The short answer

Agree on goals, voice, scope, approvals, risks, account access, content sources, and measurement before scheduling anything. The first post should be the final step of onboarding, not the way you discover how the business works.

Hold a structured kickoff

Cover the business model, audience, offers, priorities, seasonality, competitors, past performance, brand voice, prohibited topics, customer-service process, accessibility, and what success means. Ask for examples the client loves and dislikes, then discuss why.

Collect approved logos, fonts, colors, photos, video, links, offers, credentials, testimonials, disclosures, and policies. Confirm the client owns or may use the assets. Identify who verifies claims and regulated content.

FTC guidance says advertising claims should be truthful, non-deceptive, and supported when required (FTC advertising guidance). Put client fact-checking and approval responsibility into the workflow.

Set access and communication

Use client-owned accounts and named permissions rather than passwords. Meta allows a business to add people and assign selected assets (Meta access instructions). Turn on MFA, document owners, and agree on who handles account recovery.

Set one request channel, meeting rhythm, response window, approval deadline, revision limit, urgent-post path, and crisis contacts. Define comment moderation and what must be escalated.

Complete a readiness gate

Before scheduling, confirm agreement and payment, access, two-factor authentication, brand and asset library, calendar, approver, tracking links, analytics baseline, escalation matrix, and first batch of approved content.

Schedule one test post or low-risk item first. Preview the live crop, link, tag, caption, accessibility text, and time zone. Then document the result and adjust the workflow before filling the month.

Sources and further reading

• FTC: Advertising and Marketing
• Meta: Add people and assign assets

A free next step

Not sure which business fits you yet?

The free Freedom Path Assessment can help you compare your strengths, schedule, income goals, and preferred way of working before you commit to a business direction.

Take the Freedom Path Assessment Free

Helpful WAHMN tool

The Client Onboarding Checklist can help you complete access, goals, brand details, workflow, approvals, and reporting before the first post.

Related Questions

• How do I prevent scope creep when a social media client keeps asking for extras?
• Which tools does a social media manager actually need to manage clients securely and efficiently?
• What should I do when a social media client doesn't provide enough photos, video, or information?
• What should I do immediately if I publish a mistake on a client's social account?

Related WAHMN resource

If you want to build a repeatable social-media process for your own business or clients, this system takes you through the larger workflow. See Social Media Marketing Manager Business.