Franchise Expos May Be a Way of the Past

Speaking with my franchising friends who attended the International Franchise Expo in Washington, DC, a few weekends ago, I learned, but was not surprised, about the enormously low turnout. While expos and franchise portals may be successful for some brands, I have decided to move in another direction for my company. In my view, trying to entice entrepreneurs with your opportunity as they walk through a crowded and oversaturated expo is not the most influential way to reach a potential new franchise team member.

Instead of exhausting funds on expos and franchise portals, I have turned our franchise development attention to immersing the brand in social media where we can interact with both franchise and consumer leads. Reaching the public in their personal space and building a brand connection can be time consuming, however fruitful and a huge budget saver.

Being able to reach consumers, franchisees, and gain franchise leads through blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc… is effective. When searching for your brand, these pages ensure that your message is heard in every sector possible – not to mention the SEO value it provides. Through my blog, I hope to give potential franchisees along with potential customers a personal look into the company identity and corporate culture. By gaining first hand advice and experience from my perspective, our prospects are given a personal brand experience.

Through our use of social media, we are successfully building relationships with the nation’s consumers. These relationships, when nurtured, can turn into direct ROI, which in my opinion is much more valuable than creating a one-time 30-second connection at an expo. Social media is an affordable way to market your brand, especially in an economic climate that is not friendly to smaller franchise systems.

Visit my new blog: http://www.davidasarnow.com/