A social media manager I spoke to had run a client's account for two years.
She had set it up. Named it. Grown it from nothing to something the client mentioned proudly at networking events.
Then the relationship ended. Not badly, just ended. And within a day she was locked out of an account that had her phone number attached to it, her content in it, and eighteen months of scheduling history behind it.
She wanted to know whether any of it was hers.
Mostly, no. And the uncomfortable part is that this was the right outcome.
The account promotes the client's business. It carries the client's name. The audience followed it for them. Whoever physically set it up, it is theirs in every way that matters.
What she should have had was not ownership. It was a clean exit, agreed on day one.
- The client almost always owns the social media account, whoever set it up. What you need is a clean exit, not ownership.
- Under Australian copyright law the creator generally owns their work unless it is assigned in writing, so content ownership has to be spelled out.
- An approvals clause establishes whose call a claim was, which matters more now that AI drafts confident factual claims.
- No revision limit is the single most common cause of an unprofitable retainer. Not underpricing. Rework.
- A general VA agreement does not cover account access, content licensing or approvals.
Table of contents
- Why are social media managers so exposed?
- What are the eight clauses every social media contract needs?
- Who is responsible if a social media claim is misleading?
- What are the most common social media contract mistakes?
- Frequently asked questions about social media manager contracts
- What should you do today?
Why are social media managers so exposed?
Three things make this industry harder than most.
The deliverable is a moving target.
Nobody says the scope has changed. It just does. One more platform. A few stories. Could you jump on the comments. Reels now, since everyone is doing reels. None of it feels unreasonable in isolation, which is exactly why it accumulates.
You create things but may not own them.
Graphics, captions, templates, photography. Under Australian copyright law the creator generally owns their work unless they assign it in writing, which means neither of you may be certain who owns what unless the contract says so.
You hold the keys.
Account access, passwords, two factor authentication, connected tools. That is a security responsibility as well as an operational one, and it is almost never written down.
What are the eight clauses every social media contract needs?
1. Scope of services
Which platforms. How many posts of what type. Whether stories, reels, comments and DMs are included. Whether strategy is included or only execution. Be boringly specific, because vagueness here is what turns into unpaid work later.
2. Who owns the content
Say it plainly. If the client is to own the graphics and captions you make, that ownership has to be assigned in writing, and it usually should be assigned on payment rather than on creation. If you want to keep the right to use the work in your own portfolio, say that too.
3. Approvals and revisions
Who signs off before something goes live, how long they have to respond, and what happens if they do not. Cap the number of revision rounds. An unlimited revisions arrangement is not generous, it is a scope problem with a friendly name.
4. Account access and security
Whose account it is. Whose email and phone number it is attached to. What level of access you are given, and what you are responsible for while you hold it. Get this right on day one, not on the last day. Ideally the client's own details are the recovery details and you are added as a manager.
5. Payment terms
When invoices are issued, when they are due, and what happens when they are not paid. Include the right to pause work on overdue accounts, because that is the only leverage you have and you need it in writing to use it.
6. Cancellation and notice
How much notice either side gives. What happens to work in progress and to content already scheduled. Retainers that can be ended without notice are not really retainers.
7. Confidentiality
You see product launches, campaign plans, budgets and client lists. Both sides need protection here, and yours matters too, because your processes and templates are your business.
8. What happens if they go quiet
The one nobody drafts. What happens when the client stops responding to approvals but expects posting to continue? Give yourself a stated position, such as posting from an approved bank of content or pausing after a set period.
Who is responsible if a social media claim is misleading?
If you write copy that makes a claim, and that claim turns out to be misleading, the business publishing it carries the risk. That business is your client.
That sounds like it lets you off. It does not entirely, because you wrote the words, and because a client who ends up in trouble will look for someone to blame.
An approvals clause is what makes clear whose call it was. If the client signs off on award winning, best in Sydney or clinically proven, the record shows they approved it. If you invented the line and posted it without approval, that record shows something else.
This has become sharper with AI drafted copy, which produces confident factual claims very readily and has no idea whether any of them are true for the business it is writing about.
An approvals process is not bureaucracy for the sake of it. It creates a record of who approved the claims that go public.
What are the most common social media contract mistakes?
Using a general VA contract
A VA agreement has no clause about account ownership, no content licensing, and no approvals process. It covers the working relationship, not the specific risks of running someone's public voice.
No intellectual property clause at all
Both sides then assume they own the work, and neither finds out they were wrong until the relationship ends.
No revision limit
The single most common cause of an unprofitable retainer. Not underpricing. Rework.
Frequently asked questions about social media manager contracts
Do I need a separate contract for each client?
A separate signed agreement for each client, yes. A separate document drafted from scratch, no. One good template, filled in properly for each client with their platforms, deliverables and fees, is exactly how this should work.
What if I am a one person business?
Then it matters more, not less. A larger agency has processes, insurance and the ability to absorb a bad month. On your own, one unpaid retainer or one ownership dispute is a very bad quarter.
What if the client already sent me their contract?
Read it properly before you sign, and pay attention to intellectual property, indemnities and termination. Client side agreements are usually drafted to protect the client, which is fair enough, but you are allowed to ask for changes.
What should you do today?
If you manage accounts for anyone, check whose phone number and recovery email are attached to them.
Then check whether your contract says anything at all about what happens on the last day.
Most do not. That is not a small gap. That is the whole thing.
Our social media manager contract template is drafted for Australian SMMs and covers every one of the eight clauses above, in plain English, ready to fill in for your next client.
About the Author
Riz is the Founder & Director of Foundd Legal, a lawyer with 20+ years' experience and a long history of building online and ecommerce businesses.
She helps creatives and online business owners protect and grow their businesses with clear, practical legal tools that actually make sense.
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