The digital marketing mix is one of a franchisee’s biggest weapons in gaining an edge over local competition. You already have the brand, the credibility, and the product — what you need is local targeting to get customers in your door. Most franchisees limit their marketing mix to what others are doing or to what is required in their franchise marketing plan. However, there are many more options other than Facebook, Instagram, and Google.
What should a healthy marketing mix look like? Below are the top four areas we recommend franchisees invest in order to gain local traction. If your marketing plan includes these in a balanced and strategic manner, there is no reason you can’t be a top-selling location by the end of the year:
Targeted social platforms
Most businesses know to have a social profile and run ads on the big two — Facebook and Instagram. However, you have many more options for social networking than these platforms, and depending on your target market, you may be missing out if you’re not utilizing them. Younger audiences are spending more time on platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok, while older customers can often be reached on Youtube. By understanding the full menu of options, you can better reach different demographics with your advertising.
Local search and location products
One of the best ways to attract foot traffic is local search and location-based advertising. If you show up on apps such as Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze, you’re more likely to get traffic from out of town as well. However, you often won’t come up first if you’re not actively advertising on these platforms. Purple Penguin Digital helps clean up your online presence on location-based platforms so you always get local foot traffic without the extra effort.
Google paid search, display ads, and remarketing
Any good SEM plan will include paid search and remarketing advertising. Your franchise will likely provide the bulk of the SEO work for your location, but as the franchisee you’ll need to invest in local display ads and remarketing to ensure you’re always #1 on your customers’ search results page. These marketing efforts will also increase overall brand awareness to keep your business top-of-mind in the local area.
Audio ads
Radio isn’t dead — over 244 million Americans listen to the radio at least once every month and could be listening to your ads while they do it. iHeartRadio is a great way to spread local awareness for sales and big events on the radio, but it isn’t the only way. iHeartRadio has the ability to advertise on podcasts, so we can target specific types of shows your audience is listening to on-demand.
