My franchisees are using Social Media already. What do I do?

You’ve decided to enter the world of social media and started by opening a Twitter account. You search around and find that your franchisees are already ahead of you and have been Tweeting away. What do you do?

1. Don’t panic. Recognize the benefits of your franchisees’ use of Social Media: they can get more business and they are strengthening the brand.
2. Depending on your level of knowledge about social media you may want to seek the advice of an expert to design the proper strategy for your franchisees to carry out.
3. Contact the franchisees who are already engaged in Social Media to learn about how they are using these vehicles. LISTEN and LEARN.
4. Consider creating a focus group from the current users to help you decide how to roll out a social media program to the entire franchise network.
5. Create policies and procedures to guide your franchisees in implementing a social media strategy that works and that protects the brand.
6. Train your franchisees in the use of the proper channels according to your policies.
7. DO NOT even think you can pre-approve each post or Tweet. It’s an impossible task. Your franchisees need guidelines; but they also need flexibility and freedom, otherwise they won’t be able to use these powerful marketing tools successfully.
8. Check your franchise agreement and make sure it addresses Social Media; if it doesn’t make sure the next version does and also add policies to your Operations Manual immediately.
9. Use the experiences of the franchisees who are currently using Social Media to engage the entire franchise network.
10. Get help quickly so you can become the leader. Make sure to involve your franchisees in this process and don’t get ahead just to leave them behind. Bring them along with you and applaud their efforts often.