Why FGC is the future!

Welcome to the Franchise Marketer Newsletter Edition 2!

⏳ Read time: ~4 minutes

Welcome back to the Franchise Marketer Newsletter! This week, we’re covering franchisee-generated content (FGC), LinkedIn growth hacks, AI-powered tools, and the rise of AI agents.

Here’s what you’ll learn today:
✅ How FGC (Franchisee-Generated Content) can scale your brand with minimal effort
✅ The LinkedIn strategy that got Jim’s personal brand 500,000+ impressions in weeks
✅ How to use Google Notebook LM to learn 10x faster for free

📢 EGC? No, in Franchising It’s FGC!

You’re going to hear Employee-Generated Content (EGC) everywhere in 2025. It’s when employees create content for the brand, and you’ll see this a lot with big names like Woolworths.

In franchising, I call this FGC—Franchisee-Generated Content.

At Jim’s, we’ve been empowering franchisees to create content for years, and it’s one of the most effective marketing strategies we use. Here’s why it works:

✅ Franchisees are the experts in their field – They know their services inside and out, making their content authentic and engaging.
✅ It builds trust – Instead of polished corporate videos, customers see real people doing real work.
✅ It’s cost-effective – Some of our franchisees have over 200,000 followers and millions of views—something that would cost a fortune if created by the head office.

A couple of examples below:

EXAMPLE 1

@theaussiepoolguy

Replying to @AzraelTheGodOfDeath #pool #salt #asmr #pooltok #poolsaltguy

The above video by one of our franchisors/franchisees achieved 37 million views!

An unbelievable achievement that would be extremely difficult to replicate by any agency; I would say this video has the most views of any franchisee-generated content in Australia; prove me wrong!

Example 2

@poolcrewau

BACKWASH POOL FILTER: Aquajoy Chlorinator #fyp #cleantok #pool #swimmingpool #poolcleaning #poolcare

The above video by Brad, who is a Jim’s Pool Care Franchisee and Franchisor, received nearly 300k views, which is all about educating the customer.

Once again this s is something an agency COULD NOT create and is created by a franchisee with no cost.

I will show more examples over the coming weeks. However, FGC is such a powerful tool and even Gary Vaynerchuck mentioned it in his new book!

Get out of the way of your franchisees and let them create!

📌 Key takeaway: Give franchisees a simple framework, trust them, and let them create. The results speak for themselves.

📈 Cracking the Code: Jim’s LinkedIn Growth

I’ve been managing Jim Penman’s personal brand online for a while, but recently, I cracked the LinkedIn algorithm—and here’s how:

📌 Step 1: Took Jim’s book Every Customer a Raving Fan and uploaded it into ChatGPT.
📌 Step 2: Asked AI to summarize each chapter.
📌 Step 3: Used a viral LinkedIn post format and applied it to each chapter summary.
📌 Step 4: Pair it with a strong photo and post consistently.

💡 The result? 500,000+ impressions in just a few weeks!

Why this works for franchising:

• People love founder stories—they create an emotional connection to the brand.

• LinkedIn is underused in franchising, making it an easy win.

• Repurposing existing content = high impact, low effort.

How to do this yourself?

1️⃣ Write a Timeline – List the key events in your personal and professional life. This will serve as the foundation for your content.

2️⃣ Define Your Brand – Write two pages on what you stand for and what you want to be known for.

3️⃣ Find a Post Example – Choose a post format and template from a well-known LinkedIn creator that aligns with your style.

4️⃣ Generate Posts with AI – Ask AI to create three posts using your own story while matching the formatting and style of your chosen example.

5️⃣ Pick a Personal Photo – Choose an image to go with each post—it doesn’t have to be directly related but should feel authentic.

👉 If you’re not using LinkedIn for your brand, start now.

🤖 AI Tool Spotlight: Google Notebook LM

If you want to learn anything faster, Google Notebook LM is a game-changer—and best of all, it’s free.

🔹 Upload up to 50 sources (websites, PDFs, YouTube videos, etc.).
🔹 Get a 20-minute AI-generated audio summary of books, lectures, or articles.
🔹 Use interactive mode to customize the content to franchise marketing.

🎥 Check out my demo video to see exactly how I use it.