The essentials
- At the start: audit, strategy and editorial line, tone of voice guidelines, visual templates, calendar for the first month, measurement setup (UTM, GA4, dashboard).
- Every month: approved calendar, posts produced and scheduled, moderation log, 3 to 5 page report with three decisions.
- Every quarter: review by pillar, format and network, competitive comparison, revision of targets and rhythm.
- Ownership: accounts, source files, calendars and data remain the company's; to be written into the contract before starting.
An SMO provider sells time and method; the deliverables are what makes that work visible, verifiable and transferable. A contract that does not list them leaves the relationship resting on a general impression, and the general impression rarely turns in the client's favour by the sixth month. This page draws up the list of deliverables to require, stage by stage, with the expected contents of each. It complements the SMO brief, which sets out the request, and serves as a checklist for follow-up.
The start-up deliverables (first month)
| Deliverable | Expected contents | Usual lead time |
|---|---|---|
| Audit of the existing setup | Profiles, 90 days of content, reach, engagement, audience, two or three competitors, a score per area; the method is described in social media audit | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Strategy and editorial line | Quantified objectives, targets, networks selected and the role of each, content pillars with their split, rhythm, formats, KPIs and six-month targets | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Tone of voice and content guidelines | Register, vocabulary, things to avoid, examples of successful posts and posts to avoid, rules per network | With the strategy |
| Visual templates | Canva templates or equivalent per format (carousel, single visual, story, video cover, subtitles), editable files handed over to the client | 3 to 4 weeks |
| Calendar for the first month | Dated posts with pillar, format, message, visual, tagged link, owner | Before the first post |
| Measurement setup | UTM convention, GA4 key events checked, shared dashboard, formula of each KPI written down | Before the first post |
| Procedures | Approval process, response times, handling of negative reviews and crises, escalation | With the strategy |
The measurement setup is the most often forgotten and the most important deliverable: without it, the monthly report will never be able to connect posts to traffic and leads.
The monthly deliverables
- The calendar for the following month, submitted for approval at least a week before the start of the month, with the copy written and the visuals ready for at least 80% of the posts.
- The posts produced, scheduled and published according to the calendar, with any deviation from the rhythm documented when there is one.
- The moderation log: volume of comments and messages, median response time, cases passed on to the company, negative reviews handled.
- The monthly report, detailed below.
- The monthly review meeting of 30 to 45 minutes, with a ten-line write-up and the decisions taken.
The monthly report: what it contains
A good report fits in three to five pages and reads in ten minutes. It contains, in this order:
| Section | Example | Sign of an inadequate report |
|---|---|---|
| Summary | Three sentences: what has progressed, what has fallen back, what has been decided | No summary, or a summary that is only positive every month |
| Main KPIs | Value for the month, 90-day median, target, by network; formulas restated | Only followers and likes |
| Rhythm and production | Posts planned / delivered, share by pillar and by format | No mention of deviations from the calendar |
| Best and worst posts | Five and five, with the explanatory hypothesis | Only the best ones |
| Traffic and results | Social sessions, session engagement, attributed conversions (GA4), qualified leads | No site data; “social traffic is hard to measure” |
| Moderation | Volume, response time, notable cases | Absent |
| Decisions | Three actions for the following month, with the metric used to check them | General recommendations with no commitment |
The metrics to include, with their benchmarks, are in the reference SMO KPIs. Useful reporting follows the same principles as any provider's reporting; the general expectations are described in a supplier's reporting.
The quarterly and annual deliverables
- Quarterly review: a reading by pillar, format and network over 90 days; comparison with two competitors; recommendations on rhythm, formats and the split; revision of targets.
- Update of the guidelines and templates with every significant platform change (formats, limits, features).
- Annual review: results against objectives, cost per social lead, proposed strategy for the following year, lightweight audit.
- Content library: an organised folder of the visuals, source videos and copy produced, accessible to the client at all times.
What belongs to you and must be handed over
Everything produced for you belongs to you, unless a clause to the contrary has been accepted in full knowledge of the facts. The contract states that the company is the main administrator of all accounts, that the source files (editable templates, raw videos, subtitles), the calendars, the reports and the data exports are handed over to it at the end of the engagement, and that access to third-party tools (scheduling, dashboard) is transferable or recoverable. A provider that refuses these clauses before signing will refuse them all the more afterwards; it is one of the pitfalls detailed in SMO provider: the pitfalls to avoid.
How GreenRed helps
Rather than juggling several tools, the GreenRed Social Media Tracking module brings these metrics together in a single dashboard, compares them over time and tells you which actions come first. You can try it free, with no card, from the Pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Which deliverables must an SMO provider supply each month?
The following month's calendar submitted for approval, the posts produced and scheduled, a moderation log with the response time, a three to five page report with KPIs, best and worst posts, GA4 data and three decisions, and a 30 to 45 minute meeting.
Must the provider hand over the source files?
Yes, and this point is negotiated before signing: editable templates, raw and edited videos, subtitles, calendars, reports and data exports are produced for the company and come back to it at the end of the engagement. Without that clause, changing provider means rebuilding everything.
What must a monthly social media report contain?
A three-sentence summary, the main KPIs with their formula, their 90-day median and their target, the rhythm planned and delivered, the five best and five worst posts with a hypothesis, the sessions and conversions attributed in GA4, moderation, and three decisions for the following month.
Are an audit and a strategy included in a monthly package?
Rarely in a low-end package; often billed separately as set-up fees equivalent to half a month or a month of the package. Check that the audit, the editorial line, the guidelines, the templates and the measurement setup appear in the proposal, otherwise ask for them as first-month deliverables.