A franchise sells the same thing in many places, but people visit one of them. Its social media has two jobs: keep the brand the same everywhere, and give each location a reason to be visited. Here’s how we’ve done both for brands with 14 to more than 200 locations.
On this page
Two jobs, one plan
The brand’s account carries what every location shares: the menu, the launches, the voice. The locations carry what only they have: a street, a room, a crowd. The brand gets people interested; a location is where they go.
Launch everywhere at once
When Shah’s Halal Food, with more than 200 locations, launched a new sandwich in every US store with a food creator, it needed people who wanted the first bite. We filmed it in a whisper, close enough to hear every crunch, and Shah’s posted it on Instagram and TikTok.
Give every location its own films
For Qahwah House, with more than 30 cafés, we filmed New York café by café: a full room in Williamsburg, a walk from the front door to the seating in Astoria, and Manhattan from the street to the counter and back. Each café has films made for the people who live around it.
Keep the product the same everywhere
Adobo Mexican Grill runs fourteen grills across New York and Jersey City that serve the same bowl. Our films gave its feed a reason to answer: a member of the team built her favourite bowl and dared people to comment theirs.
Show where the taste comes from
Halal Munchies grew from a New York cart to more than 50 locations under one line: “This is how halal should taste.” So our films stayed close to the food, on the grill and in the box, and Halal Munchies posted them across the first half of 2026.
Film every opening
A new location’s first day won’t come again. For Shah’s, a drone shot found the line along the storefront, and the people in it told the camera what to order. “How to market a new restaurant” covers openings step by step.
Who posts where
| The brand’s account | A location’s account | |
|---|---|---|
| What it posts | Launches, the menu, the brand’s voice, the best of every location | Its street, its room, its team, its regulars |
| Who it speaks to | Everyone who knows the name | People within reach of that door |
| Who decides | The brand, or the franchisor | The location, within the brand’s rules |
| What to count | Views and follows across the brand | Views, profile visits and directions for that location |
- Decide which films go on the brand’s account and which on a location’s, before the month starts.
- Use the same clean file on every account, so none posts a download with a watermark.
- Count the views on each account separately.
Names, looks and approvals
Location accounts work best when a customer can tell at a glance that they belong to the brand: the brand’s name plus the neighbourhood, the same style of profile photo, and a bio that names the street and links to that location’s menu or booking page. Who may open an account in the brand’s name, and what it may post, is usually set by the franchise agreement or the brand’s own social media rules; read them before a location starts its own.
A launch only lands everywhere at once if approvals are quick. A short routine helps: the brand shares the launch film and its caption a few days ahead, each location posts the same file on the same day, and anything a location makes itself follows a one-page list of what the brand allows.
A Google profile for every location
People who find a location on a map often go straight to its photos and reviews. Google’s guidelines say “There should only be one profile per business”, “Do not create more than one page for each location of your business”, and, for chains, “All locations must have the same name unless the business’s real world representation consistently varies from location to location” (Google Business Profile guidelines). Give each location its own profile, keep the names consistent, and add the location’s own films and photos to it.
Reviews at every location
Reviews belong to the location, not the brand, so each one needs its own routine: ask every customer for an honest review, not only the pleased ones, reply to every review, and never reward anyone for one. Google forbids a business to “selectively solicit positive reviews from customers”, and forbids content “posted due to an incentive offered by a business - such as payment, discounts, free goods and/or services” (Google Maps, prohibited and restricted content), and a brand-wide promotion that trades a discount for a review would break it at every location at once.
A month across the brand and its locations
- Week one: the brand’s launch film, posted by every location on the same day.
- Week two: each location’s own room and team.
- Week three: the food made in front of the camera, on the brand’s account, shared by the locations.
- Week four: each location’s regulars, its street, or its opening day if one is coming.
Locations that film for themselves
DIY gives a team our strategy and content plan, with 20 complete post scripts, with references, captions and storyboard, for $1,750 a month. Or we film at the location on any of our plans.
Questions owners ask
How should a franchise handle social media?
Keep one voice on the brand’s account, give each location films of its own, and launch new items everywhere at once.
Should each franchise location have its own Instagram?
If a location has its own customers and someone to keep it going, yes. Plan which films go where before the month starts.
Should each franchise location have its own Google Business Profile?
Yes, one each. Google’s guidelines allow one profile per location and ask chains to use the same name at every location, unless a location’s real-world name consistently differs.
What should a restaurant chain post?
Launches, the food made in front of the camera, openings, and each location’s own room and team.
How do I start?
Apply to work with us: a few quick questions about your business. We read every application, and if we can help, we write back to set up a free thirty-minute video call. Apply to work with us
Keep reading
- RestaurantsHow to market a new restaurant with short video
- RestaurantsSocial media for restaurants: what works
- PlanningHow to plan a month of posts: a content calendar
- Making videosPost the same video on TikTok, Reels and Shorts?
Sources
Updates
- : Lengthened: the brand and location accounts side by side, naming and approvals, one Google Business Profile per location (Google’s guidelines read), reviews at every location (Google’s review policy read), and a month across the brand and its locations.