Tag: social media marketing

If you have lofty plans to purchase or grow a franchise location, it’s essential that you stick to habits and behaviors that have worked for successful owners like you. In this article, we discuss marketing habits in particular, although there are many other daily habits that can help you achieve your goals.

Keep in mind, there’s no magic formula for success in franchise marketing. When you find yourself on what seems like an endless path to get your business off the ground, it’s easy to feel lost, discouraged, or bored. This can lead to a lot of effort and floundering. 

This is why it’s essential to build good habits and stick to them. Take a look at the 7 marketing habits of successful franchise marketers below that will help you reach your goals faster.

1. They Know Their Target Market

One of the key ingredients to marketing is knowing your audience. If you’re not sure who is most likely to buy your products or services, how can you market to them effectively? 

Successful franchise business owners learn about their target market and use that knowledge to inform how they market their business. What do people in your target market like? How old are they? Where do they live? These are all questions that successful franchise business owners ask themselves when developing a marketing campaign.

2. They Build Relationships With Customers

Another important ingredient in marketing is building a relationship with customers. Marketing isn’t just about attracting new customers — it’s also about keeping the ones you already have happy and loyal. 

Successful franchise business owners know this, which is why they make an effort to stay connected with existing customers through email marketing, social media engagement, responses to customer reviews, and referral incentives.

Related: The Best 7 Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

3. They Take Full Advantage of the Franchise Brand

Successful franchise owners know that they can leverage their brand power by following the rules and guidelines that come with it. They make sure their signage is attractive and visible, they use the recommended color schemes in their décor, and they follow the operational procedures that are outlined in their manuals.

When it comes to online marketing, franchise businesses have a distinct advantage over independent businesses. Oftentimes, a franchisee can tap into the marketing budget of the franchisor, which is typically much larger than any one franchisee could afford. 

Additionally, the franchisor has already done extensive market research, identified the best audience for their product or service, and developed collateral pieces to help their franchisees advertise. Combined with local photos and videos, these assets give a franchisee the power of brand recognition coupled with authenticity and credibility.

4. They Constantly Monitor Their Competition

To remain competitive, you have to keep tabs on your competitors. You need to know how they represent themselves across multiple channels: in print, online and on social media, for example. This will help you identify opportunities for improvement within your own company.

In terms of social media advertising, you can also see how your competitors handle their ads on Facebook. Click over to their business profile, and then on Page Transparency, where you can snoop on what ads they’re running. Obviously, don’t copy their ads exactly, but you can get a general idea of how they’re reaching out to their audience (and hopefully do it better yourself with your own unique flair).

5. They Make Local Marketing a Priority

As a franchisee, you have the benefit of an established brand name to market your products or services, but you also have the challenge of building your own customer base and reputation within your community.

A successful franchise business owner will have their finger on the pulse of their local market. They will know all about their target audience and we will know exactly what appeals to them. They then match their local marketing to meet their audience where they are.

6. They Use Social Media

Just a decade ago, social media was a new frontier for franchise businesses. As the technology became more accessible and users became more familiar with how to use it, companies were able to leverage social media as a new way to engage with customers and capture their attention.

For many franchises, it’s become an essential part of the business for customer engagement and support. As we mention in this Franchise Business Review article: “Photos of their location, employees, customers and special events or promotions will help them build a local customer base and drive online and offline traffic. It will also help them put their best foot forward when looking to attract new hires.

7. They Embrace Technology to Automate Their Marketing

When you buy a franchise, you’re also buying the entire system. You’re buying the marketing, the products and services, and the branding. The best part about franchising is that owners have already figured out what works and what doesn’t.

The problem is that some franchise owners fail because they think they need to do everything themselves. They think they need to micromanage everything, and so they spend all their time on busy work instead of working on growing their business.

Successful franchisees automate as many business operations as possible, including many aspects of their marketing. This way, they can focus more time on building sales, improving product lines, marketing, branding, and other core functions of the business that only they can do. 

Franchise business owners are able to automate a lot of their marketing with the help of technology. For example, they can post content on social media that’s already been created by the company and then respond to any comments. They can create ads using proven templates and images and then tweak them with local information. They can make use of scheduling software like Rallio’s platform for social media management.

Marketing Habits Take Time

While these marketing habits take some time to build, eventually they’ll be so ingrained that you won’t even have to think about them. Focus on small steps you can take every day toward a greater return on your marketing investment.

If you’d like some help establishing your processes and getting your marketing habits in place, reach out to us via rallio.com. 

Rallio

Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.

With the Lunar New Year currently in full swing, you may see your social media feeds filled with information about this important holiday. As people clean their homes, exchange red envelopes of good fortune, and usher in a new year of opportunity, now is a good time to clean up your social media pages and attract new business. First, let’s take a closer look at this holiday and the Lunar New Year animal that might influence your style of social media marketing.

Not only is Lunar New Year one of China’s biggest holidays, but it’s also celebrated in countries across Asia, including Taiwan, Vietnam, and South Korea. Also known as the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, the holiday falls on a different day each year and typically lasts for 15 days. In addition, “each year in the Lunar calendar is represented by one of 12 zodiac animals included in the cycle of 12 stations or “signs” along the apparent path of the sun through the cosmos,” explains History.com.

Depending on your Lunar New Year animal, you might have different approaches to your social media marketing. Just for fun, we take a look at how your social media might play out based on your particular Lunar New Year animal. We all have something to learn from each of these animals in terms of making the most of your social media pages.

Rat

Birth years: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020

Quick-witted and resourceful, the rat always replies to comments and questions in a timely manner. When someone posts a comment on the rat’s post, they respond within 24 hours, never leaving someone hanging. 

Negative online reviews? They’re kind and prompt, handling negative feedback with an eye toward resolving the problem quickly. They understand that addressing customer complaints directly impacts their bottom line: If customers see that you care about their needs, they’re more likely to buy from you.

Ox

Birth years: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997, 2009, 2021

Stubborn and determined, the ox might have a harder time giving in if a customer wages a battle of words on social media via negative comments or reviews. Yet the ox is also patient and diligent, willing to resolve issues without losing their cool.

You can also count on the ox’s diligence in posting regularly on social media. A stickler for consistency, the ox is not likely to let more than a couple of days pass without posting on their pages.

Learn more: The Best 7 Social Media Tips for Small Businesses

Tiger

Birth years: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998, 2010, 2022

As this is the year of the tiger, it’s the tiger’s time to shine. Brave, confident, competitive and maybe a tad bit arrogant, the tiger has a magnetic personality that they love to share on social media. Their strength is posting local content featuring selfies, team members, customers, behind-the-scenes snapshots, and videos about their business.

From time to time, the tiger may need to tame their idealism with a dose of reality. Local content is great, but they need to share the spotlight with employees if they want more people to know about their business. With employee advocacy, where employees post about their business on their own pages, they can make a bigger splash on social media.

Rabbit

Birth years: 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999, 2011, 2023

Kind, responsible and quiet, the rabbit never misses a deadline. They’re action-oriented and aren’t likely to talk their followers to death. They would rather spend their time creating elegant works of art to post on social media.

The rabbit is also slightly sensitive, and their feelings might get easily hurt if someone criticizes them on social media. By relying on trusted advisors, the rabbit will have an easier time of responding to their reviews and comments without getting emotional.

Dragon

Birth years: 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000, 2012, 2024

As you might guess, the dragon is confident and outspoken, never afraid to ask for shares, likes and comments. When they post something, they expect a response — and they might grow impatient and breathe fire if they don’t get engagement right away.

The dragon is also highly intelligent and knows when to enlist help to increase their following and engagement. They’re likely to shine when they combine their energetic personality with the advice of experts who can advise them on various ad targeting strategies.

Learn more: Meet the Social Media Platforms: A Quick Guide to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter

Snake

Birth years: 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001, 2013, 2025

The snake is a wise soul, always calculating the next best move on social media. They love to look at analytics to see how their posts are performing, both organically and through paid ads. 

With a tendency toward anxiousness, the snake has to work on tempering expectations. They’d like immediate results, but they’re willing to listen to sage advice from experts who help define their social media marketing strategy and pivot when needed.

Horse

Birth years: 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026

The horse brings enough enthusiasm for everyone when it comes to social media posting. They shine when making videos, which give them an opportunity to show off their animated personality, comedic talents and energetic spirit.

Preferring to work independently, the horse may need some convincing to let others help with their social media strategy. As long as the horse has a place in the spotlight, they’re likely to welcome the input of others.

Goat

Birth years: 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003, 2015, 2027

If you’ve ever seen goat yoga, you can get an idea of the goat’s energy: calm, gentle, easygoing and ever cheerful. They can easily empathize with customers who post a question or a concern and are able to find creative solutions to problems.

The goat can be a bit disorganized and could benefit from a social media platform like Rallio to keep track of their posting schedule. With a calendar in front of them and the ability to post in a few clicks, the goat gravitates toward technology that makes life easier and keeps them calm as they go about their day.

Monkey

Birth years: 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004, 2016, 2028

The monkey is about as curious as you’d expect, always happy to get to know customers, ask questions and engage with followers. They’re sharp, smart and eternally positive, never losing hope that their social media marketing efforts will pay off in the long run. 

Sociable and entertaining, the monkey does well posting quick Reels and Stories that let them show off their fun personality. They thrive on engaging directly with followers and building awareness for their brand.

Learn more: 3 Big Reasons You Need Influencer Marketing

Rooster

Birth years: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005, 2017, 2029

The rooster is fun to have around at parties, never afraid to walk up to someone and strike up a conversation — a trait that serves them well on social media. They’re adventurous and funny, and, like the monkey, they do well posting short-form videos that grab followers’ attention.

As much as they love the spotlight, the rooster is also observant of how their followers like to engage. They work hard to gain loyal customers by listening to their needs and delivering results.

Dog

Birth years: 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006, 2018, 2030

It’s no surprise that the dog is helpful, unselfish, trustworthy and helpful. As part of your social media marketing team, you can count on them to take care of everyday tasks like responding to comments and reviews, following up on leads, and boosting content for better reach.

The dog may grow timid in the face of conflict, requiring them to lean on experts when crafting responses to negative online reviews. Yet they never hold a grudge and quickly brush off any unsavory behavior from their followers. 

Pig

Birth years: 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, 2031

The pig is incredibly generous, always willing to work overtime and stay diligent with their social media marketing. They care about their customers and enjoy engaging with them to build loyalty and establish customer relationships.

Smart and outgoing, the pig is a customer favorite. They’re someone you can rely on to get the job done and to do it well. 

Which Lunar New Year Animal Are You?

Your Lunar New Year Animal gives you a good idea of your individual social media marketing style, but it’s not set in stone. As you read through the traits of each Lunar New Animal above, keep in mind that each of them has something to offer. 

With Rallio’s platform and services, you can take your social media marketing to new levels. Contact us to learn more.

Rallio

Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.

Social media can be a powerful tool, but it can also be overwhelming and confusing. As a franchise or small-business owner, you are inundated with social media tips and technology options. Which platform should you focus on? How do you get started? How the heck do you use Reels?

It’s enough to make many owners abandon social media marketing altogether. However, doing so will not allow you to reach your target audience effectively — and meanwhile, your competitors may be collecting followers like they’re going out of style.

Rather than throw in the towel, take advantage of the social media tips we have to offer in the article below. We’re here to demystify social media marketing and provide some clear, actionable steps you can take today.

1. Decide Which Platforms Make Sense for Your Business

Being on every platform isn’t realistic or necessary, so choose carefully and pick the ones that best align with your target customers, goals and budget. For example, if you’re trying to reach a younger generation, you might want to focus heavily on Instagram. On the other hand, if you’re looking to grow your email list or you have a physical store where you’re trying to attract customers, then you’ll want a presence on Google My Business and Facebook, too.

Focusing on just a couple of platforms helps you avoid getting overwhelmed with posting everywhere and trying to create content for too many platforms. It’s better to focus on the platforms where your customers spend the most time and do them really well — rather than spread yourself too thin and have your posts feel generic and lack engagement.

2. Know Your Platforms

Even if you’re active on multiple social media platforms, remember that they all have different users. The people who follow your business on Twitter are probably not the same people who follow it on Instagram or Facebook. 

As such, be sure to tailor your message for each platform. On Facebook, it might be fine to post a link over to one of your blog articles with a caption summarizing the article. On Instagram, you will need to post a photo with your caption and put the link in your bio if you want people to be able to tap the link. In other words, links are not clickable within Instagram captions.

Related: Meet the Social Media Platforms: A Quick Guide to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter

3. Don’t Feel Like You Have to Post Every Day

It can be tempting to post something every day, but that’s not always the best course of action. If you’re short on time, maybe you post three to five excellent posts per week. 

Focus on quality over quantity; if you’re posting without aim or strategy, you’re just wasting your time. Instead, make sure anything you post is likely to bring in new customers and engage with existing ones.

4. Be Consistent

Consistency is key, too. Posting regularly keeps your page fresh and helps get your message out there more frequently. 

And if you’re worried about repeating yourself too much, focus on posting different types of content rather than different topics at the same frequency. For example, you could have a video post one day, a customer testimonial another day, and one more post featuring a product promotion or a closer look at your business behind the scenes. This way, your content will all feel unique.

5. Work on Engagement

Social media is a two-way street. You’ve got to give in order to get. If you’re not interacting with your audience, you’re missing out on chances to drive traffic back to your site and keep them engaged with your brand.

The best way to get attention on social media is by creating meaningful content and engaging with your followers — no matter how large or small they might be. The only way people will care about what you have to say is if they feel like you care about them first. Be responsive, helpful and entertaining. And don’t be overly promotional!

Other ways to increase engagement: 

• Have a quick call-to-action on each post that links back to your website or encourages users to take some sort of action.
• Consider running contests or sweepstakes through social media as a way to build followers and increase interest in your brand. Doing so allows you to collect names and email addresses from interested parties and increase traffic to your website or store.
• Curate and create localized content. Post real photos of your store, staff, customers and products. Give your audience a glimpse of your world with fun photos of your pets, family or community.

6. Don’t Focus Just on Numbers

The number of followers you have won’t mean much if they aren’t actually interested in what you’re doing and aren’t likely to purchase anything from you. While it’s important to grow your social media following, it’s what you do with your audience once they follow you that matters.

We’ve seen our clients have great success not just with engaging with their audience and following up on questions, comments and reviews, but also boosting their content for greater reach. This enables more of your posts to be seen by people outside your immediate follower base.

Related: 4 Big Reasons You Need Localized Social Media Content

7. Use Technology

Trying to manage your social media accounts using a spreadsheet or a few bookmark folders is practically impossible — and it might give you a giant headache.

Instead, use a social media management platform like Rallio to help with social media marketing. Our platform lets you schedule posts ahead of time, upload photos and videos into your own library, respond to reviews and inbox questions, and activate your employees as brand advocates. 

You’ll also be able to see reports on how your content is performing — so you can make sure you’re reaching the right audience, optimizing your posts, and creating the most engaging content. Best of all, you can keep everything organized in one place so you can work on your social media management in just a few minutes each day.

Make Your Content Stand Out With Our Social Media Tips

Social media is a great way to increase your brand awareness and help put your company in front of new customers. For small businesses, it’s also a good way to get your name out there. 

And while going social is something all small businesses would like to do, not all are prepared or even equipped for the challenges that come with it. It’s not as easy as just signing up for the major platforms; you have to know how best to use them. With our social media tips, award-winning technology, and automated services, you can start making the most of your social media presence.

Rallio

Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.

If you’re like most business owners, you’re wondering what the next big social media trends will be. After all, everyone is looking for an edge in this changing marketing world. Are we going to see new social media platforms in the coming years, or will existing ones continue to expand? 

It’s likely a “yes” to both of those questions, but the key point to keep in mind is that you want to be where your customers are both now and in the future. With that in mind, here are some of the top social media trends that businesses need to know for 2022 and beyond.

#1 Outsourced Content Creation

Content creation — like, really good content creation — is time-consuming. And for the most part, it isn’t going away anytime soon. The most successful brands will outsource their content creation to freelancers, influencers and agencies.

As of now, you can hire social media influencers on platforms like Instagram to promote your brand, product or services. You can also utilize employee advocacy to convey your message authentically and connect with customers who trust influencer marketing over brand marketing.

In a nutshell, if businesses create valuable content that people engage with, they’ll have a better chance of making a sale down the line. If you aren’t able to create that type of engaging content yourself, you can do two things: 1) invest in content creation services and 2) invest in employee advocacy to get your team involved with influencer marketing. Rallio’s platform includes our Activate app to help organize and formalize your advocacy program.

Related: Mini Case Studies: 3 Powerful Ways Our Technology Boosts Brand Reputation

#2 Closed Groups

One big social media trend of 2022 is that open groups will become less popular as more people begin using closed groups. On Facebook, you can invite a select group of followers to join your private Facebook group on a topic of interest related to your business.

So let’s say you’re a personal trainer. You can create challenges throughout the year and ask your followers to invest in your online personal training program. Your Facebook group can then include only people who have opted into your program.

These more exclusive groups enable users to have more meaningful interactions and build stronger personal relationships with their friends, family and colleagues. You’re able to create small-group conversations and connect with your target audience on a personal level. It’s also a free, organic method of gaining more followers and driving traffic to your other online properties, such as your business page, your website or a landing page.

#3 All Things Video

You may have noticed that your social media feeds have become flooded with videos in the past several months. From Instagram to Facebook to TikTok and everything in between, videos are dominating these platforms, and it’s important that you get on board with the trend.

Businesses and advertisers love videos for their ability to engage viewers and convey information more quickly than a picture or text could. Video is an important social media trend for businesses of all sizes because it allows you to show off your brand’s personality. Including video in your ads can also improve your ad results.

If you’re new to making videos, don’t worry! All you need is your smartphone, good lighting, and maybe a tripod to keep your phone steady as you film. If all that sounds like too much, just stick with your smartphone — but if you want to get fancy, check out this article with some videography tips.

Related: Your Best Cheat Sheet on Instagram Reels for Business

#4 Instant Messaging and Chatbots

Instant messaging is already a huge presence in social, with platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram direct messages ruling the roost. These messaging platforms give customers a direct line to your business if they have questions or need customer support. Therefore, it’s important that you have a system for checking these messages and responding to customers. 

You can also use platforms like Messenger to answer FAQ with automated responses, pre-screen job candidates, and help direct customers to the correct contact at your organization. If you need help setting up your automations, see this article from Facebook.

With chatbots, you can set these up on your website to handle customer inquiries in the same way, saving you time and effort while improving customer care. This way, as you drive traffic to your site from social, your chatbots can also step in to handle customers’ needs.

#5 Shifting Demographics

Every year, the average user age shifts slightly as more and more younger generations begin using social media and older generations adopt new habits on new or existing platforms. This means businesses will need to pay close attention to their social media strategies if they wish to engage with changing demographics and avoid being left behind by their competitors.

According to Pew Research, the social media user base has grown more representative of the broader population: “Young adults were among the earliest social media adopters and continue to use these sites at high levels, but usage by older adults has increased in recent years.” Pew adds that Facebook and YouTube are the most widely used platforms, with smaller shares of Americans using Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Additional research from HubSpot worth noting (see the link for more stats):

• The top way marketers find their audience on social media is by researching relevant online communities like Facebook Groups and subreddits
• Most marketers say short-form video content is the most popular content format for Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z
• Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users; eMarketer predicts Instagram will have over 1 billion in 2022

Social Media Trends Evolve, and So Should You

The landscape of social media is always changing, and in 2022, the evolution will be in full swing. The better you’re able to keep up with social media trends, the more prepared you’ll be to take advantage of what each platform offers.

Need help making the most of these social media trends? Head over to rallio.com and contact us to learn more about how we can work together toward your goals.

Rallio

Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.

In between sipping eggnog, exchanging white-elephant gifts and baking cookies, you still have to find time for posting local content if you’re a business owner. This time of year, as busy as it is for you personally, is also a prime opportunity to connect with your target audience. With local content, you can more easily reach the right customers at the right time and earn their business.

While the last few days of holiday shopping are upon us, you still have a chance to earn last-minute as well as after-Christmas and new-year business. In the spirit of the season, here are 12 days of local content ideas to ring in the new year on a positive (and profitable) note.

#1 Post Your Holiday Eats

What’s on your table or in your oven this holiday season? Everybody loves a good foodie post, so be sure to snap some photos of your holiday eats — even it it means taking photos of your catering order. With the latter, you can tag the local business where you purchased your holiday meal. 

Bonus tip: Add a recipe to your post to make it instantly more share-worthy.

#2 Give a Preview of Coming Attractions

What new products or services will you offer in the new year? Any plans to remodel your business, hire new staff, or open a second location?

You don’t have to give it all away in your post, but a sneak peek of things to come will get your followers excited and engaged. Even a simple progress photo or a glimpse of what’s to come is enough to spark conversation.

#3 Share a Historical Post

What were your most popular posts in 2021? Share a throwback photo to remind your followers of key highlights from the past year.

You could also share a “then and now” post if you have any photos showing the progression of a project over time, like an addition to your restaurant or the growth of a family puppy your followers know and love.

#4 Share Gratitude

A simple post expressing gratitude for your customers shows that you appreciate them. You could create a post on Canva.com saying “Thank you for supporting our business this year” and add a few emojis in the caption.

#5 Post a Testimonial

Also using Canva.com, create a testimonial post featuring a review from a customer. Alternatively, you could snap a photo of your customer and ask permission to post it along with their kind words.

#6 Get Your Employees Involved

Your employees are probably already snapping photos at work and posting them on social media. Why not incentivize them to post on your behalf? 

For example, hold an internal contest to see who can get the most likes and shares on a post that talks about your business. Reward the employee with a gift card to thank them for posting. If you need help tracking stats, Rallio’s Activate platform is the perfect tool for you.

Related: Quick Guide to Holiday Marketing on Social Media

#7 Hold a Giveaway

How about a New Year’s giveaway, such as a free product, discount or gift with purchase? Get the contest started during the last week of December. Ask your followers to like the post and tag a friend or three. Pick a random winner during the first week of January, and announced the winner on social media.

#8 Create a Holiday Greeting

Create a quick video with a “Happy Holidays” greeting from your team. Not only can you post it on social media, but you can send it out via email to your customers.

#9 Use Stories and Reels

With any post you create, you can share them to your Instagram Stories to increase reach. Consider also creating a holiday Reel with fun holiday music, filters and other features to make your post stand out.

#10 Offer a Freebie

If you’re planning to be open over the holidays, get more people in your location by offering a free gift with purchase. Post about it on social media to let your followers know when to come in for their freebie.

#11 Feature Your Neighborhood

Any businesses in your neighborhood with great decorations? Take some photos, post them, and tag the businesses in your post.

#12 Hold a Sale

Can you hold an after-Christmas or New Year’s flash sale? Let your followers know the details on social media!

Local Content Is King

Get set for another year of social media growth when you continually post local content on your pages. If you keep these local content ideas handy, you might just get inspired to come up with some ideas of your own.

If you need more help with your local content or you’d like us to take it off your plate completely, reach out to us at rallio.com.

Rallio

Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.

Around the world, thousands of businesses use Instagram to market their products and services. Whether you’re selling your new lipstick line or promoting your life coaching program, there are so many ways to connect with your target audience, build a following, and grow your business. One way to connect with them and impress your followers? Instagram grid layouts.

While you can easily get started posting without a specific pattern in mind for your page, eventually, you might want to think about creating an Instagram grid layout. With a grid layout, your page looks like one cohesive work of art instead of a random series of photos. 

Arguably, a grid layout is not the be-all, end-all of gaining followers and engagement on your page. Some people will come across your posts in their feeds and won’t bother to visit your page. They also might solely view your Stories or Reels, making the grid layout less important.

However, if you want your page to be aesthetically pleasing — say, for a fashion, beauty or graphic design business — then a grid layout is the way to go. Plus, driving people to your profile is ideal because that’s where you’ll have a link to your website or other important information.

Related: 3 Big Reasons You Need Influencer Marketing

Squares Grid

As the most basic Instagram grid layout, squares are a great place to start if you’re new to creating grids. The idea with squares is to simply post a photo one at a time, using consistent colors and filters.

For example, use a simple black and white aesthetic to give your feed a consistent look and feel. Select colors and filters that reflect your brand’s personality and industry niche, and then stick with that theme throughout your feed.

Checkerboard Grid

If the squares layout grows tiresome for you, at some point you might want to swap it out for a checkerboard. With a checkerboard Instagram grid layout, you alternate between two types of posts or color themes. 

For example, you might have a quote post one day, followed by a real-life photo the next, and you continue to alternate these post types throughout your feed. Another option with the checkerboard is to alternate backgrounds — say, a dark background one day and a white background the next.

Again, stick with the same color scheme and filters. Also, use consistent fonts if you’re posting any quotes or images with text.

Row By Row

Are you a natural storyteller? The row-by-row layout could be for you.

With a row-by-row layout, you create a visual story that moves from left to right like the pages of a book or a magazine. The key is to share a story within three posts that share a similar visual aesthetic, if not the exact same person or object within the three photos. You can also publish a series of quotes across three different posts.

While visually appealing, the row-by-row layout can be challenging if you don’t have the time or resources to post three photos at the same time. (It has to be done this way, or you’ll wreck the layout.) 

However, if you’re able to plan ahead or have someone help you with your posting — our Rallio Local division, for one — then the row-by-row layout can be a fun, engaging way to display your feed.

Puzzle Grid

The puzzle grid is perhaps the trickiest type of Instagram grid layout. With a puzzle grid, you have one image split into multiple posts that are each part of a whole. 

Even though puzzle-grid photos fit together as part of a larger image, ideally the individual photos should be able to stand on their own. This way, if someone views a post within their feed, the photo will still make sense.

Again, the puzzle grid takes some planning and foresight to pull it off effectively. As always, stay consistent with filters, colors and fonts across your puzzle-grid photos.

Related: 3 Simple Ways to Increase Your Exposure Online

Vertical or Diagonal Lines

With a vertical or diagonal lines grid, you have a consistent theme either vertically or diagonally in your feed. Examples include:

• Quotes with a consistent background 
• Images with a consistent background or visual aesthetic
• Consistent borders, such as framed quotes
• Similar post types — say, images of dogs all down the middle of your feed, surrounded by quotes

It’s common with vertical grids to post photos down the middle of a feed, but you could also post on the right or the left. With a diagonal grid, it’s the same idea, only the photos share a similar look and feel in diagonal lines.

Additional Grid Options

If none of the options above work for you, try one of these:

• Rainbow grid. Gradually change the core colors of your feed every three, six or nine photos. Use a color wheel to slowly transition from one color to the next.
• Mixed grid. You don’t have to stick with the same grid forever. You might have a puzzle grid for a specific purpose, such as a product launch, and then implement a different grid once the puzzle is complete.

Keep Your Feed Fresh With Instagram Grid Layouts

Keep in mind that Instagram is primarily a visual platform and should be treated as such, with aesthetically pleasing photos and carefully thought-out themes that catch your followers’ eye. With proper planning and consistent effort, your Instagram page can really come to life with a grid layout. 

Could you use some help creating an Instagram grid layout for your page? Reach out to sales@rallio.com and we’d be happy to recommend the best strategy for your business.

Rallio

Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.

It’s harder and harder to get people’s attention these days. As consumers thumb through their social media feeds, you have only nanoseconds to stop the scroll. Marketers are getting savvy about solving this problem, however, and influencer marketing is one way to stand out from the crowd.

Influencer marketing involves having your product or service promoted by someone who has a social media following. Rather than rely on big celebrity endorsements, you’re working with influencers who tell their followers what they like about your brand.

These influencers don’t need to have hundreds of thousands of followers, either. Even accounts with modest follower counts are able to capture the attention of their fans. 

There are many reasons for this shift toward influencer marketing. In this quick read, you’ll discover three of the biggest reasons you should add influencer marketing to your strategic plans.

Influencer Marketing Offers Long-Term Results

When you partner with influencer marketers, you’re able to create a mutually beneficial long-term relationship. These people effectively become brand ambassadors who promote your brand message among their own followers. 

Those followers may share this content with their own followers, too. This broadens your reach even further, as more and more people learn about your brand. This extended network is filled with potential new followers and customers who want to buy from you.

Related: 3 Simple Ways to Increase Your Exposure Online

People Trust Influencer Messaging Over Brand Messaging

The Digital Marketing Institute (DMI) reports that 70% of younger generations trust influencers over celebrities. The messages coming from influencers are viewed as more authentic and credible than a paid ad or promotion from a brand.

With this credibility, you are more easily able to connect with your target audience. DMI also states that 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations, and 40% had purchased something after seeing it on Twitter, YouTube or Instagram.

Think about a product you love that you found through social media, and you can understand these statistics. Seeing how a product is used in real life by someone who seems relatable makes you more likely to buy it.

Influencers Can Include Employees and Customers

Consider, too, that influencer marketers aren’t just outsiders who partner with your brand. They can also include happy customers as well as employees within your own company. DMI notes that employee-generated content is re-shared up to 24 more times when posted by employees versus a brand. In addition, these posts get up to eight times more engagement.

Moreover, you can incentivize employees to post both branded and unbranded content about your company. With Rallio’s Activate platform, the process is even easier: Provide your employees and influencers with limited mobile logins so they can upload and post content about your brand.

With customers, you can feature their testimonials on your own social feeds. Either post a photo or video of them that you film yourself, or reshare user-generated content. For example, if a customer posts a Story about your new soda flavor or lipstick shade, reshare it on your own stories.

Related: Employee Advocacy Checklist: A Guide to Creating Your Advocacy Program

Start Small and Grow With Influencer Marketing

The best part about influencer marketing is that it’s possible to get started without investing a lot of capital. If you have a product or service people love, they will be happy to share about your brand. 

Sometimes, all it takes is asking. Get in touch with your top employees and customers, and ask if they’d be willing to post about your brand. Create an incentive plan or special discount that makes it worth their while.

In time, you’ll be able to grow your influencer marketing program to include influencers with a bigger following. Remember, though, it’s about quality and not quantity. Your followers will often connect more readily with people who have a modest following rather than a large account, which they might view as less trustworthy.

To learn more about how Rallio can help you power up your influencer marketing, contact sales@rallio.com.

Rallio

Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.

Social media is the first and last impression your customers will see of your brand on the web. You need to stand out from the competition and post localized social media content that is engaging and speaks to your audience. 

There are several benefits of posting localized social media content on your profiles. For one, it lets people know that you understand their needs and interests — and that there are real humans behind the scenes. Because social media is a fast-moving platform, it pays to have content that’s relevant and tailored just for your audience’s needs.

Not convinced yet? Here are 7 reasons you should ditch generic posts and create localized social media content for your business’ social profiles.

#1: Localized Social Media Content Shows You’re Invested in Your Community

Posting localized social media content that includes real photos and videos of your team, your location and your community allows you to showcase your brand’s personality. When people see your content, they’re more likely to engage with it if it comes across as authentic. There’s no better way to illustrate your authenticity than with real-life snapshots of a day in the life, team celebrations, birthday parties, pet pictures, customer testimonials and community events. 

Consider how you personally interact with posts on social media. Would you rather like and comment on a post that’s entertaining, inspiring or informative — or a post that includes a stock photo and a generic caption? When you post locally relevant content to social media, it has the effect of building relationships with locals 1-on-1. This can be beneficial for business because it makes local communities feel “known” and understood.

Related: Case Study: Why Localized Social Media Matters

#2: Localized Social Media Content Differentiates You From the Parent Company

Most franchisors have social media marketing assets that they share with franchisees, and there’s a place for this branded content. After all, as a franchisee, you joined a brand for the name recognition, processes and systems. So why not use the brand name to your advantage? 

While it makes sense to make use of your parent company’s marketing tools, it’s important that you don’t rely exclusively on them. When you personalize your pages with real photos and videos from your location, you send a message to your followers that you’ll treat them as individuals, not just another follower on your page.

#3: Localized Social Media Content Generates More Opportunities

By posting localized social media content and attracting more likes, comments and shares, you create opportunities for more leads and customers. If a follower comments on your post, you can interact directly with that person, showing you’re interested and engaged with your community. 

At times, your followers may have questions that they leave within the comments section or through a direct message. Or they might even leave a review about your business on a review platform. When you stay engaged and alert to what customers are saying about you, you have an opportunity to make that customer happy. You also show prospective customers who are checking out your business online that you care about your customers.

Related: Upgrade Your Social Media in 4 Simple Steps

#4 You Create Loyal Customers

According to Salesforce Research reported by Hubspot, 89% of consumers are more likely to make another purchase after a positive customer service experience. When you consider that many people turn to social media for customer support issues, you can better understand why you need to stay on top of your local social media page.

“Despite social media’s role as a place to connect with friends and coworkers, many businesses and consumers are using it to connect as well,” notes Help Scout. “Functionality like Facebook and Instagram messaging have made it easy for users to connect directly with brands in a more meaningful and authentic way than they used to. Because of that, many companies are striving to create more presence in those environments.”

If a customer were to comment on a post or reach out via Messenger and other forms of direct messaging, they expect a speedy response. When you make a habit of checking your engagements, posting regularly and monitoring mentions of your brand, you’ll be able to follow up on any customer service issues promptly.

Localized Social Media Content + Consistency Are Key

As you may know, there is plenty of competition out there for brands like yours. Localized social media content, posted at least three or four times a week, will give you the consistent online presence you need to stand out from the crowd. Over time and with the addition of ad spend, you’ll build a relationship with your customers — and you might even enjoy the process of getting to know them. If you need more help creating that localized presence and automating the entire process, reach out to us at rallio.com. 

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

–Jeff Bezos

Rallio

Rallio | Powered by Ignite Visibility is a powerful SaaS platform designed to help multi-location and franchise brands streamline their social media, online reputation, and directory listings management. With AI-driven content creation, scheduling, and analytics, Rallio ensures brand consistency while allowing localized engagement. The platform also features employee advocacy tools, review generation, and seamless integration with social ecosystems, making it the ideal solution for brands looking to optimize their digital presence across multiple locations.