Do you have a strong contract for your social media clients?
What about a contract for your team members that protects your business’ intellectual property & your client’s information?
If the answer is no, you may be setting yourself up for some scary (and possibly expensive) legal trouble down the road.
When it comes to starting a business, things like licenses, contracts and non-disclosure agreements aren’t the stuff creative entrepreneurs necessarily dream about. It’s not sexy or exciting. In fact, figuring it all out can prove to be both overwhelming & intimidating.
However, if you plan on working with clients, team members, and/or offering consulting services, there are 3 important documents you’ll want to lock down pronto.
Before you start squirming in your chair, don’t worry! We’re here to share an incredible resource.
Your one-stop-shop for all things legal: The Boutique Lawyer
We’ve curated the 3 contracts / legal documents your social media business should consider having below.
(Yep, this post contains affiliate links. But, we were going to recommend this sh*t anyway, so we may as well get paid for it!)
1 | General Social Media Services Client Contract
This contract is essential, as it’s what you’ll send to every new client prior to working with them.
It doesn’t matter if your clients are locked into a monthly retainer, you charge hourly for your services, or invoice month-by-month.
This contract provides an outline of the specific services you’ll provide, a payment plan outline with suggested dates, a late fee clause in case your client misses a payment, a confidentiality clause to protect your trade secrets, a discussion about who owns the intellectual property you create (like graphics, copy, and image content), and tons of other boring legal stuff that makes this document 100% real & binding.
The best part, even though it’s legally legit, it’s still totally easy to understand and takes about 10 minutes to make it yours. Just fill in the blanks, breathe a sigh of relief, and send it to your new client to sign. CONGRATS, you’re so official and professional.
2 | NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) for Team Members & Partnerships
An NDA is used before hiring, or before entering into a partnership, joint venture or other collaboration. You use it to mutually agree not to share the details of what you plan to do, or how you plan to do it.
Additionally, working with both social media clients & team members means that confidential company assets like client passwords, private business information & intellectual property are probably being passed around frequently — and you don’t want any of it falling into the wrong hands on your watch.
Having an NDA or non-disclosure agreement for your team members to sign is essential to keeping private information, well… private. This contract will help you feel more secure that both your own business’ intellectual property & projects, as well as your client’s sensitive information is protected.
3 | Coaching / Consulting Contract
We know a lot of social media business owners not only provide done-for-you services to clients, but also offer social media coaching, strategy & consulting services. Whether you offer group coaching or work with clients one-on-one, having specific terms & conditions in place for the service is essential.
As a coach or consultant, you need to set clear boundaries to protect your time, and to give your clients everything they need. This template can be used to get your consulting clients started on the right path.
We especially love this one because it includes a breakdown of all the fees you’ll charge, so your clients know what they're getting (and when they need to pay you!). Plus, it also has a section that explains what happens when the client is LATE getting anything to you or just goes missing for a while (because you have better things to do than wait on them, amiright?).
