Business Tips for Social Media Marketing

About 4.5+ billion people worldwide are on social media*, with the average user spending about 2+ hours per day online. Networks like LinkedIn and Instagram have become an integral part of our daily lives - we use them to connect with friends and family and as powerful business tools. These networks continue to evolve their offerings, update their algorithms, and expand their reach, which creates new opportunities for users.

Social media marketing for franchises and businesses can help you reach new consumers and connect with current ones, so staying up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices is crucial.

About 81% of marketers found that investing as little as six hours a week into social media led to increased traffic. Whether you are a small shop or a national brand or have one location or 100, social media should be part of your digital advertising strategy - here’s why.

How Can Organic Social Media Help My Franchise?

The answer is simple: it’s impactful and free!

Social media marketing helps you connect with customers, increase brand awareness, and boost conversions.

It’s also used as a search engine: customers search for products, services, and reviews on social, usually around the time they are looking at your website.

There are two different ways to use social media:

• Organic Social Media: Posting on networks like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok without paid promotion.
• Paid Social Media: Social posts that you’ve put dollars behind to target a specific audience - think ads, boosted posts, and influencer marketing.

Consistent posting is the best way to humanize your brand. You can create content that brings your business to life, answers your customers' questions, and involves them in the conversation. It’s also the best way to show authenticity, which increases credibility and relatability. Giving your audience a behind-the-scenes look into your brand, products, and services lets them learn more about the company than what is on the website, which can help them in their decision-making process.

What to Post on Each Social Media Platform for Business

Each social media platform has its own unique algorithm that determines the visibility and reach of your content. In 2023, it is more important than ever to stay informed about these algorithms and adapt your content accordingly.

Research and experiment with various content formats, posting times, and engagement techniques to maximize your reach on each platform. Here are some social media platforms for businesses:

• Facebook: A social network that’s best for general business updates, brand awareness, and events.
• LinkedIn: A professional-focused network that is best used to share business updates and thought-leadership content.
• Instagram: A visual-first network favoring video and photo content. You cannot publish links in posts. Features like Instagram stories are great for your hyperlocal social media marketing efforts.
• Google Business Profile: A platform that’s best for sharing upcoming events, promotions/sales, and blog posts.
• TikTok: A video-sharing platform with a three-minute video maximum. Best for sharing fun, behind-the-scenes content. This is also best used for hyperlocal social media marketing.
• Pinterest: Another visual-first platform that is best used for sharing eye-catching product shots or educational graphics that spark inspiration.
• YouTube: A video-sharing network that allows for longer format video content. Best for sharing product reviews, how-tos, or virtual tours.
• Twitter: Well… we’ll leave this one up to you.

Tools

Here is a list of tools that can help take your content to the next level:

• Photo and graphic editors: Canva, Lightroom, Photoshop, and many more!
• Schedulers: SOCi, Hootsuite, Later, Brand Watch, and Monday. Find the one that best suits you!
• AI/other: ChatGPT, Flick, Content Studio, Latel, Socialbakers, Wordstream, Grammerly - the list is endless. Check out a few for yourself and see what works best. The tools are out there just waiting for you to use!

How to Incorporate AI into Social Media

Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation have become beneficial tools for social media management in 2023. AI-powered chatbots can enhance customer service by providing immediate, personalized responses to user inquiries, and automation tools streamline content creation, scheduling, and analytics, freeing up time for you to focus on strategic planning and engagement. Stay ahead of the competition by incorporating AI and automation into your social media strategy.

Check out our recent post on AI for Franchise Marketing

Social Content Best Practices

1. Embrace authenticity: While your website should utilize professional imagery, social media lends itself to a more in-the-moment form of sharing. It’s okay to show the real-life, unfiltered aspects of your business.
2. Prioritize video content: "Snackable" video content has taken center stage in 2023, with platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts dominating user and algorithm attention. Short-form videos offer easily digestible content that is ideal for brand storytelling.
3. Focus on community building: Foster brand loyalty by encouraging engagement. Ask for feedback (in the form of questions, polls, etc.), respond to comments/messages, and share user-generated content from other loyal customers!
4. Champion diversity and inclusion: In 2023, businesses must make an effort to showcase a diverse range of people, perspectives, backgrounds, and experiences through their social media content. Celebrate the unique aspects of your team and customers, and actively seek partnerships with diverse influencers and content creators.

Social Media Metrics: What to Prioritize

As the way we consume social media has changed, so have the metrics we prioritize. While follower count is still important, we now focus more on impressions and reach, as it gives a better idea of how many people see your content. It’s also important to note that your content can be viewed outside of your profile feed or your follower’s feeds through a Discover page or keyword/hashtag search.

Here are a few other key metrics to look for depending on your goal:

What to Post: Steal Our Content Ideas!

Organic social media should be the place you showcase what consumers can’t find on your website: a more day-to-day, behind-the-scenes look into your brand and its people. While you should absolutely share promotions on social if you’re running them, try not to create an ad feed - it can deter people from following along and engaging with your content.

Ask these questions before you create and publish content:

• Is this information valuable or entertaining to my audience?
• Is this on-brand?
• What is my call to action (it’s okay if there isn’t one for every post!)?

Here are a few evergreen post ideas that anyone can use:

• Highlight franchise owners, employees, customers, members, or clients
• Share what a typical day looks like
• Tips and tricks
• Sales and promotions
• Testimonials and customer reviews
• Personal stories
• Sneak Peek into new products or offerings to generate excitement and awareness
• Blogs
• Press coverage
• Relevant industry articles
• Q+A of your most asked questions

As we navigate the fast-paced world of social media in 2023, staying up-to-date with the latest best practices is crucial for success. At IDS, our social media marketing services for franchise businesses can help your brand stand out, boost awareness, and showcase other important sides of your business.

Some of our offerings include customized organic campaigns, paid campaigns, reputation management, and social page optimization specific to franchise brands. Our team of social experts can help you design a digital marketing strategy to expand your reach and take your online presence to new heights.

Looking to enhance your social media marketing for your franchise with IDS? Reach out to us today to see which services would best fit your needs!

Source:

*https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/