Rallio – Social Media for Franchises, Small & Local Business

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Social

Meet the Social Media Platforms: A Quick Guide to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter

So many platforms, so little time — ever have that feeling as you’re running your business? What’s more, you might not have a firm grasp of what each of the social media platforms has to offer or how they can benefit your business.

There’s no need to panic, however. We’ve got a quick guide to four of the major platforms to help you out. Read through the guidelines below and let us know if you need any further help making the best use of Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter for your business.

Facebook

Still the reigning social media platform champion with the most monthly users, Facebook had over 2.9 billion monthly active users as of October 2021. Love it or hate it, Facebook is still an important place to be if you want to get in front of your target audience. 

How it works: Claim a business page on Facebook that’s similar to your business name. If you are a franchisee that’s part of a larger system, your corporate entity might take care of this for you. With a business page, you have the ability to post local content, promote offers and events, and advertise your page and its posts, helping you reach more of your target audience.

In terms of advertising, you can go about it in two different ways:

  • Boost content from your page to increase reach
  • Create ads in Ads Manager, which offers more specialized targeting and functions

As for what to post on your page, take a look at 15 Social Media Content Ideas for Small Businesses for simple content ideas that will help you add personality and authenticity to your page.

social media content ideas

Instagram

Owned by Facebook, Instagram is primarily a visual platform that includes photos and videos, which you can post via Stories or Reels. Stories appear at top of the homepage, while Reels fall under a separate tab and can also be included on your profile page.

Instagram has evolved a great deal in recent years to make it a social media platform of choice for influencers and micro-influencers — that is, people who represent brands and serve as brand ambassadors. Influencers can include people who are paid to post on your behalf, people who post in exchange for free product, as well as employees who are incentivized to post about your brand.

With a potential advertising reach of roughly 1.4 billion monthly active users, Instagram is another key social media platform for reaching your target audience.

How it works: Claim a business handle that’s similar to your business name (again, this depends on your franchise organization’s social media guidelines). You can then post photos, videos, Stories and Reels, adding captions with hashtags to reach more of your ideal customers.

Note that when you create ads on Facebook, they’ll also post on Instagram since they’re owned by the same company.

See our post Quick Guide to Instagram Grid Layouts for information on how to organize your content for the greatest aesthetic appeal on Instagram.

instagram grid layouts

LinkedIn

With nearly 800 million members, LinkedIn is touted as the world’s largest professional network. Businesspeople from around the world use LinkedIn to connect with like-minded people in their industry and related sectors of interest. The social media network also includes groups encompassing a variety of topics, industries and thought leaders.

How it works: On LinkedIn, you can have both a personal and business page. The business page is best suited to the parent brand or franchisor, while your personal page works well for posting professional updates, news and expert insights.

As you grow your network on LinkedIn, you’ll create more opportunities for lead generation and referrals. This is the sweet spot of LinkedIn, being that it’s primarily a B2B social media platform.

How it works: To build your network, start with people you know. LinkedIn allows you to connect the platform to your own address book and email contacts so you can find people you know.

Once you make a connection, resist the urge to sell! Your first instinct might be to send a message about your products and services, but instead, make that first message about building rapport. Whereas a simple comment about a detail on the new connection’s profile page will go a long way toward establishing a professional relationship, a sales pitch will fall flat and scare them away.

Another tool you can use on LinkedIn is Sales Navigator if you want to more quickly build your professional network. With this paid tool, you can filter your search for new connections using different parameters, such as mutual connections. Be aware that LinkedIn limits the number of new connections you can add weekly.

Related: 3 Big Reasons You Need Influencer Marketing

influencer marketing

Twitter

When you think of Twitter, think short and sweet. This social media platform is akin to a microblogging site where your posts must be no longer than 280 characters. This means you need to get your point across quickly, clearly and succinctly.

With Twitter, you can expect to have a tougher time building a local audience and customer base for your specific location. Instead, your greatest impact among the 436 million people using the site will be in posting content that builds brand awareness, establishes thought leadership, connects you with potential partners and industry leaders, and creates a personality for your brand. 

How it works: Post images, videos and links. Share content from other accounts, reply to tweets, and share and like other tweets. As with Instagram, include hashtags to generate conversations around a topic. Don’t overdo it though; remember, less is more on Twitter. You can also advertise on Twitter, but your budget might be better spent on Facebook and Instagram.

You can also use your own personal Twitter account to build your following on Twitter. Keep it professional and related to your business, and follow the same rules as you would with your business Twitter account.

Now That You’re a Social Media Platforms Guru …

You’re ready to start posting! With a basic understanding of how each of these four social media platforms works, you’ll have a greater impact in achieving your marketing goals. 

With Rallio, you get one dashboard for all four of these platforms, so you’ll have a single login with multiple posting and advertising capabilities. Our team of experts can also help you figure out what to post, when to post it, what to advertise and how to build your following. Contact us via rallio.com to schedule a free, no-obligation demo today.

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Social

Build Your Perfect Social Media Program With Rallio A-La-Carte

Our new a-la-carte services menu is making it easy for business owners to select the exact social media program they need to grow their online presence. With no annual contract, month-to-month billing and a large menu of a-la-carte options, you can shop for many different services and only buy the ones you need.

It’s also easy to upgrade or change packages at any time as your needs change. It’s no wonder we’re the social media platform of choice for hundreds of business owners in a variety of industries.

We have a handy roundup of all our a-la-carte services in this post, and we recommend giving it a read to start exploring your options. Then, go shopping and make it an “add to cart” kind of a day! 

Finally, for some comic relief, grab some popcorn and watch our a-la-carte video series. Or, hey, just order something off our a-la-carte menu and leave the cooking to us.

Little Pig

If you’re a pig who builds things, Rallio Local A-La-Carte will let you focus on doing the things you enjoy while leaving the heavy lifting to us. Plus, it’s affordable for any size budget — for example, just $25 a month to have someone take care of your reviews for you.

As Seen on TV: Rallio Local A-La-Carte

Having trouble with your social media content? No time to respond to reviews? Are you just over the whole idea of social media? Luckily for you, Rallio Local A-La-Carte has a program for you. Roscoe explains.

 

Rallio Roadhouse

Think you could use a dedicated strategist who will analyze your profiles every month and strategize with you? Or how about weekly boosting to get more of your popular content seen? 

As we mention here, “By working with a Strategist, you’ll have unlimited direct access to their genius mind. Your Strategist will analyze your social media profiles in their current state and develop a monthly strategy to help you maximize your results using goals and benchmarks you will decide upon together.”

And with boosting, “Rallio’s weekly boosting service guarantees you’ll get the eyes you need on your best and most important posts. Each week, a trained Rallio social media professional will place some of your monthly ad dollars on one of your recent top-performing posts. If you want something specific boosted or you want to up your budget, Rallio can accommodate those requests.”

 

Say Oui to Rallio Local A-La-Carte

Bonjour and Bienvenue to Le Chateau Rallio, where we have everything you need to build your perfect social media program. Choose from one of our many a-la-carte options, and say au revoir to your social media woes.

What’s the Perfect Social Media Program for You?

There is no one size fits all when it comes to determining the best social media program. What works for one business won’t necessarily work for all.

We designed our Rallio Local A-La-Carte program to give you the flexibility and control you need to make informed decisions about your social media services. And if something isn’t working for you, we’ll work to get things right until you have the right mix of services specifically for your business.

If you’re not up for buying the entire family meal, Rallio Local a la Carte gives you the exact social media services you need, when you need them. And when your needs change, we make it easy to make the switch.

However, you can also get the family fun pack if you choose, letting you bundle and save. This option works well for anyone who wants to be mostly hands-off with their social media and online reputation.

To get started, visit the links above or reach out to a Rallio Local expert at sales@rallio.com.

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Social

Top 4 Benefits of Using a Social Media Management Platform

Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine a life without technology in it. For businesses in particular, it’s essential to make use of technology tools in order to run leaner, smarter and faster. Having a social media management platform to organize all your social media posts, comments, reviews and messages isn’t just a nice thing to have; it’s a necessity. 

Still not convinced? If you’re in the camp that’s logging into multiple platforms to manage your social media presence, let’s just say you’re wasting a lot of time — and potentially losing out on business. It’s easy for things to slip through the cracks when you don’t have everything right in front of you in one tidy dashboard. 

That’s what Rallio can be for you and your business: a place where you can log in once to our social media management platform and take care of posting, replying to engagements, advertising your business and building an audience. Take a look at the top four benefits of using a social media management platform — specifically, Rallio — and we think you’ll be convinced to make the switch.

Benefit #1: You’ll Have Business Continuity

The pandemic has revealed the need for technology to step in and take over when real-world interactions are not possible. The businesses that were able to pivot and take their businesses online are the ones that have survived and, in many cases, thrived. Those that did not? Well, sadly, many of them didn’t make it.

Consider the case study in which we discuss our client Pet Supplies Plus and their response to the pandemic, with Rallio as their social media management platform: “As more and more people took to social media and platforms like Google My Business to discover their local PSP’s latest operating hours and updates, PSP knew they couldn’t rely on foot traffic alone to connect with their neighbors; they had to entirely alter certain methods of operating their business so they could accommodate their neighbors’ needs while hitting their own numbers. With Rallio’s help, the brand has been able to address these obstacles and even exceed their neighbors’ expectations.”

How Rallio helped Pet Supplies Plus navigate the pandemic

Benefit #2: You Can Cut the Clutter

Ever feel like you’re on technology overload? We all do. It’s everywhere, and it’s incessant. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by it all unless you have a way to streamline your processes. 

With the Rallio social media management platform, you have one central location where all of your brand assets live. You’re able to syndicate, publish or schedule social media content with just a few clicks — whether to a single location or an entire network of locations. 

It’s also easy to view analytics, respond to your online reviews and social media engagements, run ad campaigns, and control your brand message. Using one dashboard with a single login lets you cut the clutter and focus on the things that matter most in your business. 

Pair our social media management platform with our Rallio Local services, and you can free up your time even more. You have a ton of responsibilities as you’re running a business, yet social media content and reputation management are crucial to your success. Our Rallio Local team will automate the process of creating engaging local content as well as respond to all your social comments and online reviews. How’s that for time management?

Benefit #3: You Have a Way to Activate Employees

If you’re not getting your employees involved with advocating for your business, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity to rapidly scale. Digital Marketing Consultant Neil Schaffer cites Nielsen data, where 84% of consumers say they value recommendations from friends and family above all forms of advertising. In addition, 77% of consumers are likely to make a purchase after hearing about it from someone they trust (such as your employees, aka regular people doing regular things).

Toward that end, our Rallio Activate platform allows you to leverage the power of your employees to reach your customers. Turn your employees into your best brand advocates, with built-in reward programs that incentivize your workforce to submit their own images and videos for brand content or share your message across their own pages.

Related: Employee Advocacy Checklist: A Guide to Creating Your Advocacy Program

employee advocacy checklist

Benefit #4: You Can Easily Update Your Business Listings

Another cool feature of Rallio’s social media management platform? You can easily manage your digital profiles across global business locations. Whether you have a change of hours, or you want an easy way to reach more consumers and promote your brand across social media, traditional search, mobile marketing and voice search, our Business Listings service makes the process simple.

With Business Listings, you can deliver a more engaging customer experience, instantly update your key business content across locations, and control and optimize your data across third-party digital platforms. Take a microscope to the channels you’re using to measure, optimize, and improve your brand-wide discoverability and search rankings.

Choose the Top Social Media Management Platform: Rallio

With digital marketing, businesses have multiple ways to communicate with customers and prospects even when they’re not seeing them face to face. Rallio simplifies the entire process with our award-winning social media management platform and services. Reach out to sales@rallio.com to learn more.

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