The question is... Do you know how to use it for business purpose?
FranchiseBusiness.com conducted the survey of 600 prospective franchisee during August and September 2012. The result that has been revealed after the survey is not surprising.
- Almost 90% sees social media as a very helpful tool in doing business.
- BUT 4 out of 5 of survey participants have no experience in social media.
Fernandes, Sales manager for FrandchiseBusiness.com.au said: “There seems to be a gap between the expectations of online strategies and what they can do for business and the skill sets people actually have when it comes to using online strategies and tactics for business.”
(source: http://www.bandt.com.au/news/digital/franchisees-praise-social-media-but-don-t-know-how)
The survey also shows that most of the franchisees want to manage their own website and social media. However, with the fact that most of them don't know how to manage a website and social media platforms, How are they going to succeed?
(source: http://www.bandt.com.au/news/digital/franchisees-praise-social-media-but-don-t-know-how)
The survey also shows that most of the franchisees want to manage their own website and social media. However, with the fact that most of them don't know how to manage a website and social media platforms, How are they going to succeed?
This reminds me once again to my previous blog post that I talked about 'Social media bandwagon.' Businesses just decide to jump into those social media platforms without knowing exactly what to do with them. At the end, they might end up like those inactive fan page on facebook or twitter account that have only few followers, etc.
The first step that they should do is... to think of the purpose of having these platforms.
In my opinion, I'm actually not quite sure why franchisee needs their own website or their own social media profiles. However, this might depend on the industry that they're operating and as time goes by, there might be new online strategies and tactics for business to use.
For example, I would never think that every McDonald's should have their own facebook profiles until I heard of Pickle club, which is the profile for McDonald's that started from the Malvern East branch and has expanded into other branches under the Kellyco group (within few years, they have expanded it into 9 locations!). Pickle club is clear in the point of differentiation/ the purpose of doing it (offering special deal but customers need to check for the codeword on facebook each day - create interaction and engagement) and the main target, which is Monash University (Caulfield campus) students.
Unless they're clear of what they're doing on the social media platform and know how to differentiate themselves, I actually don't agree that they need their own profile for each franchise branch. Who would ever want the profile for every 7-11 in Melbourne if their offerings and promotions are all the same? Just one is enough.
For example, I would never think that every McDonald's should have their own facebook profiles until I heard of Pickle club, which is the profile for McDonald's that started from the Malvern East branch and has expanded into other branches under the Kellyco group (within few years, they have expanded it into 9 locations!). Pickle club is clear in the point of differentiation/ the purpose of doing it (offering special deal but customers need to check for the codeword on facebook each day - create interaction and engagement) and the main target, which is Monash University (Caulfield campus) students.
Unless they're clear of what they're doing on the social media platform and know how to differentiate themselves, I actually don't agree that they need their own profile for each franchise branch. Who would ever want the profile for every 7-11 in Melbourne if their offerings and promotions are all the same? Just one is enough.
Very nice insights Cheer.
ReplyDeleteIn a way I think Social Media advertising can already be very attractive to all business owners purely because it's cheap(or free) and it reaches out to a LOT of people (and a good quality of the group of people, because friends of one person who like that item would probably be in the same age group/same area/like the same type of product etc.), so yes there are a lot of people jumping on the social media bandwagon without really knowing much about operating it. Having said that, there's nothing much to lose is there?
Having solid purposes can differentiate successful FB pages from the average ones, to the bad and inactive ones like you said. Benefits could be great, but a lot of work may need to be put into running it. Some business owners may simply wants some exposure on the social media websites and think it's not really worth doing all that extra work to have a dynamic, well-planned, well-purposed FB page.
About each franchise having its own page, in 7-11 case it might not be practical(since one store could be 5 min walk from another in CBD). Though I do think in the McDonald's case, each branch has its own page may give people more of a community feeling, like only Malvern People gets the special deals etc. It may allow McDonald's to focus more on the people of that specific area e.g. if Malvern ppl loves cheeseburger so much, they could offer a cheerse burger deal that would be good only to them while the rest of Australia wouldn't really care about it. If 7-11 have a page for each area, say one for all the stores in CBD, one for all the stores in East Melbourne etc. that might work and let each group focus more on their customers.
Cheers! N'Cheer
[Social media is not 'social' without 'interaction' and 'engagement']
ReplyDeletei'm agree with you! :'D
In my opinion, nowadays social network is an important tool to connect us and customers, share their opinion that what they want! So, i think social network can make an engagement too!
Pickle club is a good example. They even made an application for android and iPhone. I agree with you that there shouldn't be more than one profile. Just only one application for all relevant branches is more than enough. :)
ReplyDeleteMaybe one isn't enough because they just want to connect with their customers in every little tiny detail.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree! The use of social media shouldn't just be a good idea for companies anymore. I think it should be a necessity. People are spending more and more time online it would be crazy not to jump on board the internet train!
ReplyDelete"Social media is not 'social' without 'interaction' and 'engagement'" LIKE!!!
ReplyDeleteAgreed
ReplyDeleteThe main of using social media are Engagement & Branding in the same time. And many of them keep doing in the wrong way. [Franchise + social media], I think, needs a great conception, well designing the interactive form to keep in touch with customer in the local level, also gain lot responds in return.
Having your business to integrate seamlessly into your customers' social lifestyle is part of the modern strategy to success.
ReplyDeleteTake instagram for example. It is an application targeted at mobile users that allow the users to "beautify" photos taken from their mobile devices and share it to their social circle on various social media channels. Beautiful photos attract other people and in many cases make them like the photos, making the user feel - or rather, an illusion or a state of mind - that there is an increase in their social status or ego among their circle of friends.
This rewarding experience becomes a strong driving force for them to keep utilizing your service or product (not to mention the free advertising that comes along when they share it to their friends) and soon turns it into a natural and sustained process; whereas in older methods customers will only approach you when they are in need of your products or services and quickly lose you when they are satisfied.
Having a strong social media presence also allows your business to create a user-sustained customer base - customer loyalty can be generated via a common social interest (or peer pressure) from a circle of friends who utilize your service or product and continue spreading to friends of friends and so on, instead of having to waste precious time & resources to hire additional PR staff to build relationships and retain your customers in the traditional method.
Regarding the issue of having multiple pages for different franchises of the same business, I think the most important matter is the underlying business' relationship and interactions with its customers. Each Pickle Club page specifically targets a small niche of customers and focuses promotional items and interaction strategies to local events and attractions that relate to the audience in the particular region. It can be seen as McDonald's strategy to give it a brand new look - just as how it changed its marketing strategy to sell itself as a "family-restaurant" to appeal to children and families instead of "fast-food restaurant" in the past - the Pickle Club allows McDonalds to present itself as "THE hangout place/snack bar" targeted at students and youngsters. In my opinion, each McDonald restaurant has become sort of a local culture - in that each restaurant is different in one way or another and visited by people of all ages - in comparison to the monotonous, identical-looking 7-11 shops, which could be why it would not be a good idea for 7-11s to have separate pages for their franchises.
That said, with the appropriate strategy and social media approach, anything could be possible! You might probably see a "Slurpee Club" - Slurpee being the most recognizable and unique feature of every 7-11 - which could possibly associate itself successfully with the local culture and achieve a cult status one day!
I do agree with many points in your post. Many of them had a facebook account but never updated anything on it. What's the point of having them? An active facebook account really creates value as it makes customers feel closer to the company. Updates on new feeds are effective as it makes the customers think of the brand over others. I think it's an effective way for advertisement. For the franchisee point, I don't see much benefit of having separate facebook account for each franchisee. I don't know if it's practical for other countries but I don't think it would work in Thailand. I think it would make people more confused and they might not be able to deliver the messages effectively. However, it might be good for a big country like the US. They might create one for each states and launch promotions separately.
ReplyDeleteTotally true... without the purpose, if you create such platform then it would be useless.
ReplyDeleteAnother great idea about social media that I found interesting is that it allows the business to actually personify itself - using public figure - it is a place where brand can actually create its own identity through creating a unique character to represent the brand and actually making it alive!
Based on this platform and through engaging interactions could create such strong bonds between the brand and its customer. This is one of the charm I found about applying social media to business.
Great blog, great job Cheer!
Yes, I totally agree with you. Just one fanpage for one brand is enough. However, I can accept one fanpage of the brand for each country too!! It's not too much for me at all ;)
ReplyDeleteI'm one of Instagram users, using it as a marketing tool to promote my brand.. it's a fantastic tool.
ReplyDeleteSocial media itself is a catch-all term for sites that may provide radically different social actions.* For instance, Twitter is a social site designed to let people share short messages or “updates” with others. Facebook, in contrast is a full-blown social networking site that allows for sharing updates, photos, joining events and a variety of other activities.
ReplyDeleteBuy facebook fans
It is essential to add social media to your marketing mix and not totally depend on it as a single marketing strategy. Outsourcing the task to a Social Media Marketing Agency can help you gain a solid online presence.
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I believe that a social media consultant must be attuned to the company goals and aspirations if he or she is to represent them on their social media channels. I also think that outsourcing social media marketing is a good idea for a company looking to specialize in their core business. In any case, most businesses outsource marketing and advertising and I don’t see why social media marketing should be any different. You just need to be actively involved to ensure that you are represented in the way that you want
ReplyDeleteI believe that a social media consultant must be attuned to the company goals and aspirations if he or she is to represent them on their social media channels. I also think that outsourcing social media marketing is a good idea for a company looking to specialize in their core business. In any case, most businesses outsource marketing and advertising and I don’t see why social media marketing should be any different. You just need to be actively involved to ensure that you are represented in the way that you want
ReplyDeleteI believe that a social media consultant must be attuned to the company goals and aspirations if he or she is to represent them on their social media channels. I also think that outsourcing social media marketing is a good idea for a company looking to specialize in their core business. In any case, most businesses outsource marketing and advertising and I don’t see why social media marketing should be any different. You just need to be actively involved to ensure that you are represented in the way that you want
ReplyDeleteI believe that a social media consultant must be attuned to the company goals and aspirations if he or she is to represent them on their social media channels. I also think that outsourcing social media marketing is a good idea for a company looking to specialize in their core business. In any case, most businesses outsource marketing and advertising and I don’t see why social media marketing should be any different. You just need to be actively involved to ensure that you are represented in the way that you want
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how social marketing can help businesses of today through Instagram. That's why internet marketers are continuously searching for ways to get Instagram followers faster. Got to keep up with the competition and hope that optimizing Instagram accounts will lift the business towards success.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how social marketing can help businesses of today through Instagram. That's why internet marketers are continuously searching for ways to get Instagram followers faster. Got to keep up with the competition and hope that optimizing Instagram accounts will lift the business towards success.
ReplyDelete