Reading Time: 3 minutes

Key risks for social media marketing managers

If you’re a Social Media Marketing Manager, you’re making key decisions in the messaging that your clients are sending to the public. You provide your expertise and guidance to clients. This means there is a risk of liability for, amongst other things:

• your client not achieving particular results or KPI
• your client breach under Australian Consumer Law, such as misleading or deceptive conduct/representations
• your client infringement of intellectual property rights

Protecting your business is all about having layers of protection in place. There are a number of steps you can take to reduce your risk, from a practical, contractual and commercial level.

1. Take practical measures to reduce risk as a Social Media Manager

First, take practical steps to reduce your overall risk by reducing the chance of issues arising:

1. Know the law around advertising. There are great resources on the ACCC website which can assist to understand a businesses obligations under Australian Consumer Law. This is essential to provide sound advice and services to clients.
2. Know the law around Privacy and SPAM, and ensure email lists or not illegally curated.
   • The Privacy Act governs privacy obligations of businesses.
   • The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has some great resources about laws around SPAM .
   • If your role expands beyond social media management to general marketing activities, you need understand the Do Not Call Register,
3. Have a checklist in place for key risks under Australian Consumer law. Using this for each publication you make both helps to reduce your risk of actually breaching law, but also shows you have clear processes in place and take reasonable precautions.
4. Only use images, fonts and content which you have a commercial license to use. Keep a copy of the license where possible, to substantiate if you receive a claim.

2. Have clear contracts in place

The next step is to ensure that you have clear contracts with clients. This is a crucial step that defines your relationship with, and liability to the client and you can lean on it if something goes wrong. These contracts should include terms that:

1. Ensure that all content is reviewed and approved by the client before publication.
2. Specify that you do not guarantee any particular results. The exception is where you offer KPIs with specific remedies, which need to be clearly outlined and measurable.
3. Clearly specify the scope of your work (e.g. content creation). This should clarify that your work does not include legal compliance.
4. Limit liability and provide an indemnity in your favour for claims and penalties.

Note that consumer law applies to many B2B businesses as well. Ensure that there is a balance between limiting liability and complying with non-excludable consumer law rights. Ideally, you should have a lawyer draft this contract, as it is very important to get it right. Having a poorly drafted client contract can be reason you end up liable to your client for not meeting expectations or for ACCC penalties.

3. Have the right structures and insurances in place

It is also important consider what happens if the worst case scenario arises, to add another layer of protection.

If you’re currently a sole trader, you might want to consider switching to a company structure. A company structure can protect your personal assets, like family home and vehicle, if liability arises.

Having the right insurances in place is highly recommended to add another layer of protection. Make sure to do your research and speak to an insurance broker about what insurances will protect you for these risks.

Key takeaways

Protecting your assets and business is all about putting in layers of protection to reduce your risk.

We can help draft your client contracts and business structure. We also offer a legal advertising sign off service, on an ad-hoc or ongoing basis, if you want outsource this work for your clients or if your clients want a lawyer to run their eye over marketing copy.

Book in a free consultation today for a free, no obligation chat or contact us.