5 Essentials Every Social Media Content Creator Contract Must Have for UGC Creators
Want to know what you need in your social media content creator contract? These are the essentials you need as a UGC creator.
Becoming a UGC creator is extremely fun and exciting, and if you're anything like me, you are researching what you need in your social media content creator contract to ensure you are legally protected and get paid. As a lawyer myself who drafts contracts for all kinds of creators, including UGC creators like you, I am giving you the crucial terms you must have to protect yourself from any claims and get paid what you are worth.
You will learn the essentials your social media content creator contract must have, whether you are using a free content creator contract template, want to purchase a content creator contract, or the brand sent you a content creator contract pdf.
After learning about all these must-haves for your social media content creator contract, you will get paid what you are worth and be protected from nasty claims!
This post is all about the crucial elements every social media content creator contract needs for UGC creators.
Essential Social Media Content Creator Contract
Content creator contract template
1. Charge for retakes
By the time you are ready to enter a social media content creator contract, you should have a clear brief with that brand. Either the brand gives you a brief, or you have discussed what the brand wants and created a brief together. So, what the brand wants from you and what you need to deliver should be clear.
However, even if you have created content for the brand that 100% fits the description in the brief, the brand might still ask you to do a retake. That could be for any reason, either the brief is not completely clear, you both had different visions, or the brand wants something else outside the brief.
In that case, you will need to take a retake. That's fine, but you will need to be compensated for the extra work you put into it.
The brand has, or you and the brand have made, a brief on what the deliverables should be. If you deliver what you and the brand have agreed on, and the brand still wants something else, then the brand should pay you! You can offer one revision round if the base price justifies a retake. But make sure these do not turn into multiple revision rounds that you are not being compensated for.
Many UGC creators make the mistake of taking multiple retakes for a brand without compensation for that extra work. Ensure that you get the payment you are worth by including additional fees for revisions/retakes.
2. The right to show off your work
There are three types of licenses you can give a brand:
Non-exclusive license. By giving a non-exclusive license, you are giving the brand the right to use your content, but you also have the right to use the content yourself and provide a license for that same content to other brands.
Exclusive license. You give the brand the sole right to use your content by providing an exclusive license. Only the brand gets to use your content. You can not use it either unless expressly agreed for specific purposes. You can also not give a license for that content to anyone else.
Sole license. By giving a sole license, only you and the brand will have the right to use your content. It gives you the freedom to use the license for whatever you want, and the brand can use the license, too (under the conditions of the social media content creator contract).
A non-exclusive license sounds better, but as a UGC creator, you are creating content for that brand's specific product or service. No other brand is going to want that content.
But, as a UGC creator, you want to be able to show off your work in your portfolio, on your social media, and on whatever other platform. Brands want to see the content you made for other brands, and it's the best marketing tool. So, ideally, you will want a sole license because that gives you the complete freedom to do whatever you want with that content and place it wherever you desire.
However, some brands might not be comfortable with that. Why? Because you can also use that content to badmouth or disparage that brand.
In that case, you can give the brand an exclusive license and include specifically your right to use it to promote your UGC business (as long as it has no adverse effect on the brand). That way, you can still do what you intended with the content, but you just have to be specific, which requires more wording in your social media content creator contract.
3. Equitable payment for each type of use
Be very, and I mean VERY, specific about how and where the brand may use your content and the price for each type of use.
So if the brand wants to use your content for Instagram Reels, then you give a (sole or exclusive) license to use that content specifically for (organic) reels on the Instagram account of the brand with the handle @[X]. That means the brand pays you to use it only on one Instagram account of the brand and as a reel. In that case, the brand may not use it on its TikTok account or for YouTube shorts unless they pay you an additional fee.
4. Rights to monthly payments for advertising
What if the brand wants to use your content for advertisements? In that case, you can charge the brand a recurring fee based on how long the brand uses the content.
You can ask for a weekly or monthly fee for each week or month the brand uses your content.
A recurring fee is a great way to make money because you get consistent payments while not doing anything!
5. Protection against copyright infringement, third-party claims & fines
I am sure you have heard from other UGC creators about the massive claims that record labels have on certain brands for using copyrighted music without a license. You bet those brands will try to get that money from the UGC creators that created that content.
So, what if the brand asks you to use a specific song in your video? Then you have to make sure and have the brand confirm that:
the brand has a license for that music;
the license covers all platforms;
the license also covers you if you want to use that video for your own portfolio.
Ask the brand about that before you agree on the final brief.
However, even if the brand states that is the case, the brand could be wrong.
So, to protect yourself, you should have an indemnity in your social media content creator contract stating that the brand will indemnify you for claims of third parties (the record labels) for copyright infringement. That way, if it turns out that the brand did not have the (correct) license, the brand must pay you if a record label claims you, and the brand can't make a claim against you either if the brand is being sued.
The same goes for products from other brands the brand tells you to use in your video. If that brand did not have permission or a license to use those products, that is the brand's problem, not yours. So, you need an indemnity for that too.
The brand might not comply with certain (marketing) laws or rules of social media platforms. You have no (total) control over that. So, if the brand gets a claim or fine or suffers any damages for whatever reason, that is the brand's responsibility, and they should not be coming after you. An indemnity for any penalties, claims or other costs or damages suffered by the brand should also be included in your social media content creation.
Social media freelance contract template
If you want to become a pro and get fully protected AND paid what you are worth, then my content creator contract template is for you!
Once you have emailed the brand and are clear on the brief, you can tell the brand that you will send them your social media content creator contract. You can use my content creator contract template as a:
UGC content creator contract,
YouTube content creator contract,
freelance content creator contract, or
social media freelance contract template.
You will avoid legal disputes and unfair compensation by using my contract template.
My content creator contract template includes all the crucial elements I just discussed and way more, like the 7 Key Terms Every Content Creator Contract Must Have for Content Creators and Brands.
You can get my content creator contract template on this page of my contract shop.
Content creator contract pdf
Sometimes, the brand will send you their social media content creator contract instead. More often than not, it will be a content creator contract pdf instead of a Word version you can amend.
In that case, UGC creators will use my content creator contract template to give the brand alternatives they can then put in the contract. It includes alternative clauses for both content creators and brands with explanations for each alternative, so you will be able to negotiate like a pro.
Free content creator contract template
If you are just starting out and have not made any money yet, you will probably want to grab a free content creator contract template off the internet. In that case, you will know what to look for in a social media content creator contract and what to add if anything I just discussed is missing in your free template.
Now that you've read this blog post, you have made the first step to becoming fully equipped to get the legal protection you need AND get paid what you are worth!
This post was all about the must-haves every UGC creator needs in a social media content creator contract.
Want to learn more about the content creator contract? Read this blog post on the 7 Key Terms Every Content Creator Contract Must Have for Content Creators and Brands.
Want to know which mistakes to avoid in your content creator contract template? Read this blog post on the 5 Major Mistakes to Avoid in Your Content Creation Contract (If You Are a Content Creator).
You can get the printable Content Creator Contract template (which includes all the essentials we discussed) here!
