Franchises Are Missing Out on the Benefits of Social Media

It seems that even in today’s digital age, the large majority of franchises have not prioritized developing a franchise-wide social media communication plan. Given the fact that 91% of consumers make purchasing decisions that are influenced by online experiences, this is quite surprising. It’s even more surprising when you consider that 78% of social media users actually purchase from brands they follow online.

Why, then, are so many franchises not taking advantage of this great opportunity?

Let’s dig in deeper and look at numbers more specifically.

In a recent third-party study that analyzed Canadian franchises with headquarters in the Greater Toronto Area, these were the results:

28% of the franchises were found to have a solid corporate presence on social media. They had setup at least two brand pages on social media channels, were posting consistent content and were actively engaging and responding to their audience. However, these 28% of franchises did not have an identifiable plan for their franchisees. Some of the franchisees had setup their own social media pages, some had not. Some were posting a lot, some not at all. Images were often varied, and in some cases customer questions remained unanswered.

54% of the franchises had social media profiles setup but did not have a solid corporate presence on those channels. Posting was inconsistent, infrequent, and did not elicit response from fans or followers. In many cases there were customer posts that not been responded to. In every case there was also no identifiable plan for franchisees. As with the above findings, some local pages posted a lot, some not at all. Branding and customer service were inconsistent across the board.

16% of the franchises had no social media profiles that could be found on any social networks. That is hard to believe…but true.

What’s most revealing about this study is that none of the franchises had a social media presence that was well executed for the corporate brand and for all the local franchises.

Let this be a wakeup call to all the franchises out there. It’s not just about the corporate presence. It is essential for most franchises to have that local presence as well. After all, 69% of consumers are more likely to choose a local business’s products or services if that business has social media profiles. Also, 81% of consumers turn to social media to get their local customer service issues resolved, and they expect local companies to be there.

If local franchises do not have a well-managed social presence, the franchise overall is missing out on a huge potential for increased business.

Don’t let your franchise social presence go unmanaged. Be where your customers are looking for you. You won’t be sorry.