What's a Statement of Work and Why Does Every Social Media Manager Need One?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt personally victimized by scope creep… 🙋‍♀️🙋🙋‍♂️

Scope creep refers to changes or growth in a project’s scope, at any point after the project begins. Scope creep is a hot topic around the social media manager water cooler – as it generally looks like:

• A client asking for extra content outside of their package quota

• A client messaging you outside office hours asking things like “can you post this really quick?!”

• A client expecting you to use additional features of a platform [ex. Instagram Stories or Reels] when you’ve only discussed handling feed posts

• A client assuming certain services are part of their package when they aren’t [ex. community management, organizing contests, etc]

• … any request made that oversteps your service deliverables, business operations, etc

While it’s easy to blame the client, this issue often occurs when the scope of a project is not properly defined, documented, or controlled by the service provider…

AKA: when a social media manager isn't crystal clear around their service deliverables or work boundaries from the onset, it keeps the door propped open for their clients to make additional - out of scope - requests.

So how do you avoid scope creep and create better boundaries around your business and the services you provide?

Simple: Create a Statement of Work [SOW] & include it with your services contract!

What's a statement of work – and why does every social media manager need one? Read on to find out…

PS: The Boutique Lawyer’s Social Media Contract Template includes everything you need to create a detailed Statement of Work – helping you to eliminate scope creep – for good!

What is a Statement of Work? 

As a social media service provider, a statement of work [SOW] is one of the most important parts of your contract. It’s a legally binding document that outlines all of the details and deliverables within a particular project – whether that be a one-off strategy session or ongoing monthly social media management. 

Your statement of work will communicate timelines & due dates, detailed deliverables, and other activities that fall within the scope of the work being done. This document defines the terms and conditions that are to be agreed upon by both parties – establishing clear expectations around the work being delivered.

This Social Media Contract Template from The Boutique Lawyer includes a statement of work that covers everything from:

• Project Scope

• Client Deliverables

• Agency Deliverables

• Schedule

• Deadlines

• Office Hours

• Communication

• Investment

• Payments

• Refunds

• Cancellations

• Edits + Revisions

Leaving absolutely no room for interpretation between you & your clients!

Why Does Every Social Media Manager Need a SOW?

As we’ve previously covered, one of the main reasons scope creep happens is because the “scope” was never clearly defined to begin with. When a project or service lacks structure – via things like deadlines, office hours, deliverables & milestones, it’s easy for things to get out of hand quickly!

Your statement of work helps to eliminate any questions around what a client is actually paying for – giving you creative control over every aspect of your service offerings while setting a detailed job scope, clearly defining what you will be providing (and what you need from your client) on each job you take on.

READY TO SAY BUH-BYE TO SCOPE CREEP?!👇