebook dominates the social media landscape. That’s why you need to spend most of your franchise social media research time on this channel.
As has been noted, today’s customers are more likely to buy a product or service from a company they follow on social media. And Facebook makes it easy for prospective (and current) customers to follow and interact with these companies.
For example, when I look at the Facebook Page of a franchise business opportunity, I jump to the photo section. It’s a terrific way to see the human side of their business, as the images frequently show interactions between customers and employees. You should do the same.
Another great way to measure how good the franchise you’re interested in uses social media—in this case their Facebook Page, is to see how they handle holidays.
For instance, how has the company you’re looking at handle Veterans Day?
Did they use the right tone? Did they thank veterans for their service to our country? If they have franchisees who are veterans, did they give them a shout-out?
In summation, researching the social media presence of the franchise opportunities you’re investigating is an important part of your decision process.
It’s not the end-all or most important factor on whether or not to buy a franchise, but because of the way today’s consumers are using social media as part of their buying decisions, it’s a good use of your research time.
The Franchise King®, Joel Libava, is a top franchise expert. He’s written over 2,000 different articles on franchise ownership and personally consults with people who are looking to buy a profitable franchise. Go here to find out how The Franchise King® can help you become your own boss.