You invest in social media for your network. But do you know what it actually returns? This guide gives you the method, KPIs, and a calculator to measure your return.
Le real cost of inactive Facebook pages
Before talking about positive ROI, let's discuss the cost of inaction.
What you lose when 85% of your pages are silent
| Metric | Impact |
|---|---|
| Organic reach | -80% after 72h of inactivity |
| Google Maps position | Drop of 3-5 places vs active competitor |
| Store traffic | -76% of local searches → visit (Google) |
The domino effect
What this means for a 100-store network
- •85 pages generate ZERO organic traffic
- •85 opportunities for local visibility lost PER DAY
- •Your local competitors (even smaller ones) outrank you
→ The ROI of inaction is negative. Let's see how to calculate the ROI of action.
How to calculate the ROI of your social media for franchises
The basic formula
But for franchises, it's more complex. Here's how to break it down.
Step 1: Identify your costs
| Cost item | How to calculate |
|---|---|
| HQ CM time | Hours × hourly rate |
| Franchisee time | Hours × opportunity cost |
| Tools (Hootsuite, etc.) | Monthly subscription |
| Content creation | Agency or in-house |
| Paid advertising | Meta Ads budget |
Often forgotten cost: Franchisee time.
15 min/post × 3 posts/week × 100 stores = 75 hours/week lost across the network.
Step 2: Identify your gains
| Gain type | How to measure |
|---|---|
| Store traffic | Tracked promo codes, Google Analytics |
| Local awareness | Reach, impressions, new followers |
| Engagement | Likes, comments, shares |
| Conversions | Website clicks, calls, bookings |
Step 3: Assign a monetary value
This is where it gets tricky. Here are the benchmarks:
- •1 store visit = average basket × conversion rate
- •1 new follower = ~€0.50 to €2 (by sector)
- •1 engagement = ~€0.10 to €0.50
→ Use our calculator below to estimate your current ROI and your potential ROI with an optimized strategy.
Evaluate your network activity
Your network
What this represents
What research says
Proven impact of active local pages according to Google and SEMrush:
15 min to analyze your network
The 12 essential KPIs to measure ROI for franchises
Reach KPIs (Visibility)
| KPI | Target |
|---|---|
Impressions Number of times content is displayed | +20%/quarter |
Reach Number of unique people reached | Cover 30% of area |
Followers Page subscribers | 500-2000 per store |
Engagement KPIs
| KPI | Target |
|---|---|
Engagement rate (Interactions / Reach) × 100 | 3-6% on Facebook |
Comments Number of comments | 5-20 per post |
Shares Number of shares | 2-10 per post |
Conversion KPIs
| KPI | Target |
|---|---|
Website clicks Visits from social media | UTM tags |
Calls generated Calls from page | Call tracking |
Store visits Physical traffic | Promo codes |
Operational KPIs
| KPI | Target |
|---|---|
Publishing rate % franchisees who publish | 80%+ |
Time per post Minutes per post | <1 min |
Frequency Posts per week per store | 3-5 |
Tip: Start with operational KPIs (publishing rate, time). If your franchisees don't publish, the other KPIs are meaningless.
What social media ROI to expect for franchises?
Benchmarks by sector (France, 2024-2025)
Take action: 3 steps to improve your ROI
Audit your situation
Use our calculator to identify how many pages are active and your potential.
Set realistic goals
Publishing rate 80% , time <1 min/post , engagement +50% in 6 months.
Automate distribution
nPosts.ai transforms 1 HQ content into hundreds of unique posts .
The problem isn't content creation. It's distribution. nPosts.ai automates publishing to all your local pages.
Request a personalized demo15 minutes to analyze your network and calculate your potential ROI