August 24, 2025
How Much Should Franchises Spend on Social Media Marketing?
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Introduction: Marketing Is Your Digital Front Door
Social media isn’t a luxury for franchises anymore—it’s your digital front door. Customers don’t just stumble into locations; they discover, evaluate, and decide through the content they see online.
But here’s the big question every franchise owner asks: how much should we actually spend on social media marketing?
The answer depends on two things:
- Your total revenue.
- The number of locations you operate.
This post will break down industry benchmarks, explore the ROI of investing in short-form content, and explain why outsourcing to the right agency can help you scale smarter, not just louder.
Industry Benchmark: The 3–6% Rule
Across industries, franchises typically invest 3%–6% of gross revenue into marketing. Of that, 40–60% should be allocated to digital and social media—because that’s where attention lives.
For franchises, the key isn’t just “spend more.” It’s spend smarter across locations.
Growth-Focused Social Media Investment by Location Count
Here’s how marketing investment should scale as your franchise grows:
- 1–3 locations → $2,000–$4,000/month (about $670–$1,300 per location).
Goal: Awareness, foot traffic, and local community building.
- 4–7 locations → $4,000–$8,000/month (about $570–$1,140 per location).
Goal: Multi-location storytelling and regional targeting.
- 8–15 locations → $8,000–$15,000/month (about $530–$1,000 per location).
Goal: Brand building and scalable video production.
- 15+ locations → $15K+/month (about $500–$900+ per location).
Goal: Scale content operations, support franchisees, and run localized campaigns.
👉 Notice the trend: the more locations you have, the more efficient your per-location spend becomes. That’s the power of centralizing your marketing operations.
Case Study: Tahini’s Mediterranean Cuisine
Take Tahini’s, a Canadian Mediterranean franchise with 50+ locations and growing. Instead of leaving each location to fend for itself, Tahini’s centralized their content strategy and partnered with a content agency to execute.
- Content Volume: 60+ pieces of short-form video per month.
- Results: TikTok account exploded to 1 million followers, YouTube grew to 3.2 million subscribers, and Instagram climbed to 70,000 followers.
By investing in social media as a core growth engine—and treating content as a scalable system—they turned digital awareness into franchise momentum.
Why Centralization Wins
Here’s the mistake many franchises make: leaving marketing to individual operators.
The problem?
- Inconsistent quality.
- Higher costs per location.
- Missed opportunities for unified brand storytelling.
👉 The smarter approach: centralize your marketing operations. Work with an agency that becomes an extension of your in-house team. Let franchisees focus on operations, while your agency handles strategy, filming, editing, captions, and delivery.
The result is cost savings and better creative.
Breaking the Bubble: Why Expanding Your Audience Matters
Many franchises thrive within a loyal niche community—but risk capping their growth if they don’t branch out.
Take chains like Chicken Plus or ChungChun. Both have strong followings within Asian communities. But in a multicultural country like Canada, relying on one audience limits potential.
The Opportunity
Social media breaks down cultural silos and introduces your brand to new demographics. Through accessible, engaging content, you can:
- Normalize unfamiliar menu items.
- Show how to enjoy your products.
- Highlight vibe, experience, and people—not just the food.
- Reach adventurous customers who might not otherwise walk in.
The Result
- More reach.
- More visits.
- More love.
You don’t have to sacrifice authenticity—you just have to translate it into content that resonates outside your bubble.
Beyond the Plate: What Today’s Consumers Expect
Social media doesn’t just build awareness—it brings customers through the door.
What Consumers Want Online
- Real visuals that make products crave-worthy.
- Behind-the-scenes moments that show the human side of the brand.
- Short-form prep videos that reveal process and passion.
- Customer reactions and UGC that build trust.
- A clear vibe—so people know the atmosphere before they arrive.
It’s no longer enough to “exist” online. Customers want to feel your brand before they ever step inside.
Why Agencies Are Built for Franchises
Most franchises can’t (and shouldn’t) build a massive in-house content team. That’s where specialized agencies come in.
Benefits of Outsourcing Video Production
- Scalability: Agencies can produce 30, 60, or 100+ pieces of content a month without overloading your internal team.
- Cost Savings: Hiring in-house producers, editors, and strategists for every market is far more expensive.
- Creative Consistency: Agencies specialize in making your brand feel alive—not overproduced.
- Local Flexibility: Your agency doesn’t need to be headquartered in the same city. If your franchise is expanding into Toronto, Calgary, or Vancouver, you can find agencies there to unlock local cost savings.
👉 Example: A head office in Calgary could still partner with a London-based agency to produce content for Ontario franchises—saving on travel while tapping into local talent.
The Rule: Invest to Scale
Here’s the bottom line:
- Franchises that invest in social media don’t just gain followers—they grow foot traffic, brand equity, and franchise value.
- Social media is your digital front door. If you don’t invest in it, someone else will own the attention you’re missing.
- Agencies are the lever to unlock efficiency and creativity at scale.
Conclusion: My Reflection as a Marketer
As someone running an agency that produces high-volume short-form content for growing franchises, I’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t.
The franchises winning today aren’t dabbling. They aren’t leaving content to chance. They’re centralizing, investing, and treating social media like the growth engine it is.
When you invest the right percentage of revenue into social media marketing—and partner with an agency that can scale with you—you don’t just keep up. You pull ahead.
