Ten tips to getting your franchise company media coverage

Work smarter, not harder, to let prospective customers know about your company

Public relations is important for a franchisor.

News media coverage is important for companies, especially for franchises.

Franchises rely on the local community in which they reside to see success, and positive news media coverage helps to build a franchisor’s brand and improve the specific franchisee’s reputation. News media coverage also places your business at the forefront of prospective customers’ minds. Media coverage that includes the parent franchise also helps to bring awareness to the brand for those looking for franchise opportunities, especially in local areas where your franchise doesn’t have a footprint.

If you are a franchisor or franchisee, you may now be asking yourself how you get your franchise in the news.

After working with several franchise companies, we’ve found two ways companies commonly fail to get news coverage:

#1: They don’t know how to spot newsworthy events.

#2: They don’t pitch their franchise the right way.

If you are a franchisor and you previously tried getting news coverage and failed, chances are you’re making one of these two mistakes.

To help you and your team find those newsworthy events that attract journalists’ attention, we made an easy-to-review list to assist in your franchise’s ability to get news coverage. Take a look at this list and hopefully, you will find two or more items that your franchise can use for the main brand and for your franchisees. Once you review the list below, we can talk about what steps you need to take next to earn media coverage.

Look up editorial calendars in industry publications, like Franchise Times, for ways to add insight into upcoming articles and trends. Editorial calendars are typically found in the advertising information of a magazine, and it’s an easy way to pitch your company.
Going hand-in-hand with editorial calendars are seasonal stories and opportunities that pertain to your franchise. For example, if you’re an ice cream franchisor, consider doing something special for National Ice Cream Day. Depending on your industry, it might help to think outside the box and have fun with it.
Have you looked at your local business journal, industry trade media, business magazines, newspapers, websites, and other publications? You can submit your company for local, industry, and national awards, which have a number of benefits to entering and even more for winning those awards.
Don’t forget about new hires and even promotions within your company. Take time to share notable hirings and promotions with local business journals and other news outlets. Many of these outlets are especially interested in executive appointments and promotions.
Think about your franchise’s pipeline. When will you open a new franchise? Or are you exploring opportunities to open in new cities? These are two newsworthy items that are great to share with the news media.
Share your company’s charitable giving by distributing and submitting news briefs to the local community, business, and national industry trade media. As a franchisor, don’t forget that you can promote your headquarters’ charitable giving as well as your franchisees’ giving.
Review your franchise’s recent blog and social media posts for topics you can use for pitching to the media. (And if you’re not blogging, why not?)
Do you know of employees at your franchise headquarters or at one of your franchise locations who have provided outstanding service? We know a company where an employee saw a car on fire and rushed to help the family inside escape the car. Highlight these efforts and contributions.
Have your marketing team submit a bylined article, letter to the editor, or opinion column to an industry publication or local newspaper.
As a franchisor, you most likely have multiple locations. Share news from your headquarters locally using Axia Public Relations’ Avalon system, which dives into hyperlocal community news outlets. And don’t forget about newsworthy events at your franchise locations because media coverage shouldn’t solely rely on what’s happening at the HQ.

If you’d like to speak with a PR expert, contact us at 888-PR-FIRM-8 (888-773-4768), and let's chat about where we go from here to get your franchise company positive news coverage.