A simple question – ‘where is Jim’s beard?’ – has sparked an amazing evolution at the iconic franchise group Jim Penman founded 42 years ago.

Rewind back to the pre-Covid days of 2019 and the Jim’s Group had about 3,650 franchisees. Today it boasts 5,350. That’s an astonishing increase of more than 50 per cent.

So what changed? According to Joel Kleber, chief marketing officer, it is all thanks to the power of social media.

At the time the Jim’s Group was outsourcing social media. Bringing the social media content back inhouse made financial sense, and it allowed for instinctive decision-making that kickstarted a social media turnaround.

“We were constantly getting questions online, in social media, in public forums, about Jim and the business. ‘Where is Jim’s beard?’ was asked regularly. I thought we should try Facebook Live as a way to answer all these questions.

Facebook Live kickstarts Jim’s social strategy

“So Jim and I sat in front of a webcam and did the first Facebook Live, and it got a really good reaction.”

Five years on, many hours of footage later, more than 100,000 YouTube subscribers and the biggest TikTok account in Australian franchising, and Joel is confident the strategy to embrace social media to the full has had a significant impact on the business.

It has not only enhanced the brand’s transparency around franchising, it has also boosted founder Jim Penman’s personal brand awareness, it has delivered social media autonomy to franchisees, and it has been the most effective way for the brand to attract new franchisees.

The open approach at Jim’s Group is working in the brand’s favour, building trust with potential customers and franchisees.

“We wanted to be radically transparent and with Facebook Live there is nowhere to hide,” says Joel. “You can watch anything you want about the Jim’s failure rate or franchise fees, there are no limits to what we will discuss.

“When people are researching franchises we know they watch a lot of content on a brand. People trust the brand with more content and we are uploading daily.”

Social media strategy showcases franchisees

Today the business has an internal media department with a full time videographer who is producing an eye-watering amount of franchise-specific video content.

The marketing has been inspired by, and recreates, a sports media strategy.

“If you follow any sporting team they have lots of behind-the-scenes content, including interviews with team members. That’s how we are approaching social media.

“I look outside of franchising to see how other brands are producing content. I look for the current media trend and see how we can apply it ourselves,” says Joel.

“We have so many different personalities to showcase, and it is the personal tales of our franchisees that people relate to.”

YouTube and TikTok generate leads

Jim’s has been able to track the impact of YouTube and TikTok videos; the content is generating inbound leads, says Joel.

The expansive Jim’s brand is still most recognised as a mowing business and the diversity of divisions can get overlooked.

“TikTok has been great; people who don’t know about all of the Jim’s divisions come across something different when they are scrolling, and that plants a seed.”

Franchisees sharing their knowledge presents a division as an expert source and emphasises the variety of opportunities under the Jim’s banner.

Franchisees leverage the power of the Jim’s brand

The group has also devolved responsibility for franchisees’ social media, giving them full control over what they choose to post.

While franchisees can manage their own social media, it isn’t a requirement that they do. Each division will have marketing in place and franchisees will continue to get leads from the franchisor, Joel explains.

“Of course those that do their own social marketing are able to build a really big business. I do social media and AI training sessions and we give them a lot of tools, tutorials, walk-through videos. We encourage them to join Facebook groups to generate work.”

Joel is confident in the brand’s robust marketing, and the impact it generates. Any franchise will have access to marketing and social media support, he points out.

“This social media strategy has brought Jim out of his shell, the Jim’s brand is better known now, and that is good for the business and new franchisees who can leverage that amazing brand power.”