Overcoming Roadblocks to Leveraging Social Media

Overcoming Roadblocks to

Leveraging Social Media by Angela Coté

One of the coolest advantages of franchising is the opportunity for franchise partners to grow their businesses by connecting with their local communities. After all, if connecting to the local community wasn’t valuable to a franchisor, why would they bother offering franchises? They would probably make more money simply expanding at a corporate level, and recouping all of the revenue for the company itself.

Connecting with the local community is how we grew my family business to almost 500 franchise locations across Canada. We encouraged an organic approach over traditional paid advertising because, let’s face it, our franchisees had enough business expenses to worry about.

In this day and age, we have an amazing marketing opportunity on platforms like Facebook and Instagram that are an effective way to reach our local audience at little or no cost.

I recently had the opportunity to present at a small business conference for independent business owners and franchisees on how to use social media to advance their brands. I will share three of the messages that I have found help most people overcome their roadblocks to leveraging social media.

1. Something is better than nothing. Unfortunately, I see all too often: analysis leads to paralysis. People get stumped overthinking what they are trying to post. Think about some simple tips you could share with your audience. Next, choose a method that works for you so that you will actually do it, whether that is a quick video, a short blog or a graphic with your tip. And don’t get paralyzed worrying that you have to be the only one delivering that particular message. Your prospective customers want to hear what YOU think about a particular topic and will appreciate the tips.

Angela Coté, Franchise Growth Catalyst, works with franchisors to improve franchisee profitability and performance, and helps startup franchisors with where to focus their time, money and energy to achieve sustainable growth. Having helped grow her family business to almost 500 franchise locations, Angela has an extensive understanding of the roadmap to success. For more information visit www.angelacote.com or reach out to angela@angelacote.com. 2. People LOVE real. There is something very endearing when folks are candid and natural. When people see someone else letting go of being perfect, it gives them permission to do the same. This authenticity draws people in. Don’t worry if you say “um” a few times in a video or use the wrong hashtag. 3. Quantity leads to quality. Think about anything you’ve ever learned, from math equations to a musical instrument or public speaking. It may seem scary at first, but remember that the more we practice something, the better we get at it. With social media marketing, the only real way to practice is by doing. So, for example, the more quick-tip videos we create, the more we learn what people like and the best way to market what we have to offer. Hopefully at least one of these messages sparks something in you to help you overcome whatever roadblocks you are having that are stopping you from leveraging your voice to attract your perfect customers. And, if you remember nothing else, remember this: the best marketing is the marketing you actually do, because guess what? I can guarantee that NO ONE sees the marketing you don’t do.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me at angela@angelacote.com – Angela will get you over your roadblocks so you can share your voice to positively impact your audience in a way that only you can.