Franchise Conference Calendar

Tis the season for conferences in the franchise space! Here are some excellent opportunities in the coming months for CEOs, marketing & sales executives, and others to learn about innovations and network with peers:

  

Springboard
FisherZucker / Fishman PR / Entrepreneur
Philadelphia
September 25-27

 

Franchise Leadership and Development Conference
Franchise Update Media
Atlanta
October 11-13

 

Franchise Innovation Conference (aka FranTech)
International Franchise Association
San Diego
October 18-20

 

Franchise Expo West
MFV Expositions
Los Angeles
November 2-4

 

Emerging Franchisor Conference
International Franchise Association
Phoenix
November 6-8

 

Please let me know if you’ll be at any of these great conferences.

I would love to connect!

Jack@Qiigo.com

 

 

Keys to the Mobile Kingdom

 

Mobile Kingdom

 

I’m looking forward to moderating a great panel at the upcoming Franchise Consumer Marketing Conference in Atlanta. In the session, Mobile – New Ideas to Drive In-store Visits, I’ll speak with a panel of marketing executives from the franchise sector to discover how they are using new innovations in mobile to drive traffic into their retail and restaurant establishments.

Do you have questions about mobile marketing best practices that you would like to ask these execs?  Are you struggling with getting new customers in the doors? Are your older strategies and tactics not working? Are you looking for ways to get your franchisees involved?

Please share any questions you would like to include in the session either in the comments section below or privately via LinkedIn Messaging or email at Jack@Qiigo.com. I’ll share your questions at the June 20 session and mention you (unless you would prefer to remain anonymous).

We will announce the final line-up of panelists next week! And if you’re thinking of attending FCMC this year, check out the fantastic agenda and details.

 

Franchise Consumer Marketing Conference

 

 

 

Managing Social Media’s Role in Franchise Sales

facebook and franchising

I’m looking forward to moderating an all-star panel discussing Social Media in Franchise Sales. At the 2016 Franchise Leadership and Development Conference in Atlanta on September 29, we will dive deep into best social media practices for franchise marketing and sales executives. From Franchise Update:

What is Social Media’s role in franchisee recruitment to generate leads, provide validation, get people talking about your brand? This session will help you understand the options and opportunities Social Media offers to help grow your brand.

Facilitator: Jack Monson, Director, Digital Strategy, Qiigo

Panelists: Aaron Goldberg, VP, Franchise Development, ZIPS Franchising; Paul Pickett, CDO, Wild Birds Unlimited; Philip Schram, CDO, Buffalo Wings & Rings

Register Now!

aaron goldberg

 

Aaron Goldberg
VP, Franchise Development
ZIPS Franchising

 

philip schram

 

Philip Schram
Chief Development Officer
Buffalo Wings & Rings

 

paul pickett

 

Paul Pickett
Chief Development Officer
Wild Birds Unlimited

 

jack monson

 

Jack Monson
Director of Digital Strategy
Qiigo

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t Just Tweet Your Booth Number

hashtag blog-970723_1920

 

 

Tweeting your booth number = Junk Content

You know it’s getting close to the big annual conference in your industry when every supplier starts Tweeting their booth number.

My team, colleagues, and friends are gearing up for #IFA2016 from the International Franchise Association and we’re seeing it all over the place.

These companies don’t share anything all year then suddenly think, “Hey it’s nearly convention time. Now what was that Twitter password…?”

They’ll log into Twitter to let the world know they’ll be at booth #123.  Oh and they’re giving away an iPad, because everyone will flock to the booth for that. And then they’ll go silent for another 11½ months.

Twitter is dying my friends. And it’s mostly because of junk content like that.

 

If Not The Booth Number, Then What?  

A few weeks ago, my Social Geek Radio co-host Deb Evans and I discussed some other things to share on social that might give some more value to your fellow conference-goers. Here are a few from our podcast:

  • Share details on a speaker you’re looking forward to hearing.
  • Post about a topic that’s on the agenda and get an engaging conversation going ahead of time. (This is what I like to do most)
  • Ask who else is en route and suggest meeting for coffee and chat. (This is what I need to do more of myself!)
  • If you’re familiar with the location, share items about the history, food, entertainment, transportation, or anything else out-of-towners might find interesting. (Deb is great at this)

 

But What About That Booth We’re Paying For?

Can you slide in a mention or two of your promotion? Absolutely! But I always suggest your social content be at least 80% about OTHERS and at most 20% about YOU. So after 4 or 5 updates on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook about the conference or other people participating, go ahead and share something about your promotion, contest, giveaway, or trade show activity. As long as this isn’t the only thing you’re pushing out, it’s cool.

 

I’ll be Tweeting a couple of booth numbers later this week for the IFA Convention myself, to let anyone interested in the Social Geek Radio podcast know where they can join us live. In fact, I’ll post it now! We’ll be at the Manalto booth (#461) on Sunday 2/21 and at the 1851 Franchise booth (#134) on Monday 2/22. Now that that’s done, it’s back to more posts about Others. See you at the show!

 

IFA SGR live 3

 

Tech and Digital Marketing at Multi-Unit Franchise Conference 2015

header MUFC

Top franchise brands will get together this week with entrepreneurs, investors, and small business owners from across the globe at the Multi-Unit Franchise Conference in Las Vegas.

If you’re attending the show, check out the app that Franchise Update Media has put together. It’s the best mobile app I’ve used yet for a conference and includes full access to connect with other attendees as well as publishing content to public channels such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Also, I’ll be broadcasting this week’s Social Geek Radio show and podcast live from the expo hall. Please stop by the Manalto booth and say hello! I would love to hear about your experiences at the MUFC.

Manalto Logo Big J

 

FranCamp 2013 By The Numbers

FranCamp_logo_transparent (3)
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FranCamp the Social Media conference for The Franchising Industry – is happening May 14 and 15 at the Loews Atlanta Hotel. I am pleased to once again be part of the team organizing FranCamp, this time with the IFA!

If you haven’t yet registered for FranCamp, do so today as space is limited. And now, the numbers…

Number of days:  2

Speakers / sessions scheduled:  20

Education Credits you will toward your CFE accreditation:  300

Number of times in the next two months Paul Segreto and I will make a joke that begins: “This one time, at FranCamp…”:  7

Cost: $395

Contacts you will make while networking: up to you!

 

Register Now2

 

FranCamp 2012 Registration Open Now


I’m please to helping my friend Deb Evans organize FranCamp – The Franchise Social Media Camp – once again this year. Last year’s turnout at the Nashville event was so well received that we’re expanding the agenda for our May 4 event in Atlanta. Please check out the
FranCamp registration page now and check out the description below from our FranCamp website.

FranCamp 

We realize that social media is a rapidly changing field and many marketing professionals, CEOs, franchise development staff and franchisees lack a clear roadmap for where to start with social media and how to weave together all the relating pieces that make up a successful social media and online content strategy.
 

What FranCamp is Not

If you work in the franchise industry, you know that franchise conferences are often full of vendors making pitches for services and products. Sometimes the information is helpful and it rarely goes into the real ‘recipe’ for using social media.

We want to change that.
 

What FranCamp is About

Everyone who works in franchising is affected by social media and the last thing any of us need is a speaker talking about ‘why you need to be using social media’ or big picture talk about ‘social media strategy.’ What franchise professionals hunger for is simple: real, actionable steps anyone can take that will make a HUGE difference in your marketing.

If you want to educate yourself on the best of current thinking and learn the real recipes that work from the most advanced franchisors, franchisees, consultants and experts in the field of social media, this is a one-day conference you can’t afford to miss.
 

You won’t get sales pitches. You’ll walk away with a very sophisticated level of understanding about ALL of the pieces of a successful social media strategy.

FranCamp follows the wildly successful PodCamp format – a low-cost, one day event fully loaded with a fast paced and aggressive agenda full of super-helpful content. What you will get is a good education in almost all of the relevant topics that marketers must understand to make good decisions. If you want to launch your own campaigns and make sure your marketing department is pointed in the right direction, this is for you. If you have a budget and need a better level of understanding about social media related issues so you can make good hiring and vendor decisions, this is especially for you.

 

Who Should Attend

Anyone who works in franchising: Franchisors – CEOs, COOs, VPs of Marketing and VPs of Franchise Development. Anyone who deals with franchise sales and lead generation, anyone who handles consumer side marketing should attend. If you work in the marketing department of a franchise system, this is for you. If you own a franchise and want to learn more about how you can boost your local marketing, this is for you.

 

Limited Registration

Registration is open and is limited to one hundred attendees. This is a high-power and intimate session. FranSocialCamp is designed to by inexpensive – total cost for flights, hotel and the $149 per person, making it one of the least expensive social media conferences in the country. Less costly doesn’t mean we skimp on content – you’ll have a hard time finding a better and more packed agenda than this one.

Breakfast and Lunch are included on Friday. Tuition comes with a very cool FranCamp T Shirt and copies of all presentations.

  
  
Sponsored by Engage121

Franchise Events

After participating in the best IFA Convention ever last week, you may be looking for more franchise events where you can continue the conversations. I have found a terrific source called SPEAK! which has created a free calendar of franchising events. Here’s a sample for March:

 

And, here’s some background on SPEAK! with contact info – check them out…

SPEAK!’s 2012 Franchise Industry Events Calendar

Have you ever wondered where you might find all the major franchise and restaurant industry events in one, easy-to-reference place? Well, our friends at SPEAK! have once again created a must-have document for anyone in the franchise industry.

http://www.franchisespeakers.com/2012-franchise-industry-events-calendar/#

And if you don’t know SPEAK!, you should! They are the only speakers bureau to serve the franchise industry exclusively. If you are looking for speakers or trainers for your next event, SPEAK! should be your first call 720-304-3710 or info@franchisespeakers.com