Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Humanize Your Franchise or Company



It’s no secret that some of the most successful brands today achieve success by being able to connect with customers both online and offline.  Today, almost more than ever, companies are very conscious about how their brand comes across to others.  In a world dominated by social media, a bad comment can spread around the world in the blink of an eye, so what can you do?  

Your company or franchise needs to connect with current and prospective customers on a deeper level.  Just having a Facebook and Twitter won’t get you anywhere.  Tons of companies big and small have a Facebook and Twitter, so now the goal needs to be creating an experience when people visit your social media sites that no one is soon to forget.  Companies that excel with social media today are the companies that aren’t afraid to break outside of the mold to do something different and above all, they connect with customers and have learned how to humanize themselves as a brand.  Here are a few tips on how to humanize your franchise or company:

(1) Pictures you put up: Don’t be afraid to put up pictures of your company events or other great pictures of your office and crew.  It shows the people who work hard behind the brand.  It’s the behind the scenes kind of stuff that people love to see. Social media for franchises or businesses needs to be personal.  Social media profiles should show people who you are.

(2) Don’t fake authenticity:  Don’t try to fake authenticity because I think we’re all a little too smart to fall for companies that are fake today.  Strive for authenticity and honesty about yourself and your company.  People will recognize that and reward with you a great sense of loyalty.

(3) Show that you value customer service: Business or franchise social media is a great tool for customer service.  Use your social media to show your customers that you care about their needs.  Show them that you aren’t just some big company or franchise that is just too big to talk to them.  Often, customers want to be reached out to, so show them that you care. 

(4) Content of what you post: What you post is probably more important that how often you post.  Some companies feel the need to post every few minutes, but really this can get annoying and can actually push customers away rather than bring them in closer.  Pay attention to what you post and make sure that what you post is quality.  That’s the only way you will bring people closer to your company or franchise. 

(5) Be available: Remember, the reason you are making yourself and your franchise or company present on social media is to engage in dialogue with customers, so if you fail to keep up with social media you are breaking a promise to customers.  If you are present on social media, but never available when a customer needs you, you might as well not be on social media at all.  Be available to you customers as much as you can. 

Looking for more tips and tricks of the Franchise Public Relations trade?  Contact us.

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