The short answer
Before you hire a social media marketing agency, get answers in writing on who owns your accounts, ad accounts and creative files, who shoots the content, how many posts you get, how results are reported, how you exit and who pays the ad spend. Walk away from anyone who sells followers, guarantees follower counts, wants your Meta assets in their own business portfolio or will not put the scope on paper.
Many Michigan business owners hire social media help from a referral, a coffee meeting and a proposal that looks fine. The problems show up when the relationship ends and nobody is sure who controls the Instagram account, the ad account or the photos the business paid for.
This guide covers what to ask before you sign, what to walk away from and how to give access without handing over passwords. The same questions apply to a Metro Detroit agency and a solo freelancer.
What does a social media agency handle, and what stays with you?
Scopes vary, but most agency proposals draw from the same list. Use it to check what a proposal includes and what it quietly leaves out.
| Usually handled by the agency | Usually stays with the business |
|---|---|
| Content calendar and posting schedule | Final approval on posts, offers and pricing |
| Writing captions | Facts about your menu, listings, products and hours |
| Photo and short-form video (if production is in scope) | Access to your location, staff and customers for shoots |
| Community management: replying to comments and messages | Customer complaints that need a manager, refunds and anything legal |
| Paid social: building, running and adjusting ad campaigns | The ad budget itself and the payment method behind it |
| Monthly reporting | Deciding what counts as a good result for your business |
| Influencer outreach (if in scope) | Signing off on who represents your brand |
An agency cannot answer a question about allergens or a lease term for you, and it should not approve its own discount offers. Agree on who signs off, and how fast, before the first post goes out.
Who should own the accounts, ad accounts and creative files?
You should. Ask this first, because the answer tells you how the agency treats clients when things go wrong.
Social accounts and the business portfolio. Meta organizes Pages, Instagram accounts and ad accounts inside a business portfolio in Meta Business Suite (older guides call this Business Manager). Meta’s Help Center says that when a partner has full control of a shared asset, it can manage everything but “cannot share the business asset with another business,” and that only the organization that owns the asset can do that, according to Meta’s guide to giving a partner access. Owning the asset is what lets you add or remove agencies later. If the agency creates your Page or ad account inside its own portfolio, you are a guest on your own account.
Ad accounts. Same rule. The ad account should sit in your portfolio, with your payment method on it and the agency added as a partner, so your campaign history stays with you if you switch agencies.
Creative files. Ask who owns the photos, video and design files, and in what form you get them. If the contract grants “usage rights” instead of ownership, ask what happens to those rights when it ends.
What questions should you ask before you sign?
Bring this list to every meeting and ask for the answers in writing.
- Who shoots the content? Some agencies have photographers and videographers on staff. Others subcontract, use stock images or expect you to send phone photos. All three can work, but the price and the result differ, and you should know which you are buying.
- How many posts, on which platforms, each month? Get a number per platform, and ask whether Stories, Reels and TikToks count separately. “Consistent posting” is not a number.
- Who writes captions and replies, and what is the response time? If the agency handles comments and messages, ask for hours of coverage and what gets escalated to you.
- What does reporting include? Ask to see a sample report. Look for reach, engagement, follower change, website clicks and, for ads, cost per result. Ask how often you meet to go over it.
- How long is the contract, and how do you get out? Ask about the minimum term, notice period, any fee for leaving early, and what the agency hands back at exit: logins, files and access removal.
- Do you manage paid ads, and who pays the ad spend? Ad spend and the management fee are two different costs. Ask whether the spend is billed to your card inside your ad account or paid by the agency and invoiced back to you, and whether the agency adds a markup.
- Who will do the work, and what do you need from me? The person in the pitch meeting is not always the person posting. Ask who your day-to-day contact is and what approvals and shoot access the agency needs from you each month.
What are the red flags when hiring a social media agency?
Buying followers or engagement. Meta’s Spam policy does not allow selling, buying or exchanging for engagement, which it defines to include likes, shares, views and follows. It also bars giveaways of cash or cash equivalents offered in exchange for engagement. Federal rules go further. The FTC’s rule on consumer reviews and testimonials prohibits “selling or buying fake indicators of social media influence, such as followers or views generated by a bot or hijacked account,” according to the FTC’s announcement of the rule. If a proposal includes a “growth package” with a follower count attached, ask exactly where those followers come from.
Guaranteed follower counts. No agency controls how Instagram, Facebook or TikTok distribute posts. A promised number of new followers by a set date is a guess or a sign the agency plans to buy them. Ask what the agency will do each month and how it will report results.
The agency owns your Meta business assets. If the agency wants to create your Page, Instagram account or ad account inside its own business portfolio, or asks for your personal Facebook password, say no. Meta’s partner system exists so you can share access without either of those.
No written scope. A handshake deal or a one-line invoice (“social media management, monthly”) leaves both sides arguing later about what was promised. The scope should list platforms, post counts, production days, community management hours, ad management, reporting and exit terms.
Fake or paid reviews. An agency that offers to write reviews for you, or to reward customers only for positive ones, is exposing you to federal penalties (see the FTC section below).
How do you give an agency access to your accounts safely?
Use the platforms’ partner tools instead of sharing passwords.
Meta (Facebook and Instagram)
Meta’s Help Center describes partner access through Meta Business Suite. As of October 2026, Meta’s instructions say:
- You need full control of your business portfolio. The agency must have its own business portfolio and give you its business portfolio ID.
- Turn on two-factor authentication for your business portfolio if it is not already on.
- Go to Settings in Meta Business Suite, then click Partners in the Users section of the left menu.
- Click Add, then select “Give a partner access to your assets,” and enter the agency’s business portfolio ID.
- Choose which assets to share (for example, your Page, Instagram account and ad account) and the level of access.
- Click Assign assets. Someone else with full control of your portfolio may need to approve it.
Meta offers full control or partial access. Partial access covers specific tasks such as creating content, managing ads and responding to messages. Give the agency only the tasks in its scope. A freelancer who wants partner access needs a business portfolio too.
When the relationship ends, Meta’s removal steps are short: Settings, Partners, then Options and “Remove from business portfolio.” Removing a partner requires full control, which is one more reason to make sure someone at your business holds it.
TikTok
TikTok handles agencies through TikTok Business Center. TikTok’s help article on adding partners, last updated March 2026, says you need Admin access to your Business Center and the partner’s Business Center account ID or ad account ID. From the left menu, click Partners, then Add partner, enter the ID, choose the accounts and assets to share and set permissions.
Sharing the TikTok account itself is a separate step. TikTok’s guide to sharing a TikTok account with partners requires the partner to be added first and the account to be linked to or created in your Business Center. Then go to Accounts, TikTok accounts, open the account and use “Share with partner” on the Partners tab.
What FTC rules apply to influencer posts and reviews?
If your agency runs influencer campaigns or collects reviews for you, two sets of federal rules apply, and your business can be on the hook for what the agency does.
The FTC Endorsement Guides. The FTC revised its Endorsement Guides in 2023, including a new definition of “clearly and conspicuously,” according to the FTC’s Endorsement Guides FAQ. The core rule: when an influencer has a material connection to your business, such as payment, free product or an employment or family relationship, it has to be disclosed in a way that is hard to miss. The FTC’s guide for influencers recommends plain terms like “advertisement,” “ad” or “sponsored,” warns against vague tags like “sp,” “spon” or “collab,” and says a disclosure buried behind a “more” button or only in a profile does not count. In video, the disclosure should be in the video itself. The FTC also says a platform’s built-in disclosure tool may not be enough by itself.
The FTC FAQ says advertisers should train and monitor the people promoting them: explain what claims and disclosures are required, check what they post and act on problems. Ask any agency running influencer work how it does that.
The 2024 rule on fake reviews and testimonials. The FTC announced its final rule on August 14, 2024, and its questions-and-answers guide says it went into effect October 21, 2024. According to the FTC’s announcement, the rule covers:
- Fake reviews and testimonials, including AI-generated reviews attributed to people who do not exist or who never used the business
- Paying or rewarding customers for reviews that express a particular sentiment, positive or negative
- Reviews by officers and managers that do not disclose their connection to the business
- Company-controlled review websites presented as independent
- Suppressing negative reviews through groundless legal threats, physical threats or intimidation
- Buying or selling fake followers or views
The rule lets the FTC seek civil penalties against knowing violators. The FTC’s Q&A also states that advertising agencies, PR firms and reputation management companies are not immune. The same Q&A says a general email asking recent customers to leave a review is allowed, so an agency can still help you ask for reviews. It cannot help you buy or write them.
How do you compare social media agency proposals?
Put the proposals side by side and fill in each row. Note which rows stay blank.
| What to compare | What a clear proposal shows | What to question |
|---|---|---|
| Account ownership | Your business owns the portfolio, Page, Instagram and ad account; agency added as a partner | Agency creates or holds the accounts |
| Platforms and volume | Number of posts per platform per month | “Regular posting” with no number |
| Content production | Who shoots, how many shoot days, what you receive | Stock photos or client-supplied photos with no mention |
| File ownership | You own or keep the final files, with a stated handoff | “Usage rights” that end with the contract |
| Community management | Hours of coverage and escalation rules | Not mentioned |
| Paid ads | Management fee listed separately from ad spend; spend billed through your account | Ad spend bundled into one number |
| Reporting | Sample report, set metrics, a regular review meeting | “Insights” with no sample |
| Term and exit | Minimum term, notice period, what is returned at exit | Auto-renewal with no exit terms |
| Influencers and reviews | Written disclosure and review practices in line with FTC guidance | Follower or review “packages” |
Compare prices only once the rows match. A proposal with no production, community management or exit terms is a different product from one that includes them.
What should the first 90 days with a social media agency look like?
Good onboarding is mostly paperwork and access in month one, then steady output.
- Days 1 to 30: access and audit. You add the agency as a partner in Meta Business Suite and TikTok Business Center. The agency reviews your current accounts, past ads and analytics, and agrees with you on goals, approval steps and a brand voice document. The first shoot is scheduled.
- Days 31 to 60: production and posting. The first content calendar goes out for approval, the shoot happens and posting starts at the agreed volume. If paid ads are in scope, the first campaigns launch with a test budget you approved.
- Days 61 to 90: first report and adjustments. You get the first full monthly report and sit down to review it. Both sides decide what to keep, cut or change for the next quarter, and you confirm the contract terms still match the work.
If you reach day 90 without partner access, a written content calendar or a report, raise it then, while there is still time left in the term to fix it.
How we handle this at Full On Social
Full On Social is a marketing agency in Metro Detroit, working with businesses across Michigan and beyond, with a focus on restaurants and hospitality, health and beauty, auto and local shops, and real estate and developers. Our social media management covers strategy, posting, community management and paid social.
The same team also handles content creation: photo, short-form video and reels, aerial video and photography, and event coverage. That answers the “who shoots the content” question above. The team’s shoots include restaurant food and interiors, cannabis retail for JARS, Caesars Windsor, Standard Selfcare packaging and Detroit aerials. See our work page.
Bring every question in this guide to your first conversation with us, including who owns your accounts and files, how we report and how you can end the contract. Restaurant owners can read our restaurant social media marketing guide for more on that category, and anyone can reach the team through the contact page.
Updates
- October 7, 2026: Guide published, facts checked against the Meta Business Help Center, Meta’s Spam policy, TikTok Business Center help articles and FTC guidance on endorsements and the Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule.
