While many large franchisors may prefer to forbid franchisees from administering their own social media profiles to control their brand, some smaller or emerging franchisors might want to consider the benefits of this marketing technique. If a franchisor is going to permit its franchisees to maintain a presence for their respective stores on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, Groupon, or anything similar, that franchisor would be well advised to attach a social media policy to its franchise agreement.
That policy should be customized to reflect a balance between the degree of control the franchisor wants to retain and the independence it wants the franchisee to exercise in reaching out to potential customers. In drafting a social media policy, franchisors should consider including the following items:
• The right to impose a strict format for online profiles that must be adhered to consistently