By Project Monet ·
This guide explains the subject in plain language. It does not promise a result for every account. Use the ideas with the account, audience, resources, and business goal in mind.
Define the job before making a shortlist
Start with the business problem: the wrong audience, an unclear profile, inconsistent production, weak founder visibility or no useful next action after discovery. Choose one primary objective and explain why it matters. ‘Grow Instagram’ leaves too much room for two parties to mean different things.
Then decide whether you need organic Instagram management, content production, paid advertising or several platforms. Project Monet specialises in Instagram management and content. If your requirement is broader, confirm that a provider genuinely covers it rather than assuming that every agency does.
Ask what the proof actually proves
For each example, ask who owned the account, who produced the work, when the result occurred and whether distribution was organic or paid. Ask for the starting point and measurement window. A lifetime view total does not by itself show the change caused by an engagement.
Creator experience can demonstrate an understanding of attention. It does not establish results for a client business. A client logo does not establish revenue or leads. Project Monet labels its founder/team creator proof separately and does not present it as Project Monet client outcomes.
A provider may need to protect confidential client data. Redacted evidence or a clear explanation of its limits is more useful than an unsupported claim. Never ask the provider to share a client's private data without permission.
Use these questions in the call
| Ask | Look for in the answer |
|---|---|
| What would you inspect before proposing content? | A review of the audience, offer, current account, available inputs and next action. |
| Who supplies the ideas, facts, footage and approvals? | Named responsibilities and a realistic production route. |
| How does a topic get approved and produced? | Written stages, one final approver and a distinction between minor corrections and a new direction. |
| What happens when a Reel performs poorly? | A hypothesis tied to audience, hook, watch behaviour or profile response; no automatic demand for more posts. |
| What will you report besides views? | Available profile visits, follows, engagement and business actions, with attribution limits stated. |
| What is excluded from the price? | Clear treatment of shoots, talent, tools, extra revisions and source files. |
| What happens if we stop working together? | Written notice, access removal, paid-deliverable ownership and a clear handover scope. |
Ask for one decision, not a free strategy
A useful evaluation question is: ‘What would you investigate first on this account, and why?’ The answer should connect an observation to a next check. For example, if views are healthy but profile visits are weak, the provider might inspect audience relevance and the reason to visit before changing the posting schedule.
This is an illustrative diagnostic path, not a finding about your account. A provider should state what it cannot know from a public profile. Do not expect a complete unpaid content calendar, scripts or production plan. Project Monet's free audit is a diagnosis; detailed strategy belongs in paid work.
Check the written scope against the sales conversation
If you discussed managing both a founder and company account, make sure both appear in the scope. If founder filming is unavailable, record the alternative inputs. If an avatar or synthetic voice is proposed, establish authorization and disclosure before production.
- The account and primary business objective are named.
- Strategy, scripts, footage, editing, publishing and community responsibilities are explicit.
- Production formats, cadence and capacity are defined without assuming unlimited work.
- Approvals, included revisions and client-caused delays have clear treatment.
- Reports have a baseline, a cadence and someone responsible for the next decision.
- Fees, separate costs, cancellation, ownership and any performance remedy match the agreement.
Treat these as questions to resolve before signing
Be cautious when someone sells a guaranteed follower number without explaining acquisition, presents creator results as client outcomes, or claims private audience knowledge from a public handle alone. Ask for the basis of the claim and stop if the explanation remains unclear.
An offer can include a specific contractual performance commitment, but its definition matters. Project Monet's Viral Mandate requires qualification and a signed account-specific target, measurement terms, eligibility conditions and creative guardrails. It is not a sales guarantee. Standard Management has no virality guarantee.
High views with no reporting path, unlimited production for an undefined fee, and approvals described only as ‘we will figure it out’ are unresolved scope risks. Clarify them before money or production time is committed.
Copy this brief when requesting a proposal
Send the same brief to each shortlisted provider so the answers can be compared. Do not choose by post count alone. Choose the arrangement your team can actually support, with evidence and responsibilities both clear.
- Account(s): [profile links; founder, company or both]
- Business and intended buyer: [what we sell and who can buy]
- Primary Instagram objective: [the useful action or change we want]
- Current problem and evidence: [what we observe; what remains unknown]
- Available inputs: [expert time, footage, demos, permissions and assets]
- Work we already own: [strategy, creation, publishing or reporting]
- Approver and availability: [one person; realistic review window]
- Budget and timing: [range and constraints]
- Proposal requested: [responsibilities, deliverables, exclusions, measurement and terms]