Are These 5 Things in Your Social Media Management Contract?
If you’ve been following us for a while, you know we push boundaries and work life balance BIG time at HMS HQ. Because of this, we’re constantly asked how we do it and the answer is simple: our social media management contract. Read on for FIVE game-changing essentials to include in your social media management contract!
OFFICE HOURS + COMMUNICATION
Social media may be on 24/7, but social media managers shouldn’t have to be. The secret to maintaining a healthy worklife balance is putting in a clause about your office hours and required communication methods in your social media management contract.
Say goodbye to feeling obligated to reply to that client text you received during your Saturday morning farmer’s market outing. Instead, clearly state permissible communication channels and office hours. At Homemade Social, we’re available to clients via email Monday through Friday between 9am-5pm. Texting and weekend communication is strictly prohibited.
SCOPE OF WORK
Next, you’re going to want to make your scope of work explicitly clear in your social media proposal. In your social media management contract, you’ll then state an hourly rate that clients will be charged if you agree to take on any project outside of the contracted scope of work. This makes it clear to clients that while, yes, you’re happy to help with additional projects here and there, it’s going to come at a cost to them for your time.
CLIENT OBLIGATIONS + RESPONSIBILITIES
While your social media management contract will, of course, cover your responsibilities as the Social Media Manager, what about the client’s obligations? Leading an account to success is a two-way street and will require a level of responsiveness and information from the client. Be clear about what is expected of them in your service agreement to ensure a productive partnership!
Client obligations and responsibilities may include:
Responding in a timely manner to prevent delays or lapse in services
Providing advance notice to cancel or re-schedule a meeting to avoid missed meeting or late cancellation fees
Providing access to information, imagery, or assets that are reasonably requested to fulfill services
APPROVAL DEADLINE + REVISION LIMIT
This one has SAVED our team so much time! If rounds of revisions from your clients seem never ending or their responsiveness is causing delays in your processes, consider adding an approval deadline and revision limit to your social media management contract. Include what will happen if additional edits are requested after the deadline has passed, the revision limit has been met, or no feedback/approval is received at all.
LATE PAYMENTS + SUSPENSION OF SERVICES
We don’t know who needs to hear this but: NO PAYMENT = NO SERVICES! If a client is late on their invoice, don’t work for free. You deserve to be compensated for your time, so pause all activity until payment is received. Besides, who knows how long it may take for them to cough up the cash. 😵💫 Further discourage late payments by stating in your social media management contract the interest percentage the client will be charged each day the payment is late.
There is truly SOOO much more that we could go into, but we don’t want to share too much. 🫢Instead, head to our shop to unlock the EXACT Contract for Social Media Managers we’ve been working with our lawyer for over FOUR years to perfect! Trust us, we’ve thought of it alllll.
xx,
The Homies
