It’s obviously beneficial for all involved in the franchisee is doing well. If they’re doing well they feel great about their business. You, as the franchisor, are likely making more money and can feel confident in the future of the relationship. And when franchisees are doing well it makes it easier to bring on additional franchisees.
One area where some franchises are struggling is online marketing. Some are certainly doing well. But I come across a number that are frustrated. One area is with blogging.
Here are some thoughts on how you can help your franchisees to get more from their blogging efforts.
1. Discuss necessary resources
The biggest reason blogs end up being left for dead is a lack of understanding on what’s required. Usually someone gets excited about the idea of blogging. They have about 10 ideas. They work through those in the first 2-3 months. Then they struggle to continue at the same pace.
You often see the same thing occur in music. An artist spends their life working on songs for their first album. They work through those. Now they’re busy and they have to change the way they create in order to continue to release music.
Discuss the expectations with your franchisee. Ask them who will be brainstorming ideas and how often. Ask them who will be doing the writing and the editing. Discuss what the schedule will be. See if they have resources for creating snippets and promoting the content.
If they are able to do it on their own then you’re in great shape. If not, see if there are ways you can help. Perhaps you can provide ideas to a writer they have. That can help in a big way so the writer isn’t opening the laptop with the pressure of coming up with an idea on the spot.
2. Discuss target market
Blogging, like most marketing, is about focusing on a target audience. You probably have a very good idea of what the target market is. It may be the same across all franchisees, but perhaps it differs. Maybe for location or some other data point.
Discuss the target market for the franchisee that is blogging. Make sure they’re focusing on the right person because that makes for better writing and it also helps with the title strategy.
3. Discuss title strategy
If the franchisee is struggling with what to write about have them focus on question and answer. The questions the target audience is asking and what the best answers are. If they have been in business for awhile they probably encounter questions every day. Have them document these and then create titles from those questions.
If they’re a new franchisee they may need some help with the brainstorming. Since you’ve been involved in the business for awhile, provide some insight into what questions the target customers are asking.
4. Provide internal data and research
Something that really makes blog posts stand out is primary research. Let’s say that your franchise does surveys throughout all the franchisees. You’re surveying customers all over. You’re getting lots of feedback and data. You use this internally.
But it can also make for great material in blog posts. Potential customers for your franchisees are asking questions. Many of those questions involve curiosity about what other people like them are doing. You can use the internal data. You can have the franchisee include personal stories and case studies.
Writing about specific situations is often easier for those writing and is better content for readers.
5. Boost visibility
Some franchises provide advertising help for their franchisees. Often there is a fee for this across all franchisees. More of this money is being spent on different types of advertising. Some are experimenting with helping to boost visibility of online content. Videos, podcasts, social media posts and blog posts.
Consider helping to boost the visibility of franchisees that are doing a good job of creating blog content.
Conclusion
Blogging isn’t an easy thing for most businesses. There can be some initial excitement about the start of the blog. But after that wears off it can be difficult to maintain a regular schedule. As a franchisor, this can be frustrating. Hopefully these ideas can at least spark some action that can help you and your team create more content that will bring in more customers for everybody.