The term content marketing agreement is a generic reference to different types of contracts where a marketing services provider agrees to create and/or distribute some type of content to market a business. The content can be text, video, or audio.
For many, the contract means a digital marketing agreement, i.e. an agreement to generate content that’s used online at a company’s website, in social media, distributed through press releases, etc. to promote the client’s business.
Different Levels Of Service
It’s important to note that the scope of services provided can vary greatly by contract and the level provided is typically reflected in the price charged by the marketer.
One of the biggest factors is who supplies the content for the marketing. Entrepreneurs on a tight budget will frequently attempt to limit their expenses by producing their own content (e.g. writing articles) and then handing them over to the marketing services provider to handle content distribution online and/or offline with the goal of generating new customers for the entrepreneur’s business.
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However, this type of budget content marketing frequently leads to disputes for two reasons: (1) the entrepreneur fails to timely produce content; and (2) the entrepreneur does not know how to write search engine friendly content that will convert to sales.
To avoid these types of disputes – and related lawsuits – experienced content marketers will often insist they produce the content instead of relying upon the business to do so. However, it’s common to have the client sign off on the content before it’s used to ensure the client is satisfied with it before the prospective customers see it.
Define The Scope Of Service
It’s essential for both the content marketer and the business client to have a clear and concise written scope of services in the content marketing agreement. The scope should both explicitly include what’s to be delivered and specifically exclude services beyond the scope. This minimizes the risk of disagreement between the parties while ensureing they are satisfied the price paid to the marketing professional fairly reflects the value delivered.
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For example, if there are to be 3 pieces of marketing content written and distributed online weekly, the scope of services should make clear (among other things) who writes the content, content length (e.g. 900 words), whether it must be pre-approved before use, whether subcontractors can produce and/or distribute the content, where the content will be distributed (e.g. blog post), and which social media platforms will be used to promote the content (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, etc.).
Measuring Results
Business owners who lack marketing experience may mistakenly believe content marketing’s primary goal is to build an international name brand like Google, Apple, or Microsoft. However, for most privately held companies, the primary purpose of marketing is the identification and conversion of prospects into sales.
This means the content marketing agreement should focus on metrics related to the return on investment (ROI) of the marketing instead of vague things like brand-building, social media awareness, and marketing creativity.
Where To Get A Content Marketing Agreement
Business Contracts Lawyer Mike Young prepares digital marketing agreements and other types of content marketing contracts for clients.
If the client is a marketing services provider, the terms and conditions of the agreement will favor the provider. On the flip side, if the contract is for a business client who will be retaining the services of a content marketer, the agreement will favor the business.
To learn more, you’ll want to check out the Business Contract Legal Protection Package now.
