Whether you are a franchisor or a franchisee, the realities of
social media likely already affect you. Franchisors need to
determine whether, from a marketing perspective, it makes sense for
them to have profiles on forum such as Facebook, Twitter and
MySpace. Many already do, but depending on the nature of your
business, it is not always an ideal method of promotion.
If that type of online marketing suits the strategies of the
franchise system, then the next question to ask is whether
franchisees should be permitted to have their own social media
websites – for instance, a Facebook page for that particular
franchised location. The franchisor will need to decide
whether the benefits of widespread marketing on these popular
websites outweigh the costs of giving its franchisees that much
control over advertising the brand.
