Free Freelance Social Media Manager Contract Template for Canada

A freelance social media manager contract defines the terms for managing a brand's online presence across platforms like Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. Social media management is an ongoing, visibility-intensive service where the freelancer represents the client's brand publicly every day. This makes the contract especially important — the social media manager needs clear guidelines on brand voice, content approval processes, and crisis communication protocols. This free contract template covers the specific needs of social media engagements in Canada: platform scope, content creation and scheduling, community management, analytics reporting, paid advertising management, and the critical issue of account ownership. Whether you're managing organic social content, running paid campaigns, or building a complete social media strategy, this template ensures clarity on deliverables, responsibilities, and expectations.

Social media management carries unique risks because the freelancer speaks publicly on behalf of the client's brand. A poorly worded post, an inappropriate response to a comment, or a slow reaction during a PR crisis can damage a brand's reputation in minutes. Without a contract, disagreements arise over: who approves content before publication, how quickly the manager must respond to comments and messages, what happens during a social media crisis, who owns the content and the social media accounts, and what metrics define success. A contract establishes content approval workflows, response time expectations, crisis communication protocols, and clear account ownership terms. For Canadian social media managers, the contract also addresses CASL compliance for social media promotions and bilingual content requirements.

Social media contracts require platform-specific and brand governance clauses. Define the platforms managed and the posting frequency for each (e.g., "3 Instagram posts, 5 Instagram Stories, 2 LinkedIn posts, and 4 TikTok videos per week"). Include a content approval clause specifying the approval workflow, turnaround time for client review, and what happens if the client doesn't respond within the approval window. Add a community management clause defining response time expectations for comments, DMs, and reviews (e.g., "within 4 business hours"). Include a crisis communication protocol — who is notified, what the manager's authority is during a crisis, and escalation procedures. Define brand voice guidelines as a contract appendix. Add an account access and ownership clause clearly stating that all social media accounts belong to the client. Include a paid advertising clause if the manager also handles ad campaigns — budget limits, approval processes, and reporting requirements.

Social media scope of work should be structured as a monthly service package. Content creation: number of posts per platform per week/month, content types (static images, videos, carousels, stories, reels), whether the manager creates original content or curates/repurposes client-provided content, and caption writing with hashtag research. Content scheduling: tools used (Later, Hootsuite, Buffer), content calendar creation and approval process, and optimal posting time analysis. Community management: response to comments and DMs within defined SLA, proactive engagement with target audience, review monitoring and response, and troll/spam management. Reporting: monthly analytics report with defined KPIs, platform-specific metrics (reach, engagement, follower growth, click-through), and content performance analysis with recommendations. Exclude: paid advertising management, influencer outreach, blog writing, and website content updates (unless specifically included).

Social media management is an ongoing service best structured as a monthly retainer. Specify the monthly fee, billing date (first of the month or upon invoice), and payment terms (net-15 is standard for retainer services). Include separate pricing for: additional content beyond the agreed monthly volume, paid advertising management fee (typically 15-20% of ad spend or a flat monthly fee), and special project content (product launches, event coverage, campaign creation). Define a minimum engagement period (typically 3 months for social media, since building momentum takes time). Address tool costs — who pays for scheduling tools, stock photo subscriptions, and design tool licenses. Late payment terms: net-15 with service suspension after 15 days overdue and 2% monthly interest on outstanding balances.

Social media content IP has nuances around brand representation. Original content created by the manager (captions, graphics, videos) typically transfers to the client upon payment. However, address: template designs and content frameworks the manager reuses across clients, stock photos and third-party assets used in content, user-generated content reshared on the client's accounts, and the manager's personal brand association with the work. Social media accounts and all associated data (follower lists, analytics history, message archives) belong to the client at all times — this is non-negotiable. The manager should be granted access, not ownership. Upon contract termination, the manager must transfer all access credentials and remove their own access from all accounts, scheduling tools, and analytics platforms.

Social media contract termination requires an orderly transition to maintain brand continuity. Either party should provide 30 days written notice. During the notice period, the manager: completes all scheduled content for the notice period, prepares a transition document covering brand voice guidelines, content calendar, top-performing content types, and audience insights, transfers all account credentials and removes their own access, provides access to all scheduling tools with content queues, and delivers all analytics reports up to the termination date. If the client terminates immediately due to a breach (brand-damaging post, security incident), the manager must transfer all access within 24 hours. Kill fee: not typically applicable for retainer services, but a minimum billing of 2 weeks applies if termination occurs mid-month.

Social media managers access sensitive brand information and engage with the public as the brand's voice. The confidentiality clause should cover: social media performance data and analytics, upcoming marketing campaigns and product launches, customer complaints and negative feedback trends, internal brand strategy and competitive positioning, and influencer relationships and partnership terms. Crucially, address the manager's personal social media — they should not discuss the client's business, strategy, or internal matters on their personal accounts. Specify that the manager will not share account access credentials with unauthorized parties and will use strong, unique passwords with two-factor authentication on all client accounts.

Canadian social media managers face specific regulatory requirements. CASL applies to social media messages that constitute commercial electronic messages — ensure contest entries, promotional DMs, and automated messages comply. Contest and giveaway posts must comply with the Competition Act and provincial contest rules (Quebec has particularly strict requirements under the Regie des alcools, des courses et des jeux). Influencer partnerships and sponsored content must be clearly disclosed as per the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards. If managing social media for regulated industries (financial services, healthcare, cannabis), ensure content complies with sector-specific advertising rules. For bilingual brands, address English/French content balance and Quebec language requirements. GST/HST applies to social media management services; specify tax handling in the contract.