If you run a social media page or group, or any community platform where people can comment, you are now responsible, under defamation law, for everything that anyone posts. This is regardless of whether you or your business agrees with the comment, or even if you are unaware that the comment has been made.

Being in the online and small business world both as a lawyer and a small business owner, I often hear from business owners who wish to collaborate with someone else, but don’t necessarily want to merge their businesses. For example, they might want to hold a joint workshop or retreat, co-host a podcast, write a book together, create a product collaboratively, run an online course together or create a mastermind or masterclass in partnership.

As a social media manager, you help businesses capitalise on the popularity of various social media platforms by managing the marketing, branding and engagement for the business on those platforms. You have an important role to play as a professional and as such need to have a social media management agreement to outline the terms of your work and protect yourself.