What is local franchise marketing? Not everybody understands what a franchise is and who is considered a franchise. Listen to podcast here. I have worked in the corporate industry years and the agency world for over ten years. Between both of these opportunities I saw a lot of missed opportunities.

When working for a corporation, you have to follow their branding and marketing rules. Sometimes, depending on the industry, you have to follow compliant rules too. 

I have learned over the years that there are ways to use those corporate guidelines, branding, and personality to utilize the best way to personalize your own story. 

Visions2images decided to niche into franchise marketing during the pandemic because of the affected businesses, including franchises. Not everyone understands that local people own franchises, and I noticed that franchises struggled just as much as small businesses.

Some examples of locally owned franchises are SERVPRO, Mcdonald’s, Starbucks, Coach, New York and Company, etc. Most of these owners contribute to their community because they are local and love to give back.

And often, these franchisees have multiple businesses and are very well known in the community, but it’s not shown and addressed positively. So our vision and mission is to change how people take in franchises and how they understand that there’s so much more than just a name brand.

It is about the owner, their team, and their marketing and branding. It is about them creating a local legacy.

 I am involved in many community events and non-profits. In fact, I’m going to be announcing something soon about a nonprofit that I am a part of. I’m also a big component of giving back by being in the community, and it all made sense for my business to work with the locally owned and operated franchises and non-profits.

The number one question that comes up with franchise owners is, I have to be compliant with corporate guidelines for marketing. Yes, that might be true, but you can create your own story and vision for your franchise. All you need to do is create strategy and it will help you stand out against your competitors.

During the pandemic, a local franchise owner messaged me and stated that they use corporate people for some social media posts but thought they were missing out on more. They were very involved in the community, gave back, offered programs, and had unique selling points at all different levels, and they weren’t getting the traffic and visibility they wanted. So we started chatting and what we did was take over their social media entirely.

We began to create strategies and campaigns geared toward them, and now they’re getting ready to launch another location.

A common question I get asked a lot is, “What is local franchise marketing.” There’s no right answer, and it doesn’t fit all, but here are some great ways to use local visibility: Google My Business, Brand story, Social Media, SEO, Chamber Involvement, Local Media Outlets, Volunteer, Charities, and Sponsoring events.

Here are some questions I like to ask:

• What is your involvement in the community
• What charities are you giving back to?
• Are you speaking at engagements? 
• What have you done for your community that can help you stand out?

Stories sell, and people can relate to my personal story of being a single mom to an autistic son and an entrepreneur. The same is true for your business story, unique selling points, and your involvement in the community. People want to do business with you when they can relate to you.

These little pieces go together, and so many businesses miss out or overlook them, and it’s about creating that awareness.

A franchise is anybody who has multiple locations and, or is locally owned and independent. I work with several non-profits, and I consider them franchise model-based because they have several different chapters and maintain that brand. They still bought into the name, it’s just a bit different because it’s a nonprofit, but they’re still franchise-based.

We also work with emerging franchises: it’s a business that wants to have multiple locations and go nationwide and even internationally. We have started working with a few of them to develop plans for their marketing and campaigns.

When a person wants to purchase a franchise, they want to have all of the tools that they will need and are necessary. One of those pieces is marketing. We are working on a fantastic tool for franchises to have something for their marketing, stay tuned.

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Susie Liberatore is the owner, and Art Director, of Visions2images Creative Services. She helps established businesses grow their brand awareness by using digital marketing and professional branding techniques. With over a decade of agency and corporate experience, she brings businesses’ visions to life, while watching their return on investment increase. Susie helps businesses grow their brand presence and connect with their target audienc