marketing | Senior Home Care Franchise

When most people think about the term “marketing,” they’ve got dollars and cents in mind. While it’s important to keep your eyes on the bottom line at all times, marketing can also play a crucial role when it comes to establishing your senior care franchise as a community resource. Following are some ideas to help you maximize revenue while creating a strong local presence for your business.

In the Digital Realm

A recent blog post here discussed how you can use the power of social media to market your franchise effectively. You can also use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter to reach out to people and organizations in your community.

Here’s how:

-Find and follow influential individuals and organizations within your community, then take the time to introduce yourself and interact.

-Promote local events – even those for which your business is not directly involved. This shows that you’re “plugged in” to what’s going on in your area.

-Show what you’re doing to benefit the community. Don’t be shy! If you’re doing good things in your area, people should know about them!

Other digital marketing strategies that can double as excellent community-involvement tactics include using local guest bloggers on your blog or website, performing Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to ensure that you stand out and updating your local business listings on Google, Facebook, Foursquare and Yelp.

In the “Real World”

Becoming a resource for your community is only possible when you actively pursue opportunities to show people in your area who you are. Of course, you’re busy running a business, but you need to remember that part of running any successful business is marketing and local outreach. Thankfully, it doesn’t take that much time to take positive steps toward making your franchise a local mainstay and source of pride.

Here are some ideas you can try outside the digital realm:

-Organize community outreach projects with businesses that are in adjacent industries. For example, you could work with the local clinic or the chiropractor next door to organize a fundraising event that benefits local shelters or food pantries.

-Sponsor the local Little-League team. Kids’ sporting events bring families out of their homes so they can gather together. Be a part of the community bonding that happens by donating money, equipment or uniforms to a local team. You’ll get great publicity, plus you’ll show that you and your business support events that bring people together.

-Send personalized notes. Is there a new business in your zip code? Have you been meeting with potential clients? Do you want to let someone know that you appreciate the work they did for your business? In this era of digital communications, a personalized “thank-you” or “welcome” means more than it ever has, and it can help you establish your business as a true pillar of the community.

Are you ready to learn more about franchise opportunities with Always Best Care?

For information on our franchise opportunities, call toll-free 1-855-430-CARE (2273), send an email to [email protected], visit www.www.alwaysbestcare.com/franchising or download your FREE copy of our senior care franchise eBook today!

Please refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.

Becoming a franchisee is exhilarating – you’ve finally taken the plunge and gone into business for yourself, but you also have the guidance of a proven business model and the support of people who have been successful within the franchise framework. That doesn’t mean that you don’t have to fight to stay competitive, though, especially when it comes to using the power of the Internet and social media.

Are you wondering how you can use social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to give your business an advantage in an increasingly competitive climate?

Read on and learn how you can give your franchise a serious boost without becoming overwhelmed or breaking the bank!

#1 – Remember the 80/20 rule!

There’s no doubt you’ve heard of the “80/20” rule, which is also known as the Pareto Principle. You might even refer to it as a guiding principle in your business already. The principle basically states that 80% of a company’s profits come from 20% of its customers. However, it means something slightly different when it comes to social media.

When you create content for your social media feeds, you can use the 80/20 rule to determine how you should serve your followers and ensure that they become – and remain – engaged with your business. Instead of promoting your business via social media, make sure 80% of your posts are meant to engage and inform your audience. Provide useful information here and you’ll make a much greater impact with the 20% of your posts that will be devoted primarily to business promotion.

Doing this establishes you not only as a legitimate business, but an authority within your industry.

#2 – Define and Establish Your “Voice”

When you scroll through your Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn feeds, you probably notice that different tweets and posts seem to be written in different “voices.” One company might present itself as a straight-laced voice of reason and authority, while another posts with a more light-hearted and humorous tone. There’s no right or wrong way to convey your social media voice – there’s only the right voice for your business and the messages you want to spread.

Define your voice by considering your business values, your target market and the industry in which you operate. You want to be appropriate for your field, but you also want to make sure you stand out in a positive way. You may not find your voice immediately, but if you work on it, you’ll be sure to separate your franchise from the pack.

#3 – Determine the Social Media Platforms That Will Work Best for You

It takes time and effort to engage on social media, and you don’t want to spread yourself too thin by trying to join every single social media platform. Instead, focus on just one to three platforms so you can maximize your efforts and build a solid presence.

Once you’ve established your business on a handful of social-media platforms, you can begin to think about expanding your reach. This is much easier when you don’t try to do it all at once!

#4 – Maintain Consistency

We’ve all seen how haphazard some businesses can be when it comes to their presence on social media. Their Twitter profile is slick and professional looking, but their Facebook page appears as if it’s maintained by first grader! Obviously, this doesn’t help the public perception of a business, so make sure that your company is presented in a unified, consistent manner across all social-media platforms.

This means that you should only set up profiles on social media sites when you are ready to put forth the full effort to make them look great and represent your business well. Define your message and your goals before you set up a profile, and make sure that all of your profiles work together to tell the same story!

#5 – Use the Resources You Have Available

Keeping up with social media is challenging – your work is never finished! That’s why it can be helpful to keep a member of your staff available to work on your profiles when you’re unable to do so yourself. It’s also a good idea to take advantage of online tools like Buffer, HootSuite, TweetDeck and others to ensure that social media isn’t taking up more of your time than it absolutely has to.

If you’re unable to pay someone to help you, set aside some time each week to visit your various profiles and perform basic maintenance. Use tools like HootSuite and Buffer to ensure that your feeds are always full.

Remember, also, that the most popular social-media platforms make analytics data available directly to profile owners. Use this data to determine which posts perform well, and which ones you can stop promoting. You can also use the numbers to see when people are most likely to read, click and engage with your posts!

Social Media – Much More Than Just a Fad

Social media has been around long enough to prove that it’s not just a fad. Social media marketing is going to be essential to your franchise success, and your mastery of it will give you an edge over the competition.

Just remember these simple tips, and you’ll be able to help your business significantly by staying on top of your social-media game!

Are you ready to learn more about franchise opportunities with Always Best Care?

Please refer to our most recent Franchise Disclosure Document for important details.