Social media is where businesses and customers meet in real-time and have conversations – it isn’t just a broadcast, not anymore. For multi-location businesses these conversations happen on two levels. On one level, you’re building awareness and trying to get engagement within individual communities. On the other, you’re building a brand that has to speak to a much larger audience. And the real challenge is keeping that conversation alive and meaningful across dozens – or even hundreds – of locations.
Couple that with the fact that to really succeed in the social media world today, you’ve got to make people feel seen and heard, and connected to your brand. Maybe it’s a patient sharing their story at one of your clinics, or it’s a team celebrating a milestone in their community – every interaction can be an opportunity to build relationships. Social media can do more than promote awareness of your business – it can help create real communities that are invested in your brand’s success, at several levels.
Social Media’s Role in Multi-Location Growth
At the core of it, social media serves two primary purposes for multi-location businesses:
- National Awareness: It reinforces your brand’s identity and mission, and helps position your business as an active leader and expert in your industry.
- Local Engagement: It lets individual locations connect with their communities and respond to specific needs, local interests, and community challenges.
To succeed, your strategy will be able to combine these two functions seamlessly. For example, a behavioral health org. might run a national campaign on the importance of mental health awareness – but local clinics instead will post about upcoming community events, or workshops. Together, these efforts start to build trust and establish your brand as a cornerstone in each market you’re in.
Creating a Unified Social Media Framework
A successful social media strategy isn’t just about posting, and it can’t be divorced from your overall marketing strategy. Content needs to align with the goals of the company, and it should always support, and tie into, general marketing efforts. Here’s how to build that framework.
National-Level Strategies: Strengthen Your Brand
At the national level, you’ll focus on creating a unified presence that communicates your brand’s core values.
- Cohesive Branding: First, develop brand guidelines that standardize your visuals and the tone of your messaging on all of the platforms you intend to use. This will help to bring consistency, even if multiple people or teams are managing your social accounts.
- Broad Campaigns: Create campaigns that first apply to all of your locations, like a promotion of your mission statement, or maybe seasonal offers or new products or services that are launching. For example, a dental care chain might launch a national “Bright Smiles, Bright Futures” campaign, focusing on the importance of regular cleanings and preventative care to promote overall health.
- Resource Libraries: Provide easily accessible and editable templates for your social media posts and ads, and don’t forget stories and reels. This gives local teams the tools to customize content, and it will be easy for them to stay aligned with the overall brand strategy.
Local-Level Strategies: Build Relationships
Your local social media efforts, on the other hand, should address the unique ‘flavor’ of each community. This means going beyond the brand playbook, doing some research, and embracing the local culture in the area you’re targeting.
- Localized Content Creation: Highlight your local staff, local customer testimonials, and any community involvement you’re a part of. A behavioral health clinic could post photos from a team volunteering day, or attendance at an event, or even a patient’s success story (with permission of course).
- Community Events: Promote local events in the area like health screenings, open houses, or any educational workshops or events. These posts will show your commitment to the community, which goes a long way in building customer trust.
- Real-Time Engagement: Respond quickly to customer inquiries, reviews (both positive and negative), and comments. When you engage directly with your audience, it brings a ‘truth’ to your brand that makes it far easier to bring loyalty. In the age of AI, humanity is more important than ever. Show it!
Building Connection Beyond Your Posts
Social media has become a space for two-way interaction, even between brands and their customers or prospective customers. But, building an active, engaged community requires businesses to listen, to respond, and to actively participate in the conversations happening around them, and about them.
Encourage User-Generated Content (UGC)
UGC adds a level of authenticity to your brand that does wonders in building trust among potential customers. A great way to accomplish this, for example, is to encourage satisfied patients or clients to share their experiences using branded hashtags. A medical practice could create a campaign that encourages current patients to tips or treatment experiences using a hashtag like #HealthyWith[Brand]. When you’re able to create a buzz with UGC, you’re getting twice the impact for half the work.
- Pro Tip: Go a step further and think of ways to incentivize UGC – perhaps by offering discounts or giveaways for customers who have shared their stories.
Partner with Local Influencers
Influencers with strong local followings can definitely amplify your message, and get your brand to new audiences. For example, a local fitness influencer could partner with a health clinic and share their journey using their services. Try to find influencers who fit your ideal customer profile, too – and of course, it brings a level of authenticity to it when the influencer has actually used your services or product.
- Try this: Partner with micro-influencers in your target markets or niche, and even offer to collaborate on campaigns that show your services in an authentic way.
Blend Online and Offline Experiences
Find ways to bridge the gap between your online presence and your in-person customer interactions – and you can do this using social media. Promote in-store events through social channels, using those events to attract new followers.
- Example: A local behavioral health clinic could host a free in-person mental health workshop, and then share event highlights on Instagram. This could encourage attendees to follow for resources and events in the future.
Paid Social Media for Multi-Location Growth
Paid advertising is another powerful way to accelerate your social media campaigns. And for multi-location businesses, using paid media to strategically target the right audience and maximize ROI should definitely be a part of the marketing playbook.
Geo-Targeted Ads
Like with traditional PPC, focus your ad spend on the markets you want to drive engagement in. For example, a dental practice could run Facebook ads only targeting families within a 10-mile radius of each of their locations, based on profile locations. Any outside the radius would not receive the ads, thus keeping spending limited and targeting tight.
Retargeting Campaigns
Retarget people who have visited your website or social media profiles, but haven’t converted yet. Make sure these ads have messaging that is attractive, like promos with a new patient special, or a time-limited offer.
Real-World Example: A National Pediatrics Network
A nationwide pediatrics network with 80 locations wanted to improve patient retention, as well as attract new families using a social media strategy.
- National Campaign: They first launched a “Healthy Kids, Happy Families” campaign. This was about sharing educational content on children’s health, wellness tips, and the benefits of preventative care.
- Local Customization: Individual locations then shared content on local school partnerships, team and staff highlights, and also community health events like the free flu shot clinics.
- Paid Ads: On social, geo-targeted Facebook and Instagram ads hit on back-to-school check-ups – all targeting parents within a 15-mile radius of each of the clinics.
- UGC Campaign: After the fact, parents were then encouraged to post about their experiences using the hashtag #HealthyKids[City], and any who did so were entered into a drawing for a free wellness kit.
Results: The campaign saw a 40% increase in social media engagement, and they went on to boost back-to-school appointments by over 25%.
Measuring Social Media Success: What to Track
Sound tracking is the backbone of any good campaign, and social media is no exception. Track these important metrics at both the national and local levels:
- Engagement Rates: Likes, comments, and shares will tell you how well your content is being received by your audience.
- Local Conversions: Track how many conversions come from social media platforms: appointment bookings, calls, or website visits for specific locations, to name a few.
- Follower Growth: Monitor your national and local account growth so you can understand where your audience is growing, where it’s thin, and then make changes based on the data in front of you.
- Customer Sentiment: Use analysis tools like Sprout Social to get a better read on the tone of your customers. This will help you identify areas for improvement.
Social media is a powerful tool. It’s a meeting place, and a forum – a place where you can build real relationships with your audience and customers. By taking an authentic approach to your social media strategy, and taking the effort to engage with audiences in meaningful ways, your social media efforts can grow beyond just being promotions and campaigns. Social media can become the heartbeat of your brand, and ultimately strengthen every location you serve.
With the right strategies in place, social media can really become more than just a part of your marketing toolkit – it can be a bridge between your brand and the people who matter the most: your customers.
