After three days of breakout sessions and round tables at the International Franchise Association (IFA) convention, it became very apparent that social media and web marketing are still hot topics in the franchise world. Most industries value these facets too, but, unlike healthcare or high tech verticals, a company isn’t turning over its branding and messaging like a franchise concept does.

The brand promise is the most critical component to the success of a franchisor and franchisee, which is why so much focus is put on brand compliance. Whether the handbook calls for uniform standards, signage requirements, or logo usage, it is all very clear: present your brand in a consistent way that continues to deliver on the expectations that have been set for the customer.

It’s all about the franchise brand promise.

But what is it about online marketing that makes it so hard to deliver on the brand promise and attract eyeballs? Isn’t it just another marketing channel? From session to session, it seems that, despite online marketing as mainstream channel for more than 15 years now, franchisors have not put the same effort into online brand compliance as they do elsewhere. This leads to some franchisees “going rogue” and starting their own online presence.

In some ways this is good. You want owners taking control of their local marketing efforts to connect with their customers. But in other ways the initiative can go awry in a hurry. Owners task their 15-year-old kid to build them a website which does not resemble anything close to brand standards (yikes!).

Look, at the end of the day, online marketing needs the same amount of oversight given to other marketing channels. The difference now is that a franchisor can truly empower owners with the tools to make their franchisees successful, whether they do the work or not.

Without further ado, here are some best practices for helping franchisees get found online and converting web traffic into customers.

1. Take Ownership of the Brand – Some brands allow franchisees to have their own social media presences. This is fine, but those brands need to have admin rights to the accounts. If your franchisee won’t allow that, you can have the account shut down for trademark infringement. Don’t allow someone to damage your brand.
2. Market Locally – More than 50% of searches occur from mobile devices and a third of all searches have local qualifiers. This means that your franchisees web listings need to show up for relevant searches, and not the brand’s homepage. In an effort to effectively move visitors through the funnel of search to engagement to customer, the digital experience must eliminate all the hurdles. Sending someone to a location finder instead of the proper local listing is asking for them to essentially search again. Local search optimization goes a long way in helping get your potential customers moving towards a purchase.
3. Control the Experience – Just as local search needs to drive site visitors to the right location, it also has to deliver the best user experience. The debate about mobile-optimized sites is long dead. Today websites need to deliver high usability, whether they are being accessed on a full size screen, tablet, or mobile device. Responsive design is the best option to meet these standards, as it allows flexibility between devices with forward reaching upgrade capabilities.
4. Leverage Your Authority – To paraphrase Lincoln, “A house divided against itself cannot be found”. If every franchisee has their own URL, then none of them will benefit from the combined SEO authority of the brand. Inbound links are the primary factor determining a URL’s relative “search authority”. If all the inbound links are directed to one URL, for your brand, while each franchisee has a section of the website, everyone wins.
5. Empower Your Franchisees – Once your brand compliance is in place, give franchisees the ability to update and expand their location listings with a content management system. Whether it’s special hours or a focus on a particular service or offering, don’t force your franchisees to have cookie cutter web listings. They have the ability to promote locally through other channels, allow them the same opportunity on the biggest channel of that exists … The Internet.

Don’t be scared of the Internet for marketing – embrace it. With the way that web search is becoming the first tool that many consumers use to find products and services, it is critical that your franchisees have a chance to get found. Instead of telling them no, give franchise owners the tools they need to be succesful.

For more: CLICK THE IMAGE to Download Our eBook, "SEO For Hire"

At this point, the term SEO (Search Engine Optimization) should not be new to any marketer that still has a job in 2013. What that term means to marketers may vary, but most understand that it needs to be addressed in order for a company to be found on the web. But, with exception to the technically savvy, this is about the extent of the definition.

An executive emphatically stating: “We need to focus on our site’s SEO,” is as vague as when my parents would tell me that a chore “builds character”.

While it’s unfair to expect marketing executives to be experts in search optimization, it’s critical that they understand the basics. Talking to someone about a site’s meta-tags is akin to talking to a teenager about NSYNC … it was relevant years ago, but that time has passed. Case in point, Matt Cutts, the Godfather of Google, has repeatedly said that Google no longer looks at the keywords tag.

Secondly, what you do on a page is only a fraction of what goes into your rankings. The majority of the authority that gets your site to rank well comes from the number and quality of inbound links. In short, the more sites that link to yours, the better you’ll rank. But, don’t take that statement and try to buy those links (just ask JC Penny how well that worked for them). It’s likely that Google has more PhD geniuses working on how to make search better than you have in your entire organization – don’t try to outsmart Google.

So, if inbound links are so important and you can’t buy them, where do they come from? Easy – they come from other people finding your content interesting enough to reference on their own sites and blogs. In order to generate interest, don’t use your website simply for brochure listings of your products and service. Try to highlight your expertise and “special sauce”. The easiest way to do this is through a blog.

Yes, a blog. Just like the one you’re reading now.

Too many executives are afraid of blogs, but they are as critical to marketing as your listing in the phone book. (Scratch that, I would argue a company blog is actually far more important … when is the last time you used a phone book?)

A blog is the best way to educate your customers, showcase why you’re better, and attract eyeballs to your site. Update it often, don’t make every post a sales-pitch, and focus on giving your prospects a reason to visit your site. If you post interesting content, it will be shared, and those shares will help improve your rank. This is not a one-time event, either. Publishing engaging content needs to be an ongoing activity, like going to the gym.

Aside from starting a blog to get your company’s site to rank better, the whole purpose of SEO needs to be reevaluated. Stop worrying about “getting your site to rank,” and instead focus on “total first page domination.”  Social media gives your company the opportunity to have multiple channels to promote content, and because they are on different sites, each outlet can rank on a search. If your site currently doesn’t have a blog, it’s critical that you find a tool that makes it easy for your team to manage your content.

While it’s great to get your site to rank on the first page, that’s only one out of nine results on the page. The rest of the results could easily be the dreaded competition. To combat this, diversify by spreading the love: create a LinkedIn page, a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and post to YouTube. By publishing to these different forums, it’s completely possible your brand name is showing up between five and six times on a search term. And this way it doesn’t matter if your site ranks first or fourth,  because the video you created is second while the guest article you wrote for an industry blog is fifth. Remember, exposure is the end game.

To surmise, stop thinking about SEO like it’s the year 2000 and Google just became main stream. In 2013 it’s imperative to focus on ways to take advantage of every applicable search tactic that helps your prospective customers find you.

Look, we talk about trends, what to do in order to prepare, technology to consider, technology to dismiss — all of it, really. There is no bigger trend than mobile devices ascent in the marketplace — absolutely none — and as a marketer in the digital age, you need to consider how to deal with mCommerce’s impact on your business.

CLICK THE IMAGE: To Download Our Latest eBook!

We concede there is no magic bullet, but our latest eBook, “7 Reasons to Consider Responsive Design for Your Company’s Next Generation Website,” uses in depth statistics, research data, and insights from prestigious names in the enterprise Content Management System space to explore the advantages of Responsive Design, a mobile-friendly approach which enables websites to detect the size of a visitor’s viewing screen and trigger content to automatically adjust to fit the screen accordingly.

So, indulge us a tad, and let’s briefly discuss seven reasons why you should download this FREE eBook. (Get it? Because the eBook gives seven reasons to consider responsive design? Good? Good.)

1. Get Smart

OK, OK — we concede “Knowledge is power” is a hackneyed, overused axiom, but it’s also extremely profound. You can agree or disagree with the premise but hey, numbers don’t lie (excuse the cliches – it’s Monday morning, just go with it), and there are plenty of statistics from studies and surveys and reported commerce results that state mobile’s case for itself.

2. The Mobile Revolution Is Real

According to Business insider, manufacturers shipped 685.6 million smartphones worldwide in 2012 (over 45% increase from 2011′s shipments). This was fueled, in large part, by a strong fourth quarter that saw 218.3 million shipments (up 46% in that same period in 2011). Meanwhile, by comparison, manufacturers in the floundering personal computer market shipped roughly 90 million PCs in the fourth quarter, a 6 percent decline in PC unit shipments compared to the same quarter a year prior. For the first time in over a decade, PC sales were lower than the previous year

3. Yeah, guys — We’re not kidding, It’s Real & A Major Part of eCommerce

The numbers about the growth of smart devices in the marketplace are astonishing. There’s not arguing that, but you care about the transactional nature of the technology. Consumers are using smart phones and tablets to make purchases. According to Bank of America, retail revenue from mobile commerce in European and U.S. markets jumped from $15 billion in 2011 to nearly $26 billion in 2012 (71% increase). That number is expected to reach $67 billion by 2015.

4. They Said It … Not Us

Business Insider, Bank of America, Mashable, Gartner, Google — the list goes on and on (and on). We provide editorial guidance and a narrative, but you’re getting the information about the Mobile Takeover and Responsive Design from industry experts and trusted names.

5. eCommerce is Essential

Future-proofing your web properties is always ideal. And listen, you’ve been hearing about the significance of eCommerce since like, what, 1998? eCommerce matters, and mobile is just as paramount to your business success. Mobile has to be considered as part of your long-term needs.

6.  Take Action — We Can Help

Yes, we do Responsive Design. And we do it well, ask Triumph Motorcycles.

7. It’s Free! No cost! Hey Did We Mention It’s Free!

The only cost to this piece is your time. And honestly, plowing through the material won’t even cost you much of that, either. The eBook itself informative and prolific in its research, but ultimately an easy, concise read; featuring digestible graphics to help understand and remember statistics.

Any franchise that can’t be found on Google doesn’t exist.

Or so it seems.  When was the last time you’ve seen someone pick up the giant Yellow Pages book?  If your customers can’t find you via their mobile phone while on the go or in a few seconds from their home computer, then they will wind up at your competitor’s front door.

For franchisees, the need for a solid location based marketing strategy is a must for three huge reasons.

1. Local results always appear first.

Go ahead and type your favorite local business into a Google search.  What do you find?  Chances are, the first thing you’ll see that business’s nearest location (along with address and phone number) at the top of the screen. When your potential customer is performing a search, Google will always take a look at their IP address and return the most relevant results based on their location FIRST.  The first position on Google can result in an uptick in traffic that can be as high as 30-40%.  If you’re a franchisee that’s catering to a local community or operating in a competitive market, then that boost can mean big things for your bottom line.  So, those few minutes spent to create an accurate Google Plus listing will be well worth it almost immediately.

2. Word of mouth (even online) reigns supreme.

Word of mouth recommendations go a long way when it comes to increasing foot traffic at your franchise – word of mouth recommendations online are just as important.  Let’s say your potential customer is new to your city and searching for a great place to eat near the office.  Those local restaurants with online listings and a number of positive reviews will not only get listed first in Google, but they will definitely encourage that potential customer to walk through the door.   Let your customers know you’re on Yelp and Google with signage at your location or mention it on your sales receipts.  You’d be surprised how just a few rave reviews on the web can translate into new faces in your store.

3. Ensure consistency for your brand.

Even if you have just one franchise location, chances are you’ll have several different local listings out there on the web – from Google, to Yahoo!, to Bing and others. Are you listed on one as “Joe’s Café” and in another as “Joe’s Café and Catering”? You’ll also want to ensure your keywords are consistent across all pages so that you continue to hammer home for the search engines what keywords belong with your brand.   As always, be sure to check your spelling in your listings, and check it again.  Details play a huge role when it comes to local marketing so you want to be certain that all of your business particulars are correct before you press the submit button.  

Having a killer local search strategy in place should be the first step for franchisees looking to drum up new business.  What has worked well in your local search strategy?

Want to learn more about how to take advantage of Local Search? Download our eBook, Optimizing for Local Search.

Sherri Starcher is a regular contributor to Franchwire,  the source for daily news, advice, and analysis from around the franchise world.   Sherri is recently relocated from the Philadelphia area, and a food lover and franchise aficionado.  Visit Franchwire.com, and for regular franchise updates follow Franchwire on Twitter .

A company's website going dark has a domino effect

With the holiday shopping season being a critical part of many retailers’ annual revenue, it’s also a good time to take a look at the user experience (UX) of shopping on the web and how that can impact sales. Every eCommerce manager loses sleep starting on Thanksgiving, praying their site’s infrastructure can handle the spike in traffic and transactions that come with Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Dyn Inc, a leading Infrastructure-as-a-Service provider, posted some interesting statistics about the load placed on Internet retailers during this busy weekend. According to the National Retail Foundation, 2010 saw over $212 million spent on Internet purchases Thanksgiving weekend. This is a trend that won’t reverse, as Reuters claimed a 14% increase in 2011.

This drastic increase in traffic can cause problems for unprepared websites. While hackers will use a distributed Denial of Service (DoS) attack to bring a website down, a heavy load of retail traffic effectively accomplishes  the same thing: flushing the server with traffic, overloading its ability to keep-up with the demand.

Once a website collapses, dollars can’t be spent, and your bottom line is instantly hurt. For small retailers, this could mean hundreds of dollars lost; for others, going dark could mean the difference between Black Friday and a Bloody Friday. In fact, analysts estimate that a single hour of downtime can cost upwards of $150,000.

In some cases, it’s not the web server that goes down — it can be the DNS provider. Often overlooked as Internet “plumbing,” DNS is the technology that translates a website’s URL to an IP address, essentially acting as the phonebook for the web.

DNS recently became a news item when GoDaddy’s DNS services infamously went down in September of 2012. As a result, millions of websites using GoDaddy as a DNS provider were unreachable for over two hours. This amount of downtime would be a disaster for any Internet retailer, especially during the holiday season.

As a marketing manager, it’s vital to understand that your projected ROI off web properties, social media strategy — everything — becomes obsolete if your website goes dark. Customers can’t buy from you if they can’t access your website. Guaranteed uptime should be the first part of the user experience, and then you can worry about the cart!

Welcome to Bridgeline Digital’s daily links post on the B-Line blog named “Around The Web.” We’ll be checking in every morning with relevant (and entertaining) pieces found across the Internet about Content Management, Marketing, SEO news, and General Business News. This (hopefully) will become part of your morning, a detour you enjoy as you sip on your third cup of coffee before noon. And fear not, this space is not a one-way street: We want you, dear reader, to interact with us; tell us what you like, what you hate, and what you want more of in the comments section and on Twitter.

Around The Web

Reports of Email Marketing’s Demise May Have Been Premature

We omitted Email Marketing Campaigns from our Seven eCommerce and Marketing Trends To Watch For In 2013 column. Let’s delve into why, shall we?

Email Marketing never died, guys. It just has a place at a bigger table.

Without question, a great deal of analysts are forecasting a big “comeback” year for email; and while our Gartner Report offering, entitled “Using Digital Marketing to Differentiate Yourself from Competitors,” states less than 1% percent of recipients open up email blasts, we never really saw it fade.

Look, Email blasts will always be a valuable marketing tool (and essential), just like Press Releases will always have purpose (and are essential, too). These strategies are at the fabric of what we do and were never in danger of being obsolete (thinking so would be, for lack of a better term, presumptuous). Yes, Email Marketing now shares the dinner table with Social Media, Blogging, and other digital age trends; but make no mistake about it, distribution list management and effective email campaigns are still paramount.

And sometimes — like, I don’t know, say, the holidays — Email steps up and is the driving force behind sales.

Via eConsultancy, per an eCircle survey, that’s exactly what is happening:

More than 40% of respondents said email is ‘very important’ for driving sales, followed by SEO and SEM (both 33%).

More than two-thirds of companies (70%) rate email marketing as ‘excellent’ (23%) or ‘good’ (47%) in terms of return on investment.

I think we can all agree, reports of Email Marketing‘s demise may, in fact, have been premature. Email can’t comeback, because, you know, it never actually died.

(Realize the value of an effective eCommerce and Email Marketing Campaign and want to know more? CLICK HERE! To Learn more about iAPPS Marketier –  our powerful online marketing management solution that supports and optimizes highly targeted email campaigns.)

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The changing healthcare landscape, riddled with reform and a reimbursement model with emphasis on patient outcomes, has made engaging patients critical to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment. The web, over any other medium or outlet, is growing in influence (one in every two people use a hospital’s website to contact or learn about the organization before any other resource). According to Mashable, this is trend is growing into the realm of social media.

Click on the image to watch our latest webinar, "How Your Website Can Drive Patient Activation"

A Survey by Demi & Cooper Advertising and DC Interactive Group found the following:

*90% of people ages 18-24 said they would trust health information they found on social media channels.

*One in two adults use their smartphone to look-up health information.

*44% of people said they would share positive or negative experiences of a hospital or medical facility

*42% said they wouldn’t hesitate to post comments about a doctor, nurse or healthcare provider on social media.

*60% of doctors say social media improves the quality of care.

I see mobile use, social media impact, and much more in these statistics. Moreover, it jives with our latest webinar, “How Your Website Can Drive Patient Activation,” held last week. Using the web to educate patients and foster a community on your website will only help in this new playing field. (Especially given how, these days, word-of-mouth actually means, “I saw Hospital X had great reviews on Twitter.”)

Want to play catch up? Click here to watch the archived webinar and make sure to check out our exclusive post-show blog recap.