A few years ago, I began offering Content Creator services on a contract basis as a side income to my full-time social media and communications work for conservation nonprofits. I started offering these services to earn a bit of money, but it quickly grew into something I loved and wanted to invest more time and learning into. One of the first steps of this journey was to create a contract – and it was super scary! I did not know how to protect myself with a contract, and I also naively worried about making myself “too difficult to work with” for potential clients if I had a lengthy onboarding process. While seamless onboarding processes are important, every Content Creator and social media marketer should protect themselves with a contract before creating any content for a brand. In this post, I’ll cover how to: Define your intellectual property within a contract Define usage rates within a contract Understand copyrights and fair-use doctrine regarding your content Define Your Intellectual Property Contracts for Content Creators are critical even for one concept alone: intellectual property rights. Your contract should not only explicitly state who owns the rights to all content produced as a result of your agreement but also who has the right to distribute it, where it can be distributed, who holds the rights to approve distribution, and when, if and for how long the content is licensed for usage as an ad. If these items are not clearly defined, a few of the things that can go wrong are: Your content may be a part of a long-lasting ad campaign, with no additional compensation offered to you. Imagine charging a flat rate of $250 for a piece of content, but then the company profits from using it as an ad for five years without paying you anything extra! Your content could wind up published on platforms it was not created for. In some instances, this could reflect poorly on your work if content is cropped incorrectly or unapproved audios are attached to your piece of content. In other instances, you could be completely unaware that content (perhaps with your face in it) is circulating on platforms unbeknownst to you and without your approval. You could lose the rights to your creation. If you have yet to define who owns the content produced during your contracts or how long it may be reproduced and shared by your client, you have not defined the parameters of your legal right to the content. Even if the content you produce includes copyright content provided by the client, you can insert a clause to cover sharing this content as a part of your portfolio (more on that later). The goal of defining intellectual property is not to keep the content “yours” and make it reproducible by you (aside from within your portfolio). Instead, we define intellectual property rights in order to prevent a client from stealing content and reproducing it, republishing it, and running it as an ad without first needing to agree on a compensation rate and usage rights with the Creator. What I include in my contracts: “The Creator retains all ownership rights to the Video and Photography content provided during the Organization’s participation under this Agreement (hereinafter: the “Creator Content”). The Creator Content includes all forms of media, including but not limited to, written, oral video, or images in whatever format presented, including hard copy, electronic, or recordings. All Creator Content will be deemed to be copyrighted materials under applicable laws. The Creator Content provided 12 months of usage rights to the Organization and is provided with a single-user license. The Organization will be responsible for all incurred loss, cost, damage, or expenses arising out of or in connection with the unauthorized use of the Creator Content, including all direct, indirect, and consequential loss, and will indemnify and hold the Creator harmless from all such unauthorized use of the Creator Content. Creator represents that it has the full right and authority to enter into and perform this Agreement and that the consummation of the Agreement and the provision of Creator Content contemplated herein do not violate any outstanding assignments, grants, licenses, encumbrances, obligations, agreements, or understanding between Creator and any other person or entity.   Creator represents and warrants that the Creator Content shall be the wholly original work of the Creator, and shall not infringe upon any intellectual property rights or rights of publicity or privacy of any third party or violate any laws. The Creator agrees to consider all copyrighted Video and Photography content provided by the Organization to be the sole property of the Organization, or property licensed to the Organization, as may be applicable. The Creator agrees not to repost, share, or distribute Creator Content containing the copyrighted Video and Photography content provided by the Organization on their social media channels. The Creator shall only share Creator Content that contains Organization Video and Photography content provided by the Organization on their own social media channels at the express written consent or request of the Organization. The Organization agrees to provide any such requests or consent to the following email address: __________” Define Usage Rates A significant difference you should remember when working with nonprofits is that they often work within limited budgets. While Content Creators in other industries may be able to charge hefty usage fees (ex., 30% of the base rate for every 3 months of usage of the content in an ad campaign), Creators in the nonprofit industry may need to offer more flexibility and understanding to their clients when creating this pricing. My standard practice when working with a company whose mission I support and want to aid is to include 1 year of usage rights with all content created as a part of my contract. Then, should they have great success using the content in ads, they can always come back to me and negotiate for continued usage. What I include in my contract: “In the event that the Organization wishes to repurpose the Creator’s Content and receive exclusive rights to the content for usage rights running paid ads on their website and/or other platforms, such request is subject to a 30% fee on top of the original content fee for a limited amount of time up to 12 months at a time. The Organization agrees to provide written notice to the following email address: ____________ for the usage rights request.” Understand Copyright and Fair-Use Doctrine A copyright is the legal right of a creator to control the reproduction and distribution of their original works. As the content I most often produce is a mix of provided content by the client and my own videos and production, the lines can quickly become blurred if not defined. I do not have the right to redistribute content containing copyrighted content from my clients, and they do not have the right to distribute the final product I produce without abiding by the compensation and usage rights defined in our contract. A creator could argue for the right to share the content they have created, regardless of the current owner, as a part of their resume or portfolio under the fair-use doctrine, which provides that a portion of a copyrighted work may be reproduced for specific, defined purposes. To protect my right to share the content I produce in my portfolio, I inserted a clause specifically pertaining to this. What I include in my contract: “The Organization agrees that at some point the Creator may share any and all content made for the Organization publicly on either their portfolio or website for professional purposes.” Conclusion In conclusion, these items should be reviewed as you work to develop your content creator contract while also researching and comparing your contract to those of other creators. Many wonderful resources are available to get you started on your contract-writing journey, but a favorite of mine is this blog post on LinkedIn. Happy content creating!

While trending audio can provide an extra push for your social content, the content itself must bring value to your target audience in a way that incites more than relatability.  In my years working in social media, I've seen numerous posts go mega-viral: likes and views were through the roof, shares were high, and perhaps even the comments section included many, "Omg, this is so me!"'s.  Yes, these posts are viral, but Was your brand memorable from the video?Did those views and engagements translate into followers? As a result, does your audience better understand your organization's mission? Recently, a Reel that I created for Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy went viral to over 1M views, and it was EXACTLY the Reel I would have chosen for the attention and reach. Why? Everything about this reel (which also used a story-telling hook, trending audio, and artistic timing) pointed to ARC's mission and what their team accomplishes for the sake of amphibians and reptiles. Every viewer who watched this video should understand the value of biologists and conservation organizations a bit more. So yes, make videos that go viral because they're funny or cute, but also make videos that Educate: share your organization's current projects and solutions to your audience's problems.Engage: post shareable, saveable content and collaborate with local groups.Inspire: tell stories of past accomplishments, inspiring stories, and past/current partnerships. Check out the ARC Reel here (https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cz9uFMwLVbA/).