Ripley PR

Is PR necessary to grow my franchise?

Man standing in front of team talking about franchise public relations

When it comes to growing your franchise brand, one question we get time and time again is whether franchise public relations is really necessary. Usually that question is followed up by questions like:

Isn’t PR just marketing?
How is PR different from the advertising I’m already doing?
Press is great, but how does it generate leads?

These are all great questions, and ones that can be answered by any public relations expert, but the necessity of PR for your specific franchise comes down to your specific goals.

What are your franchise goals?

As franchise public relations experts, we’ve seen time and time again how our efforts have helped grow franchises in a variety of industries—from automotive styling to staffing to plumbers and home service repair experts. But ultimately, the answer to the question of whether PR is necessary for your franchise comes down to your specific goals and expectations for growth. Which leads us to ask questions about your plans like:

Are you looking to create stories about your brand and the people who live it?
Are you trying to expand into new territories and markets?
Do you need to change the way people view your brand or products and services?
Do you want to increase your online presence?
Are you looking for more exposure to your customers, or more exposure among franchise prospects?
Are you preparing for your exit strategy, or looking to create an empire?

Knowing your goals and objectives are the first step in understanding what kind of PR will work for your franchise to bring about the best return on your investment. Which inevitably leads us to the most important question we get asked:

What’s the ROI for franchise PR?

The return on investment for a custom public relations strategy is evident through helping your franchise attain your business goals and objectives for growth.

This can include website traffic generation through backlinks from earned media mentions, higher SEO rankings through public relations keyword strategies, or changes in audience perception via knowledge sharing and goodwill building efforts.

So, is PR necessary to grow your franchise? In short, the answer depends on your unique situation. If you’re interested in learning more about how public relations can help you meet your franchise goals, contact Ripley PR today at 865.977.1973. We are a global public relations agency that specializes in franchise PR, understands the franchise industry and takes into account your specific goals with strategy and tactics.

This post was written by JD Sizemore, Account Director, Client Services on February 15, 2019

How can content marketing grow trust in telehealth?

As an innovator of healthcare technology, you may think that your marketing audience is strictly B2B, and that your message only needs to be heard and understood by the decision-makers in healthcare organizations. You do need to market your innovations to healthcare professionals, but don’t forget the patients. If patients don’t trust your technology, it is less likely that doctors will put it to use in their practices.

Telehealth on smartphone shows importance of healthcare IT public relations

While millennials are embracing telehealth options faster than any other generation, it is important for healthcare IT innovators to reach baby boomers, the generation using the most healthcare services today. You can accomplish this through a robust healthcare IT public relations strategy that includes content marketing.

Answer Their Questions

While baby boomers didn’t grow up with smartphones in hand, they are using search engines to make decisions, particularly new voice-search technology. According to Google’s research, baby boomers see voice search as an empowering technology.

You can put this trend to work for your telehealth startup and build trust among the end-users of your products. Google’s search engine optimization (SEO) algorithms are tailored to favor results that answer questions. Blog topics with key questions like, “Is telehealth safe?” in the title or subheadings may launch your page to the top of the search results.

Our content creators at Ripley PR know the questions patients are likely to ask about your technology and can craft helpful, trustworthy blog posts that will get your message to the right people.

Give Examples

Case studies are another way to build patient trust in telehealth. If you can show examples of respected healthcare organizations that have implemented your technology successfully, along with statistics showing improved patient outcomes, patients and other healthcare organizations will be more likely to put their trust in you.

Examine your current user base and select instances where your technology has made a positive impact. Ripley PR’s marketing professionals have the experience necessary to help you tell the story of these successes in a way that all audiences will understand.

Contact Us

If you are looking for a healthcare IT public relations agency that can help you craft a trust-building message for patients and doctors alike, we can help. Contact Ripley PR today.

This post was written by Shannon Bryant on February 15, 2019

Take Your Company to the Next Level with Blue-Collar PR

It’s an exciting time in your blue-collar business. You’ve seen great growth and are one of the market leaders in your area. All the sweat equity has finally paid off.

But if you think that you can’t benefit from hiring a public relations agency to help propel your blue-collar business to even greater success, think again. Blue-collar PR services are a solid investment to help your company reach the next level of success.

Partnering with an experienced home service public relations agency providing blue-collar PR services can help your business in ways that might surprise you, including:

Recruitment: We’ve all heard that it’s hard to recruit skilled workers for blue-collar jobs. But public relations can help you attract and hire the best employees available. A quality recruiting message will show why your company is the best for a new hire to choose, and a PR agency can craft that message.
Employee Relations: As you hire more staff, it’s important to lay a good foundation for workplace expectations and policies. A PR agency can help you create top-notch human resources materials, including employee handbooks and training manuals.
Spread the News: Establish yourself as a cutting-edge expert in your field, promote your expertise, and keep your business top-of-mind with potential customers with appearances in local media like television and newspapers. A PR agency can pitch stories to the media outlets your customers value most, getting you quality interviews.
Interview Prep: Once you get those interviews, a PR agency can help you prepare and make you look great on camera or in print. We’ll give you a list of possible questions and help you craft and practice your answers in advance.

Partnering with a PR agency can boost your company’s growth. Now is the time to put PR to work for you, but be sure to select an agency with plenty of experience with the skilled trades. At Ripley PR, we love blue-collar workers, and we enjoy getting the word out about the great work you do. We have a proven track record of success, plus a wealth of knowledge about the forces shaping your industry. Contact Ripley PR today or call (865) 977-1973 to find out more.

This post was written by Heather Ripley, Founder/CEO on February 14, 2019

B2B, You Have an Audience, What Are You Putting Out There?

Positioning yourself as a customer satisfaction leader is more important than ever for B2B. The digital age has given companies much more visibility when choosing a vendor. What are you putting out there? Is it effective?

B2B companies have thrived on great relationship management, but now your audience can form an opinion about you before you can even get a chance to start that relationship. After only a few clicks, your potential clients can determine if you are a business they would consider working with. Creating a message that resonates with your target audience will give you a leg up on your competitors.

The Power of B2B PR

How can you create a better digital image for your B2B? The answer is B2B public relations. An effective public relations strategy can help you garner the right type attention and control the message you would like your company to portray to retain and grow your business.

Here’s what public relations can do for your business:

Garner media attention: Perhaps the most common thing that comes to mind when you think of public relations and it’s extremely effective. This isn’t just any media attention, it’s a message strategically positioned to your audience to give top-of-the-mind awareness of your business.
Create a survey strategy: Measuring customer feedback can help you make future business decisions with more confidence. It can tell you the satisfaction level of your existing customers and better understand where you need improvements. A survey strategy can help you cater to your audience.
Grow your social media presence: Social Media is a powerful and inexpensive tool. A social media strategy can help you grow your social pages for better exposure and monitor for negative feedback that might hurt your image.
Case studies: All of the great projects your business has been involved in deserve to be shared. They tell the story of the success of your business and what value you provide to your industry.
Blogs: We know you are an expert in your industry but maybe not an expert writer. A talented content team can take your expertise and put it to paper. Blogs are a great way to show your knowledge on industry related trends and promote your business.

Appealing PR Strategies

According to customer think, only 17% of B2B companies have integrated customer data into their organization. Understanding how another company uses your product or service and creating a PR strategy to appeal to them can make your efforts much simpler and more effective. Need help? Our team at Ripley PR specializes in B2B public relations. We can create an effective PR engagement strategy to increase leads and retain business. Contact Ripley PR today at 865.977.1973.

This post was written by Kaitlyn Clark on February 13, 2019

Does Your Franchise Need a Social Media Partner?

If you’re implementing a new marketing and public relations strategy for your franchise in 2019, you might find yourself wondering when you’ll find time for all that social media. In today’s market you really can’t afford to ignore social media when marketing your franchise, but with so many platforms the task can seem too big to absorb.

It’s important to budget the time for social media, though. Industry leaders, entrepreneurs and potential clients are on social media, engaging in big-picture conversations that impact your business. If social media is an afterthought for your franchise, you’re leaving a valuable, lead-generating asset on the table.

Even if you don’t have the time to handle the day-to-day task of engaging on social media, a franchise public relations agency can help you create a strategic social media plan, craft engaging, on-brand posts, and monitor online feedback.

Here are a few ways that partnering with a public relations agency can help your social media efforts and build engagement.

Be Consistent

A consistent brand message builds trust in your target audience, and a public relations agency can get this right for your franchise. All platforms and all posts should echo your brand’s message and key values. If your franchisees have their own social media presences, a public relations agency can make sure they are reflecting brand consistency, too.

Get Personal

Since social media is an informal medium, it offers a great opportunity to communicate with your target audience on a more personal level and forge connections that might otherwise go missing. Adding candid photos of your office and staff is a great way to communicate your values and beliefs as a company and build an emotional connection with potential franchisees and customers.

Generate Leads

Social media has a tangible benefit for your company’s profits. Social media provides a venue to promote blog posts, company successes and case studies, directing traffic back to your website. This builds search engine optimization, increasing the likelihood that your franchise will be at the top of the list in key Google searches.

If you’re worried that social media is taking a backseat when it comes to your franchise’s marketing plan, consider partnering with Ripley PR. Our social media experts have experience working with some of the top franchises in the country. They can craft a plan that will grow your social media engagement and create great results for your franchise. Contact us today to get started.

This post was written by Heather Ripley, Founder/CEO on February 12, 2019

Should Your Home Service Business Be on Social Media? Yes!

Ripley PR, home service, public relations, social media, PR

Social media may not seem like a natural fit for your home service company. However, it is one of the best ways for your business to communicate with your current customers and attract new business as part of a home service public relations strategy.

Think back to the year 2000. If you had a plumbing, HVAC or electrical problem, where did you look for a solution? The phone book. Today, most people have a smart phone and a Facebook account. That’s where they turn to find solutions to their problems.

More and more people are using Facebook’s search to find the services they need. Or better yet — they ask their friends for recommendations.

Social Media for Home Service

Facebook allows you to immediately connect with the people that need your services on a personal and professional level. You can share success stories, offer quotes, show your personality and even a little humor. Tell your customers to leave a review on your Facebook page which will boost your ranking in local Facebook search results and help new customers find and vet your business.

The longer you wait to leverage social media for your home service business, the farther you’ll fall behind your competition.

Get Home Service PR Help

Too busy running your home service business to fool with Facebook? That’s where we can help!

Ripley PR is here to help you effectively leverage your social media presence to communicate with your current customers and attract new ones. We can create monthly content calendars to keep your business and its services in your customer’s feed and at the top of their mind when they need you. We can also keep an eye on your notifications, and engage with commenters to show you care about them. Investing in professional public relations services that specialize in social media for home service companies is the smart option. Contact us today to discuss how we can manage your social media presence.

This post was written by Kristin Hankins on February 11, 2019

The Multi-Layered Advantages of Franchise PR

Franchise businesses are unique in a lot of ways. They allow people to become entrepreneurs without having to build everything from the ground up. They give aspiring business owners a way of joining an established company that has brand recognition. Franchises also are a multi-layered business where there may be different goals among the franchisees and franchisor.

This layer cake of a business model can make franchise public relations an important tool for everyone involved to accomplish a wide range of objectives. Franchisees want to increase sales, hire good people and possibly expand their business to more locations. Franchisors want to sell more franchises, hire good people, increase brand awareness and help franchisees thrive.

Here are three ways a public relations agency can help franchise businesses line up the goals of both corporate office and individual owner.

Increase sales

Whether a company is looking to spread into new territories or sell additional franchises in existing territories, PR can boost development efforts by getting the company name in front of prospective buyers using award submissions, trade media stories or local coverage in target markets. Likewise, leveraging public relations to spread brand awareness for franchisees can boost sales for individual locations.

Build brand awareness

If a franchisor is looking to expand its operations, particularly in a big city, local PR can help achieve that goal by introducing the company’s name to new people. Those people can hear about a neighboring franchise location doing well and want to start one in their neighborhood. Franchisees can see benefits by building excitement and brand recognition among the local population, turning them into customers.

Keeping people happy

Selling more franchises is going to make any franchisor happy, but PR can also be utilized as a tool to keep franchisees happy. People like to be in the news and tell their friends “Hey, did you see me on TV?” Getting a media interview with a franchisee can be a way to increase morale and show the individual owners that corporate is looking out for them by giving them the chance to get their name in the news. Meanwhile, franchisees get a sense of pride, can see increased sales and get a press clip they can put on the wall in their office.

Ripley PR has extensive knowledge of franchising, and we’ve worked with many franchise clients. To start getting your franchise in the news, contact Ripley PR today.

This post was written by Chris Martin on February 7, 2019

Reach Construction Tech Buyers with Great B2B PR

The construction industry has been historically slow to adopt new technology, but that trend has been shifting for several years. Construction tech startups grew by 318 percent in 2017 over 2013, and that growth stayed steady for 2018. Many visionaries and entrepreneurs have developed technologies to make the construction industry safer, more efficient, and more cost-effective. But with so many startups crowding the field today, it’s likely that some companies’ messages are getting lost.

If you are selling construction tech, the challenge is to stand out from the crowd with the best possible B2B public relations, reaching construction industry decision-makers where they are with a message that will win them over.

Targeting Construction Tech Buyers

But, how do you find construction tech buyers? How do you make sure you’re reaching them when they’re making technology decisions for their businesses? That’s where a construction public relations agency with plenty of industry experience comes in. Our expertise can help you identify and implement the strategies that will put your construction tech startup in the right place at the right time.

Those strategies include:

Social media. Your B2B clients are increasingly using social media to make buying decisions for their companies. We can tell you which social media platforms are likely to get you the most profitable attention.
Trade publications. An article in a well-respected industry magazine will build trust for you and your company. We’ve already researched which publications are best for the construction tech industry, and we have valuable contacts within those publications who can get your story heard. We can even negotiate regular bylines for your CEO or in-house experts.
Content marketing. Construction industry tech buyers are also using search engines to research purchases, so you want to be at the top of the Google results for your category. Content marketing using targeted keywords can push your listing higher for better search engine optimization (SEO). We can provide content tailored to boost your SEO in the right Google searches.

Construction PR Help

Partnering with a professional construction PR and marketing agency with a solid background in the construction industry is an investment that will yield great results for your construction tech startup. Ripley PR’s team of professionals has the skill and knowledge necessary to help you grow.

This post was written by Heather Ripley, Founder/CEO on February 6, 2019

Dodging Industry Deceleration with Construction Public Relations

This past October, Dodge Data & Analytics chief economist Bob Murray offered his expectations for the construction industry for 2019 at their annual Outlook conference. According to Murray, the market will largely look the same as it did throughout 2018, up just $1 billion in new construction starts from this past year and continuing a deceleration as the recent economic expansion begins to mature and settle. Companies and contractors hoping their growth will defy trends and consistently accelerate should consider partnering with an experienced construction public relations agency.

Construction employees smiling because construction public relations is helping them grow.

When an industry enjoys a healthy acceleration, there’s a good chance that the majority of even remotely recognizable companies in the running will enjoy steady business and decent returns. The real competition begins when that industry begins to decelerate. New customers become scarcer, and existing customers begin to shop around before their next move, dragging competing companies into a tug of war for their business.

Three vital components of maintaining a competitive edge in the construction industry are honing your identity into a clear and recognizable brand, increasing top of mind awareness and positive engagement with your brand, and maintaining the capacity to effectively deliver outstanding results for every project.

Check out these three blogs for more information about how Ripley PR, an agency experienced in the nuances of construction public relations, can help deliver measurable results for these components:

Construction companies choosing to invest more in their brand awareness and reputation management should find themselves well ahead of all those simply relying on another year of the same old strategies, so contact Ripley PR today at 865.977.1973 to get started.

This post was written by Grayson Shockley on February 5, 2019

How to Find the Right PR Agency for Your Franchise

The first step towards achieving great public relations for your franchise is finding an agency that can generate the leads you need. Identifying and hiring the perfect public relations franchise agency will determine whether you see a worthwhile return on your investment.

But, how do you find the right agency for the job? How do you determine whether they have enough experience in franchise public relations? What expectations should you set for the relationship, and how do determine if it’s working the way it should?

Here are a few things to consider when hiring a public relations agency for your franchise:

What Are Your Goals?

Every public relations agency is different, and each has unique areas of expertise. Before you start searching for an agency, define your goals clearly and write them down. Do you want to boost website SEO? Gain more media appearances? Grow overall brand awareness? Once you know your goals, you can look for an agency with a proven successful track record in those areas.

Be sure you communicate your goals to your prospective agency. When you meet with them, a professional agency will be able to communicate about methods for reaching your goals and tactfully manage your expectations if you set your sights too high.

Proven Experience

Research prospective agencies and ask them tough questions about their history, background and experience. Look for an agency that already represents clients in the franchise sector, as that agency will have a clearer understanding of the forces at work in your industry. You don’t want to waste time explaining an industry to your new agency. That time is more wisely spent helping the agency understand your own company culture and values.

Flexible and Willing to Learn

The right PR agency for you should demonstrate excitement about your franchise and its success, and the agency should be willing to learn about your unique company culture, products and services. From capturing the right voice in your social media posts to pitching the right trade publications, passion for your brand should be reflected in every aspect of a public relations agency’s work. Look for an agency that researches your brand ahead of time and asks engaging, insightful questions about the work you do.

If you are in the market for a public relations agency to represent your franchise, the professional team at Ripley PR is right for you. We have a proven track record of success with franchise clients, and we can put that expertise to work for you, too. Contact us today to learn more and launch a great partnership.

This post was written by Heather Ripley, Founder/CEO on February 4, 2019