The Franchise Wire is a Chicago based business that provides business training, tools, and resources for franchisees. Today we’re going to give you a complete guide to online marketing for franchisees in the Chicago area. Whether you’ve got an existing franchise in the city or are just looking to move there, this guide will help you get started.

Why Market Online?

You might be wondering why you would want to market your franchise online when there are so many others out there. Well, think about this for a second. You’re probably already getting traffic to your website from people searching for franchise opportunities in your area. So why not take that traffic and convert it into leads and customers for your franchised business?

The benefits of marketing online are numerous. You can access a global audience that would never normally visit your offline location. Plus, you can use digital marketing to track and analyze the performance of your online marketing efforts. With online marketing you can test tactics and find the ones that work for you. Finally, you can constantly be improving and expanding your reach so that you can reach more potential customers.

How to Build a Digital Marketing Strategy for Your Franchise

Now that you’re wondering why you should be marketing online, it’s time to figure out how you’re going to do it. You’ll want to build a digital marketing strategy that is specifically tailored to the Chicago market. Fortunately, we’re here to help with a complete guide to creating a digital marketing strategy for your franchise in Chicago. Here are the steps.

1. Identify your target audience and determine which segments will be most receptive to your message.

Your first step in building a digital marketing strategy for your franchise is to identify your target audience and which segments of that audience will be most receptive to your message. To do this, you’ll want to research the demographics, psychographics, and digital behaviors of your ideal buyer. You can also incorporate analytics into your strategy to learn more about your target audience.

2. Identify the core activities that you’ll utilize in your strategy.

Once you have your target audience, you’ll want to determine the core activities you’ll utilize in your strategy. These are the activities that you know you can rely on to produce results and that are, in some way, linked to your goal. Remember: a digital marketing strategy is nothing more than a set of habits and actions designed to generate organic traffic to your website. For example, if your goal is to grow your business, then the core activities you’ll utilize include increasing website traffic, getting found on social media, and building a brand community.

3. Identify the channels and methods you’ll use to reach your target audience.

As you work to determine the core activities you’ll utilize in your strategy, it’s important to also identify the channels and methods you’ll use to reach your target audience. You’ll want to identify the channels, such as social media or search engine optimization (SEO), and the methods, such as keyword selection or content strategy.

You’ll also want to build out a plan for how you’ll grow and sustain the traffic you’re getting from these channels. For example, if you’ve identified that increasing website traffic is one of your key activities, then you’ll want to set up automated daily tasks to grow your blog’s traffic consistently. You can also get help with SEO from an expert in the Franchise Wire inhouse team. They’ll be able to provide tips on how to optimize your website for organic search.

4. Select a flagship store and develop a marketing message.

Once you have a clear idea of what you’ll do and how you’ll do it, it’s time to pick a flagship store and develop a marketing message. A flagship store is the first store opened by a franchise and is typically the first impression a consumer has of your brand. So it’s important to research what makes this store special and memorable. As you work to create a memorable first impression, you may want to consider using online marketing to spread the word about your new franchise location.

5. Identify the supporting activities you’ll undertake.

The next step in building a digital marketing strategy for your franchise is to identify the supporting activities you’ll undertake. These are the activities that will help you implement and expand upon the key initiatives you identified in step three. For example, if you decided that getting traffic to your site from social media is one of your key activities, then the supporting activities you’ll undertake include creating social media accounts, curating content, and engaging with your followers on social media.

6. Identify the performance metrics you’ll use to evaluate your strategy’s success.

The final step in building a digital marketing strategy for your franchise is to identify the performance metrics you’ll use to evaluate your strategy’s success. These are the measurements you’ll use to determine how well your strategy is doing. To start, it’s important to evaluate the effectiveness of your key activities. For example, if you want to increase the traffic to your site, then you’ll want to set up a dashboard to track the performance of your efforts. From there you can identify areas where you can improve and refine your strategy.

Once you have a clear idea of what you’ll do and how you’ll do it, you can set up automated tasks to expand your reach and grow your business. You’ll also want to measure the results of your efforts and identify areas where you can improve. To get started, simply follow the steps above and reach out to a Franchise Wire representative for expert advice and a free market report on your franchise.