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Reputation Social

Social Media Marketing, the Quarantine Edition: How to Pivot When Times Get Tough

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If you’ve tried to reply to or leave a Google My Business review recently, you may have noticed you’re not able to do so. Google announced on Friday that due to COVID-19, a number of its GMB features have been suspended or limited, including new reviews, replying to reviews and Q&As.

We understand these limitations are impacting our clients and many other businesses, yet at the same time, we want to remind you that you can — and very much should — continue responding to reviews and asking your customers for reviews on Facebook, Yelp and other review platforms. 

In fact, now more than ever, it’s critical that you pay attention to what customers are saying, asking about and commenting on via social media and online review platforms.

There’s been a huge surge in the use of social media and online usage ever since COVID-19 caused the need for social distancing, quarantining and lockdowns for people and communities around the world. eMarketer predicts a boost in digital media consumption across social platforms as people turn to social media to connect with loved ones or access coronavirus news.

With many local businesses having to limit their hours, shift their product or service offerings, or even shut down operations altogether, their customers are now at home, scrolling their feeds throughout the day. That means you not only have an opportunity to get in front of them with local content and remind them you’re still actively engaged with your community, but also generate and respond to your reviews online.

In this article, we’ll cover: 

  • Which features are currently limited or suspended
  • What these restrictions mean for local businesses
  • What you can do about it 
Google My Business listing
Google My Business features may be temporarily unavailable. Unless you provide a critical health-related service, expect delays if you require Google’s assistance.

Which Features Are on Hiatus?

New reviews, review replies and Q&As may be unavailable during this time. If a customer leaves a review, it may not appear on your GMB profile, and/or you may not be able to respond to an existing review if you haven’t already. 

Additionally, if you need to make edits to your business information, note that Google is prioritizing those edits that are critical to health-related businesses. Google has stated that it will also prioritize reviewing any edits for open and closed states, special hours, temporary closures, business descriptions and business attributes for other verified businesses.

At Rallio, we are supporting our clients using our Business Listing Service by helping them update their information online with the help of our Social Strategists. Any of our users who have reduced hours or closures are able to communicate that information quickly and easily across the web using this service.

What Do These Restrictions Mean for Local Business?

As a local business owner, these changes mean you may not be able to interact with your customers via GMB. Any reviews that haven’t already been handled likely will not be able to be responded to at this time. 

Potentially, you may have a negative review that isn’t able to be addressed, and Google might not be able to provide any support currently. 

https://www.facebook.com/petsuppliesplus/posts/10156698230467117

What Can You Do About It?

Google is important for your business, no doubt. But it’s certainly not the only platform that matters. Here are just a few ways to mitigate the impacts of a limited GMB presence:

  • Ask your customers for reviews on Facebook, Yelp and other review platforms. For our REVV clients, this means you should simply point your customers to non-GMB platforms when you request a review. If you’re not currently using REVV — our reputation accelerator that enables quick, mobile-based reviews from your clients — simply leave a comment on this post below, fill out our online contact form or email support@www.rallio.com, and we’ll get you some info right away.
  • Edit your business listing. You may be able to add a “temporarily closed” or “takeout/delivery available” descriptor to your business name in GMB, which appears to have loosened its restrictions on such changes. However, be aware that Google is prioritizing its reviews of business information edits according to the type of business — for instance, those that are critical for health-related businesses. Therefore, there’s no guarantee your edits will have a speedy review from Google.
  • Publish your reviews as posts. Any reviews you have in hand can be turned into posts and boosted (provided there’s not too much text in the graphic; Facebook is picky about that). Canva.com has some awesome tools to create eye-catching graphics. Put the body of your review in a caption and attach a nice graphic, and voila! Your review is now published.
  • Ask your customers to share their reviews. You’d be amazed at how willing people are to help out their favorite small businesses right now. They can support you by giving you a shoutout via their own social media pages and Stories.
  • Generate your own buzz. Go live on Instagram and Facebook to tell your customers about any changes, limited hours or just to spread some positivity, humor and love! People need to stay connected right now, and social media is the perfect venue to facilitate connection.
  • Pivot. Are you facing unprecedented changes in your business? So now is the time to do unprecedented, miraculous things. We’ve seen our client Pet Supplies Plus begin offering curbside pickup. Alcohol distilleries are starting to make hand sanitizer. Fitness studios are offering live and recorded classes. Restaurants, quick-serve eateries and bars everywhere are offering free delivery, contactless delivery or pickup and other options to make quarantine life bearable.
  • Keep calm and post on. Now is not the time to stop marketing yourself. Fight this coronavirus with compassion, communication and spot-on messaging as you take care of the community in which you love to do business.

The Rallio team is working remotely but still taking care of all our clients’ needs — one of the benefits of being a technology company. Get in touch with us if you’re not sure how to pivot your social media marketing right now. We have experts who not only are ready to strategize with you, but also truly care about the success of our businesses during these challenging times. 

For more information on Google’s current limitations, click here.

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Reputation Social

Why You Need to Keep Up Your Marketing Despite the Coronavirus

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If the terms “an abundance of caution” and “unprecedented times” sound familiar to you, you’re not alone. Businesses and individuals around the world are facing the kind of territory typically reserved for summertime blockbusters and epic novels. However, here we are, navigating the uncertainty of daily life presented by the coronavirus (COVID-19). 

Here at Rallio, we want you to know we completely understand the fears that many businesses are facing day by day, sometimes hour by hour, as new mandates call for closures, remote working, restricted hours and other measures designed to contain the spread of the coronavirus. And as much as we’d love to make light of it all, crack a joke and create a quirky post or two, we know this is a serious matter — that real lives are on the line here, not only for people who may have contracted the virus, but for the many business owners and operators working tirelessly to address these … well, these unprecedented times.

That being said, we want to offer some positivity in the face of difficulty and give you some real tools you can use to keep marketing yourself right now, and even come out ahead when all is said and done. Although businesses may be inclined to pull back on their marketing, now is actually the time to ramp up your efforts and shift your focus when needed. 

Lean Into Social Media

People are social distancing, self-isolating or quarantined. Now, more than ever, they need to hear from you — with messages of hope, reassurance that either you’re still up and running or you’re following necessary safety protocols (depending on the nature of your business), and perhaps some levity here and there. 

Moreover, with more people likely to be on their phones, using their mobile devices to stay in touch, order online and connect with the world, you have an opportunity to connect with your audience like never before. While now is not necessarily the time to blast people with your usual promotions, you can, and should, adjust your strategy to support current times and be of service. 

Examples of appropriate posts may include:

An announcement, if any, of any reduction in usual services or closure of your business.

Certain types of establishments, such as fitness centers and restaurants, may be under mandated or self-imposed orders to close or discontinue in-store dining or shopping. Let your customers know what’s happening so they can stay informed. 

It’s not our place to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do in terms of closing your doors, but be aware there may be backlash from customers if you choose to remain open (besides, many customers will choose not to come in anyway if they’re quarantining).

Likewise, if you close, you may have customers asking how you’ll compensate them for lost time — for instance, those on subscription memberships. Many people will be understanding about your closure, while others may need more soothing. Be prepared to address their concerns professionally and courteously as well as reassess your strategy day by day with these rapidly evolving times. Our Social Care and Review Response team members can always help you craft the appropriate messaging for these posts.

https://www.facebook.com/petsuppliesplus/photos/a.433694682116/10156685282017117/?type=3&theater

Information on what you’re doing to support your employees during this time. 

Some companies, schools and other groups have completely shut down for at least the remainder of March, possibly longer. They may be choosing to pay their employees during this time, having them work remotely when possible, while others may not be in a position to do so. 

Whatever you decide to do, it’s important that people can see you care about your employees. It speaks volumes about your core values and culture when you take steps to mitigate any repercussions that may result from lost wages. 

Information on how you are being of service.

With a reduction or elimination of in-person events, classes and workshops, retail shopping, theatrical performances and other “live” situations, you can shift your focus to all things virtual. Consider the following examples:

  • Create live-streamed or recorded videos of your fitness classes, how-to videos and inspirational content. If you normally have a “leg day” at the gym, for instance, create a limited-equipment or bodyweight workout people can do from the safety of home. This type of content works great for service-based businesses that don’t have product orders to fulfill.

  • Push the “virtual” side of the business. If you don’t have an ecommerce element to your business, now is the time to create one — or at least some version of virtual ordering. It could be as simple as posting to your Instagram story that you’re accepting phone orders or no-contact delivery. Restaurants are increasingly offering free delivery, drive-thru-only experiences, curbside pickup and other ordering options that allow for social distancing.
  • Don’t forget about parents and kids. There are many kids at home right now, and their parents are trying to either home-school them or help them navigate distance learning. How can you be of service to them, the likes of Zoom offering free video conferencing for K-12 schools, or Scholastic offering free daily online courses for kids stuck at home? Or, on the other side of that, how can you help parents stay sane? If you’re a yoga instructor displaced because your studio is closed, for example, you could offer free daily meditations for parents. Massage therapists can offer self-massage tips via quick videos. Get creative and put yourself in their shoes!
  • Create connection. Consider Chipotle, which began offering virtual hangouts on Zoom with its “Chipotle Together,” where fans can mingle with celebrities via online chats and even access promo codes for free entrees. These types of feel-good efforts not only generate goodwill, but also keep your brand top-of-mind at a time when people are stressed, worried and feeling alone.

Keep Advertising

Just as always, paying to boost your content will get it seen by your followers and their friends. Continue to dedicate dollars toward advertising, boosting your popular posts and making sure customers know you’re still very much in business.

Even if it means cutting back in other areas that aren’t as critical right now, we cannot stress enough that you still need to continue marketing yourself on social media via boosted content and social ads. There are ways to leverage these boosts so that the money spent has minimal impact on your business and will actually support you through these challenging times.

For example, Rallio has various affordable options that will enable your content to be crafted and boosted by a dedicated Social Strategist. This is the kind of support that will help you feel like you’re not alone and will actually help you create an effective social media marketing strategy both now and in the long term. We can truly be an ally for you and work together to make sure you’re still making an impact on social media. Our client testimonials speak for themselves:

“In a world of complaining and negativity, I wanted to take a minute to talk to you about Tyler. He has been my Strategist from the very beginning of our partnership with Rallio, and I am so glad! He is amazing!! As I’ve been more active on social media, Tyler has continued to work with me. We both schedule posts and work together in keeping our Facebook page engaging and busy. Tyler has helped me run contests and create special posts. Sometimes people complain because they expect that their pet will get posted immediately after we submit the pictures, and Tyler has been so helpful in finding the pictures and getting posts created so that our Neighbors are happy. I cannot say enough about how much I appreciate him and the partnership we have. He is wonderful and I feel lucky to have him. Thank you for all that you do!”

— Katie, Store Team Leader

Additionally, Facebook may be able to offer some assistance to cover expenses like rent, employees and operational costs. Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO, announced on her Facebook page on Tuesday that Facebook is committed to helping small businesses “weather the storm.” A forthcoming Boost With Facebook program will offer $100 million in cash grants and ad credits to help 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries. 

In Uncertain Times, Look for the Helpers

Tom Hanks, who, along with his wife, recently tested positive for COVID-19, brings a message of hope and sanity via social media — a nod to the Mr. Rogers character he portrayed in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”: 

We could all use a little Mr. Rogers right now — and a lot of support, compassion and helping hands. We’re all in this together, and we’ll rise together. Remember to reach out to us at Rallio and we’ll help you continue finding solutions day by day, hour by hour.

Categories
Social Uncategorized

How to Spring-Clean Your Social Media Marketing Strategy

In between scrubbing your baseboards and organizing your junk drawers this spring, remember to dust off your social media marketing strategy, too. Tidying up your accounts will help ensure your online profiles are working overtime to generate leads and build relationships through daily engagement. The alternative — ignoring your social media — could leave you with minimal impact and even tarnish your online reputation.

When you don’t pay attention to your social media pages, they tend to accumulate digital “dust” in the same way your windows accumulate dirt. You may notice from time to time that the glass looks a little dirty, but you figure you’ll get to it tomorrow — and then tomorrow turns into next month … turns into next year. 

Eventually, you have to either close the blinds and hope no one notices, or tackle the project and get those windows sparkling again.

Make it a priority to give your accounts a thorough vetting, not only in the spring, but on a regular basis. The following checklist will help you prioritize your “spring cleaning” duties across the platforms, polish up your social media marketing strategy and delegate anything you want to get off your plate. 

Update Your Profile and Cover Photos

If your brand’s logo, marketing colors or other visual elements have changed, you want your imagery to reflect your most up-to-date branding. That picture of you with your dog might have worked when you were first getting started, but as a business, it’s important that you distinguish your business pages from your personal pages.

Make sure the image is high-resolution, and keep it consistent across all your social media pages. It’s much easier for people to identify you across networks if the picture is clear and looks the same from one platform to the next.

Complete Your Profile 

Fill in and update all the fields on your profiles so you have complete, accurate information for all to see. Store hours, address, phone number and other important details help customers find you across the web. When it’s incomplete or inaccurate, you might not show up in search results, or it could result in confusion as to your most accurate information.

Tip: Rallio’s Business Listings feature lets you easily change your business information to update all your directory listings on the web at once. This service is a major asset for companies that need to update information or add holiday hours and quickly communicate the changes to Google, Google Maps, Yelp and other online directories. 

Post Local Content Regularly

Location-specific images and videos tell a brand story in ways that stock images and “corporate” posts cannot. Feature the people, products and services you provide in authentic ways, and people will be more drawn to your business. 

Better yet, incentivize employees and microinfluencers to post on your behalf. According to Social Media Today, 90 percent of consumers say user-generated content influences their buying decisions more than email campaigns and search engine results. Basically, if someone else promotes your brand, it’s seen as trustworthy. When you promote yourself, you may be ignored. 

Note that videos, in particular, should be an integral part of your social media marketing strategy. Social Media Today also reports that videos generate 1,200 percent more shares than text and images combined.

Lastly, make sure you respond to your online engagements and reviews. Comment back when people react to your posts. Reply to your reviews, both negative and positive, to provide the best customer service on your social media — a channel that has become a major source of customer service inquiries.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6tNLVeACAw/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Complete Your Bio

You only have nanoseconds, at best, to grab people’s attention on social media. A unique bio is one way you can pique their interest and get them to click over to your page. Plus, when you optimize your bio for search by including your industry-specific keywords, you can attract more online traffic. Keep the following points in mind:

  • Complete all sections of the bio so users can get as much information as possible about you. You can also use your bio to cross-market yourself in many cases. For example, on Instagram, you can include a link to your website or any URL of your choosing. 
  • Adjust your bio for each platform. Each one is slightly different not only in the audience type, but also in the information to be included in the bio.
  • Be creative and let your personality shine. Don’t be just another boring bio that no one wants to read. For inspiration, refer to Wendy’s Twitter bio: “We like our tweets the same way we like to make our hamburgers: better than anyone expects from a fast food joint.” (By the way, Wendy’s tweets provide an excellent example of how to dominate a platform!)

Evaluate Your Social Media Spend

If you’re not spending money on social media, now is the time to reconsider. Organic reach for business social media pages has fallen tremendously in recent years. Social Media Today says a post’s average organic reach is only about 6.4 percent of the page’s total likes. To get more people to see your posts, then, you need not only engaging content, but also an ad budget for your social media spend.

It’s not something you can set up and forget about, either. It’s important to continually evaluate how your social media ads are performing and make any necessary adjustments along the way. In time, you’ll be able to better define your audience and what they like to see in your social media content.

You’ll find that with regular maintenance, your social media pages will deliver the leads and results you’re after. Think you could use a little help tweaking your social media strategy? Reach out to us at www.rallio.com for expert guidance.

 

 

 

Categories
Social

What Makes for a Happy Franchisee? Marketing Support Is a Top Factor

With all the different “top franchise” lists available, it’s easier than ever for franchise candidates to research their options for a franchise investment. Franchise Business Review’s Top Franchise Opportunities is one such list, with the distinct advantage being its focus on franchisee satisfaction and performance.

For the most recent ranking, FBR surveyed over 27,500 franchisees from 307 leading franchise brands to identify the best franchises of 2020, based solely on franchisee satisfaction. 

Among the various benchmark questions, a series of questions related to Systems & Operations helped to determine which franchises are operationally sound. Those with proven systems and established operating procedures allow a franchise system to run smoothly, maintain a competitive advantage and achieve greater success over time, says FBR — while contributing to greater overall franchisee satisfaction.

This ranking is of interest to us here at Rallio, where we help franchises like Pet Supplies Plus — which made FBR’s list — manage their social media and online reputation at both the corporate and franchisee level. When we talk to the franchisees we serve via local content, reputation management services and social media advertising, we can say with certainty that great corporate support goes a long way toward boosting franchisee satisfaction.

With that in mind, we spoke with Michelle Rowan, President and COO of FBR, to learn more about the marketing- and technology-related factors that contribute to franchisee happiness. As FBR’s first employee who joined the company 15 years ago, Rowan has worked closely with franchisors over the years to help them interpret the data gathered through FBR’s evaluations and use it to improve their operations.

What kind of marketing support seems to be important to franchisees?

According to Rowan, it comes down to franchisees wanting marketing programs that effectively drive consumers into their locations. Simple, easy-to-execute programs and consumer-friendly websites that drive local business, provide KPIs and offer a return on their franchise investment get a thumbs-up from franchisees, says Rowan.

“Franchisees are also looking to see that the franchisor takes their input,” adds Rowan. Having a task force or a committee that evaluates the effectiveness of their marketing helps to ensure franchisees’ voices are heard and programs are kept up-to-date.

How do the systems and operations considered in the most recent ranking compare to the 2019 rankings?

When we last spoke with FBR, CEO Eric Stites noted that certain areas tend to score lower in terms of franchisee satisfaction. “In all the years we’ve been doing this” — surveying franchise organizations and publishing their findings — “marketing, technology and innovation always score the lowest,” Stites explained. 

And although that’s still true, says Rowan, in looking at the 10-year trend from 2010 to 2020, there’s been a notable increase (6 percent) in franchisee satisfaction in two areas: 

  • Local market competitiveness (i.e., how a brand compares with similar businesses in their local market area)
  • Marketing and promotional programs

Going forward, factors that will continue to be important to franchisees include mobile, social and reputation management support. “People are driven by how they search and find information before they even engage with your brand,” Rowan explains.

To be successful at marketing their businesses, franchisees should add community involvement to their to-do lists, advises Rowan. Getting to know their local communities will help to build brand loyalty and increase retention. 

In this way, franchisees aren’t relying solely on the franchisor to market their businesses. In fact, entering into the franchisor-franchisee partnership should be undertaken with the understanding that franchisee participation is critical to their success. “It all starts with the expectation being set by the franchisor as they pitch candidates,” says Rowan. “They may say how easy it is, but it helps if they set it up as, ‘We don’t do everything for you,’ and help them understand what that partnership looks like.”

How can franchisees gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace?

Anytime there’s an election and subsequent talk of a potential economic downturn, businesses tend to slash marketing budgets first. “That’s the biggest mistake they can make,” warns Rowan. In actuality, businesses that keep allocating money toward marketing will be better positioned to set themselves apart in any type of economy.

“Spending those marketing dollars and creating that community online and in local markets — that’s your competitive advantage,” says Rowan. “You’re getting a lot of exposure, and it puts your business in a position of strength. It says, ‘Hey, we’re still here and here’s the reason to come to our store rather than theirs.’ ”

For some franchisees, being involved with marketing isn’t something they have the time or desire to do. In that case, outsourcing their marketing can be an ideal way to promote their business while devoting time and effort to the things they enjoy. “If [marketing] is not your skill set, look for an outside partner that does these things well so you can focus on what you’re good at,” advises Rowan.

If a franchisor’s marketing plan is well-planned and well-executed — perhaps with the support of an outside partner like Rallio that has marketing expertise — then it can provide exactly the kind of stability and predictable success that franchisees sign up for when they join a franchise organization. 

Some franchisees may think they can do better and go rogue right off the bat, says Rowan, trying to execute a different marketing plan than what the franchisor has provided. That’s a recipe for failure that Rowan recommends avoiding. 

Instead, simply follow the proven plan the franchisor provides and the dollars they have allocated toward marketing. “Don’t assume you know better,” says Rowan. “It should be a proven model if you bought into the right brand.”

Categories
Social Uncategorized

Top Franchise Social Media Marketing Trends for 2020

In case you haven’t noticed, 2019 is rapidly coming to a close — and soon, we’ll be tackling new challenges in 2020. Before we get there, though, it’s important to take some time to reflect on the past year’s successes and identify opportunities for growth in the coming year.

Social media is one of the areas of your business that will always be in flux, requiring continual evaluation to gauge what’s working and what’s not. To help you get set for a new year of growth on your social media pages, keep the following top trends in mind as you create your 2020 marketing plans.

Continue to Focus on Local Content

Local content continues to be critical to reaching your local target market and building an engaged local audience. Today, you’re competing not just with your direct competitors, but also with the barrage of all other types of digital media that users are consuming daily. That means your content needs to give them a reason to stop, read and, hopefully, engage with your content in some way.

Here’s what won’t work: sharing only corporate content. Although corporate content has its place on your page — say, for special promotions and branded pieces — it can’t be the only thing you post. Your local content is meaningful to your local audience and is what will get them to engage with you like the real human you are. 

Personal, real-life photos and videos are what will capture your audience’s attention in 2020. Videos, in particular, are vital to your social media success, especially on mobile devices. The 2017-2022 Cisco Visual Networking Index estimates that by 2022, 79 percent of the world’s mobile data traffic will be from video.

It isn’t just engaging your local audience that matters, either. You have to keep them engaged once you grab their attention. Many users are on “social media overload” and will even voluntarily turn away from social media if they feel:

  • They’re wasting time scrolling through their feeds mindlessly
  • They need a social media or digital “detox”
  • They’re worried about protecting their own data, due to recent privacy concerns on social media platforms
  • They don’t trust the brand/person posting content because they’ve heard about “fake news”

Your local content lends credibility and gives them a reason to stay, with memorable, meaningful glimpses into the people behind the product or service. Like any good relationship, it adds value to their lives rather than causing them to feel like it’s a distraction or something from which they need to “detox” from time to time. 

It’s the difference between them simply clicking like (or even love), versus taking the time to type out a response, share it and insert themselves in a conversation. 

The bottom line: If you’re at a party and there are a few different conversations going on, which one would you rather join in on: the one where one person is talking about himself and everyone else is staring at their phones, or the one where everyone is laughing, telling jokes, sharing stories and having a great time? Remember, a high number of followers doesn’t mean much for a business if those followers aren’t engaging with the brand.

https://www.facebook.com/541879122868760/photos/a.597667927289879/1211714625885203/?type=3&theater

Pay to Play

Along with having great, hyper-local content, you need a healthy ad budget to get seen in the overcrowded social media space. According to Social Media Today, you should consider increasing your social media ad budget in 2020 in order to remain competitive.

“All social media platforms are improving the machine learning behind their advertising platforms. For these machines to learn, they need data, and as social media advertising campaigns run, they collect and aggregate data in search of users who are most likely to convert,” writes author Nathan Mendenhall (@NCMSocial). 

So you’re not just paying for people to see your content — because goodness knows they’re not going to see it if you rely solely on organic reach — but also for that data. Spend less, and you have less data aggregation. Spend more, and you shorten the time to convince and convert leads and generate positive ROI.

The bottom line: Social media platforms have to make money, just like you. Consider paying a little more for advertising so you can start maximizing brand reach with the people you want to reach, right when you want to reach them.

Encourage Employee Advocacy

Expect employee advocacy to play a big role in the success of your social media pages. When your team members post positively about your brand, it generates social proof in a way that you can’t — in other words, people will be more likely to believe it if you’re not the one tooting your own horn.

At Rallio, our clients have had great success with activating employees who are given limited mobile access to their brand’s social media assets. They’re able to post to their own social media pages on behalf of the brand and help spread the word in an authentic way.

As they help with word-of-mouth marketing, employees are helping to build a community around your brand. From that community you may find a number of “microinfluencers” who are willing to share their honest feedback about your products or services. Consumers are more likely to trust the recommendations of their peers over a brand advertisement — even people they don’t know! 

Forbes Communications Council member Haseeb Tariq writes: “Engagement trumps number of followers. An influencer can have 10 million followers who see your product or business promoted, but without enough engagement, your campaign will fall flat. Micro-influencers, on the other hand, might only have a few thousand followers, but they are often more engaged in the influencer’s posts and may not only buy your product but also promote it to their own networks for free.”

Whether it’s an employee or a microinfluencer, the concept of small, engaged communities will drive the growth of your brand and, likely, your sales. You get greater engagement at a lower advertising cost, plus the priceless benefit of gaining greater trust in your brand that’s more likely to result in conversions.

The bottom line: The days of posting content and hoping people swing by to engage with it are coming to a close in many ways. Although you may have some organic growth with good content, it will be quite slow — so slow, in fact, that it won’t keep pace with the number of people who stop following you over time. To stay competitive, you need an army of people continually advocating for your brand — in the form of both employees and microinfluencers.

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Serve Your Customers on Social

According to Smart Insights, 28% of consumers have turned to social media to communicate directly with a company over the past year. Although email and phone communication are still popular methods of getting in touch, evidently, people also find social media to be a quick, convenient method of voicing questions or complaints and leaving reviews. 

They expect fast responses, too — think minutes, not hours or days (and no, they don’t care if you’re a small business with limited time to check your social media).

The bottom line: It’s critical that you or someone on your team dedicate time daily to respond to reviews, comments and questions on the major platforms. Whether it’s positive or negative feedback, taking the time to reply to your customers lets them know you’re listening and you care.

What are some other trends you expect to be important for franchise organizations in 2020? Comment below and let us know. 

If you think your franchise could use expert guidance to navigate franchise social media marketing in the new year, get in touch with us at Rallio. Give us 10 minutes, and in two days we’ll get back to you with a social media audit of your existing follower count, engagement, online reviews and reputation — stack-ranked by location and by brand average in each category. Click here to submit our quick online form and get started.

Categories
Social

Top Ranked Social Media Company for Business

For a second year running, Rallio has been named a top ranked social media company for business and franchises in 2019 by Entrepreneur magazine.

Overall, Rallio landed as #6 in the Marketing category among other companies that provide all types of marketing support.

Of those companies that provide social media services specifically, Rallio is ranked as the best social media marketing company focused on management tools for small businesses and franchises.

The annual franchise supplier ranking identifies companies in 10 different categories that provide behind-the-scenes support for franchisors and their franchisees. 

“The franchise industry is really much bigger than just franchisors and franchisees,” Entrepreneur explains.

“There are a multitude of companies — commonly known in the industry as suppliers — that provide services that help those franchisors and franchisees to run their businesses successfully. And our annual ranking of the Top Franchise Suppliers seeks to recognize those that do it best.”

To identify the top suppliers, including the best social media management tools for small businesses and franchises, Entrepreneur surveyed more than 500 franchisors.

They asked them to name which service providers they and their franchisees use, and to rate their satisfaction with the quality, cost and value of those services. Suppliers were then scored based on the results of the survey, and the top-scoring suppliers made it into the ranking.

“The Rallio team is honored to be recognized as the world’s topmost trusted social media marketing company for franchise organizations,” says Ryan Hicks, Certified Franchise Executive and Vice President of Business Development at Rallio.

“Our clients have seen month-over-month growth in followers, in-store and website traffic, and engagement within their local communities. Our combination of powerful social media technology and agency services makes us the preferred provider for franchise brands.”

Rallio Technology Allows Scalability

Rallio technology allows franchisors to promote brand awareness at scale — with user-friendly tools that enable system-wide content syndication across hundreds or even thousands of locations.

For those franchisors that need support with content creation, Rallio’s in-house experts create custom corporate content aligned with brand guidelines.

Meanwhile, the Rallio Local division supports local operators with hyper-local content, page growth strategies and review responses.

Each franchisee is paired with a Rallio Local Strategist who works closely with locations to drive local business and engage with the communities in which they operate.

“Our team has a tremendous passion for and understanding of the franchise business model,” Hicks adds. “We focus relentlessly on developing cutting-edge social technology for the modern franchise. But we package it in a way that helps franchisors rally even the most ‘technology-challenged’ franchisees.”

Rallio Technology for Business and Franchises

Franchise-Focused Social Media

Rallio is both a social platform and a social media marketing company. With a focus on providing the best social media management tools for small businesses and franchises, Rallio has both the technology and the team to help brands manage their entire social media presence.

  • One central dashboard allows all locations to manage social media posts, followers, engagement, online reviews and online directory listings.
  • Mobile technology provides a simple way for franchisees to engage, and the advocacy system turns employees and customers into social advocates to dramatically amplify the overall local impact.
  • Rallio Local agency, using additional local technology, works directly with franchisees to develop a highly engaging local presence. Rallio Local can either support franchisees or completely do it for them.

From corporate-wide social media and reputation management to location-specific support services, Rallio technology offers a smarter, simpler way for franchises and small businesses to maximize social media marketing efforts.

“As the Internet continues to evolve into a highly local and personal experience for consumers, Rallio will continue to provide ways to heighten local engagement,” says Chuck Goetschel, Rallio’s CEO.

“It’s about connecting local businesses and consumers in a way that is meaningful and effective. Our deep understanding of this is why we are the top ranked social media company for business and franchises”

Facebook for Business

Getting Hyper-Local

As technology has evolved, consumers have continued to gravitate to mobile as a means of discovering local businesses and checking out their social pages.

Google results have moved toward providing hyper-local search results, and social platforms such as Facebook, Google and Yelp allow customers to generate local business pages.

Consumers now make buying decisions at the local level based on local engagement and local reviews.

Meanwhile, today it’s harder than ever for brands and businesses to connect with consumers with the right message at the right time.

Time and again, generic content tends to be outperformed by real-life imagery that gives consumers an authentic glimpse of the business, along with the people, processes, products and services that give life to a brand.

Instagram for Business and Franchises

A Complete Social Media Package

Over time and with feedback from franchisors, franchisees and manufacturers, Rallio evolved into a technology that provides a complete social media marketing ecosystem — so that manufacturers, corporate brands and their locations, employees and even customers can share social media content to build meaningful local community, share experiences and drive local business.

Today, Rallio is the only social media marketing company that engages all parties from manufacturers to customers and even employees in order to generate the most engaging, most visible and most impactful social presence possible for brands and businesses.

Rallio has further expanded with its Rallio Local division to provide agency-style support and strategic services to help locations manage their online reviews, advertise on social platforms, and grow both their social media following and overall local engagement.

Meanwhile, our in-house team supports corporate marketing efforts with custom content each month.

Rallio, located in Irvine, California, has been previously recognized by Entrepreneur and other entities, including:

Interested in scheduling a Rallio demo? Reach out to support@www.rallio.com

Categories
Social

Need to Recruit Franchise Operators? Use Social Media to Your Advantage

This post originally appeared on Franchise Business Review and has been reposted with permission.

Social media has become an indispensable tool in franchise recruiting, with more and more franchise organizations using social platforms to attract new franchisees. With the ability to hone in on the exact type of operators they want to bring on board, franchise organizations are able to save time looking for the right qualified candidates. Meanwhile, prospective franchisees are using social media to research brands — oftentimes, making buying decisions before they’ve even contacted a franchisor based on what they see online.

According to the 2018 Annual Franchise Development Report, average advertising and media budgets for franchise sales and recruiting reached $202,462 in 2018. Of that, 12 percent went toward social media advertising. If your franchise hasn’t already allocated dollars toward social media advertising for recruiting, there’s no time like the present to do so — and here’s how you can begin using social media to recruit the best franchisees.

Start at the Local Level

Encourage your franchisees to share local content that shows the human side of your franchise. Not only is local content key to bringing in local business, but it’s also important for your recruiting efforts. The happier and more relatable your franchisees are, the more likely it is that prospective franchisees will take an interest in your brand. That’s because prospects, before they even pick up the phone and call you, are checking out your brand on social media to gather information and decide if you’re a good fit.

As your operators create local content, you can also share their posts through your corporate page and then boost the content. Target your boosted posts to reach the demographic, income level, age, interests and geographic region where you’re recruiting. Keep in mind that single-unit franchisees who are first-time investors will be looking for different information than experienced multi-unit, multi-concept prospects looking for their next investment.

Furthermore, you can create and boost your own franchisee “spotlight” posts that highlight successful operators. It could be a photo with a caption, or short videos that you post on your Facebook and Instagram pages and Stories. Keep an eye on the local news about your franchisees so you can bring attention to their success! Soon, you’ll have a consistent pipeline of prospects visiting your social media pages and inquiring about your franchise opportunities.

Read more: 3 Types of Content You’re Not Creating (But Definitely Should)

Pre-Qualify Candidates

Does your franchise development team sell franchises — or award them? Shifting to an awardmindset is an important step in bringing in the best franchisees for your brand. You don’t want your team selling to just anyone and everyone, and indeed many franchisee prospects never make it past the initial phone call because they don’t qualify to buy.

With an award mindset, you can use social media to pre-qualify candidates. Establish a recruiting Facebook page for your brand, and send prospects there from your targeted ads. From there, Facebook Messenger can be set up to ask automated questions and gather information. You can ask the questions that help you know whether a candidate is qualified and genuinely interested in taking the next steps, then follow up afterward.

This way, when your development team does get on the phone with candidates, they can be fairly certain these are good leads. Meanwhile, the people who are serious about pursuing a franchise investment will feel confident they’re pursuing a great opportunity — one that will be “awarded” to them, not “sold.”

Read more: Are You Using Social Media to Recruit Top Talent? You Should Be

Set Them Up for Success

As you bring in new franchisees, make sure you have the proper support processes in place to set them up for success and long-term growth. As discussed in this article featuring FBR CEO Eric Stites, one critical success factor for franchisees is access to marketing, technology and innovation.

Indeed, franchisors that provide marketing solutions are more likely to attract and retain franchisees. When you invest in innovative technologies and strategies that help your franchisees spread the word and advertise their locations, it helps to drive their success forward. In turn, franchise candidates who learn of your support systems will see that you’re committed to the growth of your franchisees.

As you’re implementing new technologies, be sure you understand and address franchisee needs at the local level. Nowadays, social media is a customer support channel, where customers leave reviews, comments and questions every day. Give them a way to manage and respond to customers via social media so they’re not missing any sales opportunities or allowing comments and complaints to go unanswered.

In this way, not only will you be supporting existing franchisees, but you’ll also be circling back to point #1 above: Start at the local level. The better the local social presence, the better your reputation — and the greater the likelihood that new recruits will take an interest in your brand.

Categories
Branding Social

Common Red Flags in a Franchise Marketing Plan

Buying a franchise is a significant investment — and it goes without saying that franchisees want to be successful in business to make that investment worth their while. Having a clear marketing plan for them will help them come out of the gate strongly and continue to grow. 

If you’re a franchise candidate looking into any particular franchise, it’s important to know what kind of support and strategy you’ll be given when you get started. And if you’re a franchisor, you’ve got to give them their money’s worth. So if any of the following red flags are showing up in a franchise marketing strategy, it’s time to reassess things (or walk away before you invest).

Inconsistent Content

Buying a franchise means buying into a brand — and franchisees have the benefit of name recognition rather than starting from scratch with an unknown entity. That’s why it’s especially disconcerting to see a company’s logo, imagery and messaging get mangled due to a lack of consistent brand guidelines that specify what franchisees can and cannot do in terms of marketing.

If franchisees are given free rein to do whatever they want with their marketing, and especially with their social media, then the corporate brand is bound to get watered down and jeopardized in the process. They may end up using outdated logos and imagery, expired promotions and inaccurate product or service descriptions. 

Worse yet, franchisees could end up posting offensive or off-brand content — not intentionally perhaps, but without an approval process in place, nobody’s going to be making sure that franchisees haven’t gone rogue.

When there are clear rules and guidelines, however, then it makes it easy for franchisees to understand how they can market themselves. Furthermore, supplying them with approved, branded corporate images and messaging will ensure everyone’s on the same page.

One-Size-Fits-All Corporate Marketing

Even as corporate supplies franchisees with branded content, it’s important that owners build a local presence as well. They need to be posting real local images and videos of their location, employees and customers — as well as local happenings and promotions. If they’re not doing this, they’re missing out on opportunities to attract and build a local customer base.

In other words, there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to franchisee marketing. Therefore, the franchise marketing plan should explain that local operators have the option — and are encouraged — to add in a local flair. 

Growth Hack #1 in our article “9 Social Media Growth Hacks Your Business Needs in 2019” is the following: 

“Your franchise location absolutely needs to be posting local photos and videos if you want to grow. Photos of behind-the-scenes activities and events, office parties, employee spotlights, customer testimonials, and product or service highlights or how-tos are all examples of local content. 

This type of content out-performs corporate content and will help you gain more engagements and followers. As your following grows, expand your reach even more by boosting content to get it in front of more eyes. Even a modest budget will help you reach more of your target audience, driving traffic and sales to your location.”

Our Rallio client Pet Supplies Plus blends in hyper-local content with the help of the Rallio Local team.

Lack of Ad Support

Speaking of boosted content, a franchise marketing plan should indicate what kind of ad support is provided. For example, some of our Rallio clients choose to pay for their franchisees’ boosted ads and allot a monthly spend toward this advertising.

The reason to boost content is simple: to make sure people see it. Facebook doesn’t automatically serve up content in front of all a business’s followers. It picks and chooses what to show based on a user’s preferences. 

The franchisee operators with whom we work do quite well boosting their local content. So, for instance, if one of their local posts does exceptionally well in terms of organic likes and shares, they might boost it and extend the reach even further.

They’re able to target these ads to reach only their desired local customers, using geography, interests, demographics and other factors to predict the people most likely to engage with their content. Supporting franchisees with local ad spend ensures they can drive local business online and offline.

Facebook Business notes that Facebook Lookalike Audiences help you connect to people on Facebook who are similar to your customers: “Use the insights you’ve gained from marketing on Facebook to increase your chances of reaching people who will be interested in your business.”

Too Many Agencies, Too Many Platforms

Sometimes a franchisor will outsource some or all marketing to a third party — or more than one. Although outsourcing to an expert that’s well-versed in digital marketing can be a smart strategy, problems can arise when you have too many people or platforms doing too many different things, including:

  • A lack of clear insight on how a page is doing, because analytics are being pulled in from different technologies that might not be tracking the same things in the same way
  • A lack of cohesiveness, organization and agreement on how to approach a company’s marketing — i.e., the “too many cooks in the kitchen” syndrome 
  • Difficulty managing permissions if many different people have login access to a page 
  • Inconsistent or off-brand messaging and visuals 

Read more: Franchising Social Media Best Practices: a Roundup of Our 12 Best Tips

A Few Caveats and Final Thoughts

Note that it’s not necessary to find a “one stop shop” for all franchise marketing and public relations — in fact, you may need different partners for different needs. For example, perhaps you have one supplier that specializes in digital ads, but they also provide PR services. That doesn’t mean you should hire them for both, no matter what kind of “deal” they may be offering.

Instead, maybe you hire the best supplier for digital marketing with paid ads included — and a different supplier that provides the best PR. You use your scale to negotiate the best deal, but don’t give your business to a group that can’t execute properly on everything. 

In other words, most suppliers have one or two things they’re exceptionally good at, but it’s unlikely they can do all of it well. To sum up:

  • You need a digital team, either in-house or outsourced, that is an expert in paid conversion ads for lead generation.
  • You also need an internal or external team to support organic, local-level content, page management and review responses. 

If you leave either of the above items for franchisees to handle, you risk it not getting done properly or not getting done at all. And that’s not fair to the franchisees that are doing it right — after all, one weak link hurts the entire brand.

Just as you wouldn’t pay your electrician to do your plumbing, you need functional experts in different areas of marketing and control over brand standards. In the electrician/plumber example, both may provide home services, but each has a specialty. 

So therefore, if you want to multiply your organic reach and maintain digital brand standards, it’s essential that you work with the right partners that specialize in each. Your standard digital agency/marketing agency will likely not be able to provide franchisee-level support for hyper-local page management strategies at scale — but Rallio can.

It’s never too late to revise a franchise marketing plan to ensure both corporate and local operators find success with their social media strategy. Reach out to us at support@www.rallio.com for more ideas on how to bring corporate and franchisee plans into alignment. 

This article was written with input from Ryan Hicks, Rallio’s Vice President of Business Development. Ryan talks to franchisors every day about their biggest pain points and works to find solutions from the Rallio team. Feel free to contact him at ryanh@www.rallio.com.


Categories
Social

3 Types of Content You’re Not Creating (But Definitely Should)

If a piece of content drops in the middle of Facebook and no one’s around to see it, did it even happen?

The answer is no, at least not in content marketing terms. 

The whole point of creating content is to make sure people see it, engage with it, like it and share it — and ultimately, do business with you and become loyal customers and brand advocates. 

And although there are many different types of content that get those results, this article is dedicated to three of them you might not have considered. In the short term, you’ll see a boost in likes, shares, comments and followers when you start posting them. And in the long term, you’ll build a community around your brand, and hopefully sales. 

#1 Infographics

Many of us are visual people. We’re also busy people. Rather than take the time to read something in-depth, we might only have time to skim something — and that’s the brilliance of infographics. With an estimated 65% of B2B marketers using infographics as part of their content marketing strategy, according to the Content Marketing Institute, it’s evident that infographics are here to stay and need to be on your radar.

Studies show that readers will spend more time looking at images containing information than they will reading text, according to Nielsen Norman Group. What’s more, they’ll likely ignore “fluff” photos (think stock photos) that are merely decorative at best, mundane at worst, and don’t add any real depth to a page. 

There are two takeaways here. First, infographics containing information of interest to your audience are more interesting, more useful and more likely to garner likes, shares and comments than low-value, boring photos. (The same can be said of authentic, real-life photos of people from your business. More value = more engagement.) Second, boring photos don’t belong on your page. Period.

Because they combine compelling visuals with valuable information of interest to your audience, infographics are some of the best kind of content you can produce. Not only can you share them on social media, but you can also incorporate them into a variety of content marketing initiatives, including case studies, emails, white papers and blog posts. 

Be sure your infographics are branded with your logo and website so that as the images are liked and shared, your name will travel along with them. This way, you have an opportunity to position yourself as a trusted thought leader and get your name in front of a wider audience. You can also boost these posts on social media for a broader reach.

Pro Tip: You don’t have to be a graphic designing whiz to make infographics. Online apps such as Canva offer free templates that make it easy to plug in your info, add cool visuals, download and share. 

#2 How-To Content

Bite-size, how-to pieces are content marketing gold. Like infographics, they allow readers to learn something new in an easy-to-read, digestible format. At the same time, they provide actionable steps. Give people step-by-step guides on topics of interest, and they’re sure to like, comment and share with their friends!

No matter what your industry, there is something you know how to do that your readers will want to learn. For example: Run a home improvement business? Put out a how-to on home-related projects, such as painting a room or hanging up pictures. 

How-to content not only makes you an authoritative voice in your industry, but also builds good will among your customers. You’re giving them something for free without asking for anything in return, thus building trust and confidence in your brand. The next time these customers need your product or service, you’ll be top-of-mind.

For inspiration, think about the most common questions you get from your customers, and turn them into how-to articles, videos, podcasts and social media posts. Look through your direct messages, social media comments, online reviews and your own FAQ section on your website for ideas. Once you have a topic you know your readers are eager to learn more about, create an in-depth how-to answering the question. 

Pro Tip: You can further repurpose these how-tos in a variety of ways — for instance, create an email campaign and send out a link to your how-to content. Always work to get the most mileage out of your content marketing initiatives by using them across multiple channels. It’s less work for you and potentially reaches more of your audience!

#3 Recognition Posts

Don’t you love when people talk you up? Admit it — it feels good when someone recognizes your work. And it probably makes you and your fans want to like, share and comment on such posts, right? Create an entire post or article that recognizes people or places in your industry you personally endorse, and that content will be liked, shared and engaged with, too.

There are many different ways to approach these “recognition posts.” A marketing firm could easily write a post about the “Top Facebook Marketing Experts” or something along those lines. However, these posts are also a great opportunity to create hyper-local content.

How about a roundup of the “Best Local Eateries” or “101 Local Spots to Take Your Kids in Summertime”? You know your town the best, as well as your customers. Think about the local spots your customers would be likely to go.

For this post, the author created a quick intro video and a link over to the article

Again, this sort of helpful, free information goes a long way toward building trust and loyalty. Just be sure the content is substantial and not “thin” — you want people to get something out of the post and not walk away feeling like they just read a bunch of fluff.

Be sure to tag and link to any of the businesses or people you mention in your post so they can share it with their followers, too. The reach will grow exponentially according to the number of shout-outs you give! In other words, writing about 101 local spots — as daunting as that sounds — will give you more traction than just mentioning a handful.

You can take your “recognition posts” a step further by turning the recognition back toward yourself, too. At Rallio, we designed our Employee Advocacy program with this intention for our brands. By empowering their employees publish brand-approved content on their personal profiles, companies are able to significantly expand their organic reach and track all activity and results through our Employee Leaderboard.

Pro Tip: Once you’ve created a recognition post, give it some time to generate engagement. Later, you can approach the people or businesses you wrote about and ask them to link to you or create a mutually beneficial partnership, contest or promotion. Also, if you don’t feel you have the writing skills to tackle a lengthy post, outsource it to someone on your team or a freelancer who can do it for you.

What are some other types of content you’ve created that you’ve found to be the most effective? We want to hear your ideas in the comments.

Categories
Social

Are You Using Social Media to Recruit Top Talent? You Should Be

Anytime we talk with franchisees, one of the most pressing needs always mentioned is finding top talent. We’ve been able to help many of them with their employee recruiting through social media, while also making sure they maintain a positive online reputation.

If you’re hiring, candidates will be checking out your social media pages, so you want to be sure you’re presenting your best self online. People want to see that you have a great company culture and core values they can get on board with. 

So today’s post is all about helping you recruit and retain talent for your franchise location. Start leveraging social media to connect with candidates and promote the culture you wish to create for your employees.

#1 Repeat After Us: Post Local Content 

If you’ve been reading the Rallio blog, then you know that one of our top tips for amplifying your brand on social media is by posting local content. Although your franchisor might supply you with branded corporate content — which has its place — the only way to build an engaged local community is with real-life images from your location.

Particularly when it comes to recruiting employees, you want to provide a glimpse into your culture. What’s a day in the life like working for you? Show the authentic side of your location — the fun aspects, the team-building events, anything that shows off your location’s personality. A great place to start is with employee and customer spotlights and any candid, on-location snapshots that make you more than just another XYZ company.

Remember, corporate content is syndicated across all locations. It doesn’t differentiate you. Consider the people and local elements that make you different from other locations and from competitors. People will want to work for you not just because you have a great product or service, but mostly because you have great leadership, people and company culture.

#2 Make Your Employees Brand Advocates

The majority of employees today are already posting employer-related messages and media assets on their social media pages, according to a study by Weber Shandwick and KRC Research. Employee advocacy gives you a chance to leverage user-generated content to your advantage for recruiting purposes. 

You can even incentivize employees with various rewards for posting on your behalf. For example, if you’re hiring a salesperson, you can create a few local assets advertising the position. Pass them along to your employees, who can share the opening with their circle of friends and followers. You can then offer a referral bonus of some sort for any new hires that result from those efforts.

Drill down deep into employee advocacy, and you might see a need to clarify your company’s core values and how they’re shared and demonstrated throughout your business. When employees feel like your company truly lives out its core values and supports its employees, they’ll feel more compelled to share about their great experiences working for you via social media. 

As those posts get shared, it creates a positive public perception of your location. New recruits will be more likely to seek you out and apply if they feel confident you’re a good employer who values its employees.

#3 Be Quick to Engage and Respond

Customers today take to social media if they have a question, comment or concern about a business. Whether in the form of a comment on a post, a direct message or an online review, these comments have the ability to help or hurt your reputation among customers as well as job candidates. 

Being quick to respond to both positive and negative comments shows that you’re an engaged business owner who cares about your customers. If you’re slow to respond, get defensive or don’t respond at all, it sends a message that you don’t care. If you were a potential recruit, wouldn’t you want to work for a company that values its customers? 

Moreover, responding to your online reviews and maintaining an accurate Google My Business listing improves your local SEO. When customers conduct mobile searches, the GMB listing is one of the first things they see — along with all of the reviews associated with your business. Job candidates will see this information as well when they’re checking out your business.

#4 List and Boost Your Jobs on Facebook

The Jobs tab on your Facebook page is an invaluable recruiting tool for franchises. There, you can post your jobs and boost them to reach a wider audience with your job postings. 

You can also use Facebook Messenger to help screen candidates, and they can apply to jobs directly through Facebook. As of May 2018, there were 8 billion messages being exchanged on Facebook Messenger between people and businesses, according to Facebook data. Make sure you’re tapping into the power of Messenger by including it in your recruiting strategy. 

Get in the habit of using social media to find top talent, and you’ll create a consistent pipeline of qualified candidates while also building an engaged, positive company culture. Have you used social media in your recruiting efforts? Tell us more about it in the comments, and you may be featured in an upcoming blog post.


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