Social Media Brief Template: Questions for Clients, a Scope of Work and a Filled-In Example

Most conflicts between a client and a social media manager start in the first week. The client expected "posts that sell," and the manager wrote "useful content." The client assumed photo shoots were included in the price, and the manager assumed they weren't. A month later both are unhappy, even though each did honest work.

Two documents fix this. A social media brief answers "what is this business and why does it need social media." A scope of work answers "what exactly will the manager do, how much and by when." This article includes a social media brief template, a scope of work checklist and a filled-in example.

How a brief differs from a scope of work

The brief gathers knowledge about the business, and the scope of work locks in the terms of the job. The client fills in the brief (often together with the manager), and both sides put together the scope of work and attach it to the contract.

Social media brief template: 7 blocks

Copy the questions into a document. You don't have to answer all of them, but an empty "Audience" block means it's too early to start.

1. Business and product

• What does the company do, in one sentence, the way you'd explain it to a friend?
• Which products or services are the main ones? Which bring in the most money?
• How are you different from competitors, specifically, beyond "quality and service"?
• Prices: can they be mentioned in posts?
• What must never be promised to customers?

2. Audience

• Who are your customers: age, occupation, the situation in which they come to you?
• What questions do they ask most often?
• What stops them from buying?
• Where do they spend time: Instagram*, TikTok, Facebook*, Telegram, other networks?

3. Goals

• Why do you need social media: sales, bookings, awareness, hiring, loyalty of existing customers?
• What will count as success in 3 months? In a year?
• How do customers find you now, and what share do you expect from social media?

4. Brand voice

• How do you address customers: formally or casually?
• Do you joke or not? Which topics are off-limits for jokes?
• Words and phrases you never use.
• Required wording: company name, slogan, legal notes.
• Two or three accounts whose style you like, and one or two you definitely don't want to resemble.

If your brand voice isn't defined yet, start with the brand voice guide, which includes a template.

5. Competitors

• Three to five competitors and their social accounts.
• What do they do well, in your opinion? What annoys you?

6. Resources

• Do you have photos and videos of the product, team and space? Where are they stored?
• Who in the company can provide facts, appear on camera or answer a tough question?
• Is there a visual identity: logo, fonts, colors?
• Ad budget, if you plan to run ads.

7. Process

• Who approves posts? How much time do they need?
• Who replies to comments and messages?
• What events are coming up in the next six months: openings, launches, seasonal peaks?

Social media brief example

A fictional coffee shop, to show the level of detail you need.

Business. A coffee shop next to a subway station, 20 seats, open from 7:30 a.m. The main thing is coffee to go in the morning and breakfast. What makes us different: we roast our own beans once a week, and the baristas remember regulars. Prices can be mentioned. We must not promise "the best coffee in town."

Audience. In the morning, people on their way to work, ages 25 to 40, with three minutes to spare. During the day, freelancers with laptops and parents with strollers. Common questions: do you have plant-based milk, can I sit with a laptop all day, can I order ahead.

Goals. More morning to-go orders through pre-ordering and more guests on weekend afternoons. In 3 months, a full room on weekends.

Voice. Polite but warm. We joke about coffee and mornings, never about guests. We don't use "cozy," "atmospheric" or "coffee made with love."

Competitors. Two chain coffee shops nearby. They have nice photos, but their captions all sound the same and are about discounts.

Resources. There are photos of the space; drink photos are outdated. Our barista Megan is happy to be on camera. We have a logo and brand colors.

Process. The owner approves posts within the same day. The shift manager replies to messages.

With a brief like this, a manager can write the first 10 posts without a single follow-up call.

Social media scope of work: what to include

The scope of work is attached to the contract. Required items:

1. Networks. A specific list, for example an Instagram* account, a TikTok account and a Telegram channel.
2. Volume per network. Posts, stories and short videos per week or month; text length; number of images.
3. What's included. Copy, visuals, photo and video shoots, editing, publishing, community management, ads, reporting. Mark each one "yes" or "no."
4. Deadlines. When the manager sends the content calendar, and how many days before publishing they send the posts.
5. Approvals. Who approves, how many revision rounds are included, how quickly the client responds. How to set up this process is covered in content approval workflow.
6. Community management. Response time for comments and messages, working hours, what to do with negative comments. See how to handle negative comments.
7. KPIs. What is measured, where the data comes from and how often reports are sent. How to choose metrics: social media KPIs.
8. Rights to materials. Who owns the copy, photos, videos and templates after the work ends.
9. Access. The accounts belong to the client. The manager gets admin rights, not ownership.
10. Ad disclosures and legal requirements. Who is responsible for labeling sponsored posts under the rules that apply to the business.

A tip for clients: the access clause looks like a formality until a manager leaves with the password to a page with 10,000 followers.

Common client mistakes

• "Our audience is everyone." If the product is for everyone, the posts will be for no one.
• Goals without numbers or deadlines. "We want social media to work" is not a goal.
• Nobody who provides facts. The manager will end up writing generic phrases.
• Approval "whenever there's time." Posts go stale, and the schedule falls apart.
• A brief written once and never updated. Products, prices and seasons change, and so should the brief.

What to do if the client doesn't know their audience

That's normal, especially for a young business. Three quick ways to get answers:

1. Talk to 5 to 7 customers. Why they chose you, what they were looking for, what almost stopped them.
2. Ask sales staff, front desk staff and account managers. They hear customer questions every day.
3. Look at competitors' followers and comments. Who they are and what they ask about. How to do this systematically: social media competitor analysis.

How a brief turns into work

A brief is only useful if the manager comes back to it. The most valuable parts (audience, products, voice, banned phrases, key dates) should move to wherever the posts are written.

In LABRICA, a brand scan handles this. You enter the company name and website, and the platform studies the site and social accounts to build a brand profile. You then add answers from the brief to that profile: audience, products, formal or casual address, banned and required phrases, events, competitors. LABI AI writes ideas and posts based on this profile, so the brief works in every post instead of sitting in a folder.

The brief and scope of work also determine the price of the job. The next step after the brief is a social media strategy.

*Instagram, Facebook and Threads belong to Meta Platforms Inc., which is designated an extremist organization in the Russian Federation.

Frequently asked questions

What is a social media brief?

It's a questionnaire about the business: product, audience, goals, brand voice, competitors, resources and approval process. The client fills it in so the social media manager knows what to write about and for whom.

How is a brief different from a scope of work for social media?

The brief gathers knowledge about the business, and the scope of work records the terms of the job: networks, volume, deadlines, approvals, KPIs and rights to materials. The scope of work is usually attached to the contract.

What questions should you ask a client before managing their social media?

What the company does and how it's different, who the customers are and what stops them from buying, why they need social media and what counts as success, how the brand talks, who the competitors are, what photos and videos exist, and who approves posts.

What must be included in a social media manager's scope of work?

The networks and volume for each, the list of tasks, deadlines, the approval process and number of revisions, community management, KPIs and reporting, rights to materials, account access and responsibility for ad disclosures.

Can you move a brief into LABRICA?

Yes. The LABRICA brand scan builds a company profile from the website and social accounts, and answers from the brief are added to that profile. The AI takes them into account in every post. You can try it free.