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People like doing business with other people, particularly in their own communities. While your franchisor may manage national marketing campaigns, it’s your job as the local franchise to handle any local marketing initiatives. Any marketing you provide should focus on humanizing your brand to your local community. Here are a few ways to do that:
Build a Local Website for Your Franchise
You need a local website with a customized presence that is specific to your customer's location. This should:
Maintain a consistent look and feel: It's important that you maintain a consistent appearance with your franchisor’s brand website but also have any pertinent local information for your franchise. Make sure you include any location and contact information that is relevant to people within your community.
Be mobile-friendly: Since mobile has surpassed desktop as the primary way most people access the internet with over 50% of traffic, it's important that you optimize your website for mobile. Not having a website that is optimized for mobile can make people 60% less likely to return if they have a negative experience.
Take Advantage of Email Marketing
Email marketing can be three times more effective than social media at converting customers.
“80% of retail professionals indicate that email marketing is their greatest driver of customer retention (the next closest channel? Social media, identified by just 44% of those same professionals),” says Allan Finn at Wordstream.com. By having a targeted segmented campaign, you can nurture existing leads as well as communicate with customers about promotions.
Make Use of Social Media
If your franchise has guidelines for maintaining the brand identity, make sure you follow these on your social media. Since a social media account can talk directly with the customer, it’s important to maintain a cohesive brand identity.
There are numerous social media platforms available (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. Instead, pick the platforms where most of your customers hang out.
Social media marketing done right can be a powerful tool for franchises to improve interactions with customers where they’re doing more communication instead of simply selling. Improving customer communication and engagement in the right way can help build a connection and forge relationships with both existing and prospective customers.
Start Marketing Today
When set up correctly, having a local website, using email marketing, and making use of social media can cover the fundamentals of putting together a marketing strategy for your franchise.
Susan Guillory is the President of Egg Marketing & Communications, a marketing firm specializing in content writing and social media management. She’s written three business books, including How to Get More Customers With Press Releases, and frequently blogs about small business and marketing on sites including Forbes, AllBusiness, The Marketing Eggspert Blog, and Tweak Your Biz. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing.