Inside the Franchise Growth Toolbox

Cindy Stewart

Hey everyone, welcome back to Franchise Fuel: Smarter Growth — the show where we, um, try to break down the real strategies behind franchise success. I'm Cindy Stewart, your host, and today’s episode — yeah, this one’s important. We’re talking about Meta ad optimization — but not like, “how to boost a post” level. We’re talking advanced targeting, AI, CRM integration... the good stuff. And I’ve got the perfect guest for it — Vern Nicholson is back with us! He’s a few weeks into his new role as Senior Account Manager at Vetro Media, and this guy knows his stuff. Vern, hey — welcome back!

Vern Nicholson

Hey Cindy, always great to be here. I’m pumped for this one — it’s a topic I’m really into right now.

Cindy Stewart

Okay, so before we get into the techy stuff, how’s it going at Vetro? You jumped in pretty recently, right?

Vern Nicholson

Yeah, just a few weeks in — and honestly, it’s been energizing. The team is super sharp, and Vetro already has a really solid foundation. But now, we’re, uh, refining everything. Like, we’re tightening up our optimization engine, looking closer at how local lead gen connects with national brand goals. It's kinda like building the bridge between data and growth. I’ve been in the numbers a lot — seeing where we can scale smarter, personalize better, and turn impressions into an actual sales pipeline, not just activity for activity’s sake, you know?

Cindy Stewart

Yeah, and I remember reading your press release when you came on — there was a quote I loved. You said: “Vet-tro Media has a strong vision and foundation. My goal is to help build on that by deepening our focus on high-impact strategies that align local execution with national brand growth. We’re here to provide real value, not just activity...”Are you feelin’ like you're delivering on that mission?

Vern Nicholson

Yeah, definitely. That quote still hits home. We’re doing it. Like, we’re shortening the distance between a marketing campaign and an actual franchise deal. Our optimization loop is tighter, we’ve got cleaner CRM integrations, and we’re using all that data to make sharper decisions, not just react to what happened last week. We’re trying to get smarter while the campaign is running, not after the fact. I think that’s the future of this space.

Cindy Stewart

Alright, let’s get into the guts of it. So, say I’m a franchise brand — I call up Vetro and say, “Let’s launch a Meta campaign.” How do you build that thing and get it to work?

Vern Nicholson

Yeah, so — first, we start with a lookalike audience. Then we hand it off to Meta’s algorithm — their AI starts learning. It’s looking at stuff like location, behaviors, who’s clicking, who’s filling out forms — all that early signal data. Now, once we see the algorithm’s got a feel for things, we don’t just let it coast. That’s when we tweak it — we add in some filters. Maybe income levels, or behaviors like small business interests, or, I don’t know, people who already like other franchise brands. The trick is not to go too narrow too fast — you want to guide Meta’s AI, not strangle it.

Cindy Stewart

That makes sense — you’re kinda nudging the system in the right direction. But then what?

Vern Nicholson

Right — so then we keep the campaign running, let the AI keep learning. But here's where the fun part starts: we integrate the CRM directly into the campaign. Now, we’re not just optimizing for form fills. We’re optimizing for the leads who go somewhere — the ones who book a call, go to Discovery Day, or ask for an FDD.

Cindy Stewart

So you’re teaching Meta to, like, think more like your sales team?

Vern Nicholson

Exactly! That’s the goal. We’re saying, “Don’t just bring us people who click. Bring us the ones who close.”And we’ve been using Meta’s new setting — “Maximize Conversion Leads.” When you pair that with our system, it’s kind of like giving Meta a cheat code. It starts looking for the traits and patterns of people who follow through.

Cindy Stewart

Okay, let’s talk about your tech — ESTA, right? That Enhanced Signal Tracking Algorithm?

Vern Nicholson

Yeah, ESTA’s our secret sauce. So, Meta has its data, but ESTA goes beyond the platform. It looks at what people do after they click — like, do they hang out on the landing page? Do they scroll? Do they bounce in two seconds? If someone bails fast, that’s probably not a real lead. ESTA flags that, and we shift our spend away from people like them. It’s about catching the quality while the campaign’s live, not waiting until you’ve blown your budget.

Cindy Stewart

So like, real-time course-correction?

Vern Nicholson

Exactly. We’re not babysitting the ad — we’re co-piloting it. ESTA also helps us predict who’s likely to convert based on what we’ve seen in past campaigns. It’s all about using every data point to sharpen the targeting as we go.

Cindy Stewart

That’s wild. I mean, so many brands are still just boosting posts and hoping it works.

Vern Nicholson

Yeah — and honestly, that’s where a lot of money gets wasted. Meta’s way more powerful than people give it credit for, but only if you give it the right signals. You’ve got to feed it good data, stay hands-on with the optimization, and — this is big — get your CRM talking to your campaign. We don’t just run ads at Vet-tro. We build systems that learn and improve over time — stuff that brings in qualified leads and supports franchise development, not just web traffic.

Cindy Stewart

So good. Alright, if you’re listening and you’re tired of crossing your fingers and waiting for leads to show up, maybe it’s time to connect with Vern and the team at VetroMediaUSA.com. Thank you — this was awesome.

Vern Nicholson

Always a pleasure, Cindy. Thanks for having me on.

Cindy Stewart

That’s it for this episode of Franchise Fuel: Smarter Growth. Don’t forget to hit subscribe, leave us a quick review, and share this with someone in franchise development who needs to hear it. Smarter growth is intentional growth, and we’ll catch you next time.