Consumer Duty and Social Media: The Compliance Guide Nobody Gave You

When Consumer Duty came into force in July 2023, most financial advisers focused on their advice processes, fee structures, and client communications. Reasonable enough. Those are the obvious areas.

Social media barely got a mention in most firms' implementation plans. Which is a problem, because the FCA has been quietly but consistently applying Consumer Duty standards to social media activity. And firms are getting caught out.

Here's the compliance guide your compliance consultants probably didn't think to write.

A Quick Refresher on Consumer Duty

The FCA's Consumer Duty (FCA PS22/9) sets a higher standard of consumer protection across financial services. At its core is a new Consumer Principle: firms must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.

This breaks down into four outcomes:

1. Products and services
2. Price and value
3. Consumer understanding
4. Consumer support

Each of these applies to social media. Not theoretically. Practically. The FCA has made this clear through enforcement actions, Dear CEO letters, and its social media monitoring programme.

The Numbers Tell a Story

In the 2024/25 financial year, the FCA issued over 1,100 consumer alerts. A significant portion related to financial promotions on social media platforms. They took down or amended thousands of social media advertisements. They also brought enforcement action against several firms specifically for social media compliance failures.

This isn't a theoretical risk. The FCA has a dedicated financial promotions team that actively monitors social media. They use automated tools to scan platforms. And they respond to complaints from consumers who feel misled by content they've seen online.

The fines aren't trivial either. Firms have been hit with six-figure penalties for social media promotions that fell short of the required standards. For smaller IFA firms, that's potentially existential.

Outcome 1: Products and Services

The products and services outcome requires that products are designed to meet the needs of the target market, and that distribution strategies are appropriate.

On social media, this means thinking carefully about what you're promoting and to whom.

Where firms go wrong:

Posting about a complex product (say, VCTs or offshore bonds) on a public platform where the audience is completely undefined. Consumer Duty requires you to consider your target market. A public LinkedIn post reaches everyone from sophisticated investors to people who've never had an ISA. If the product isn't designed for a mass market, promoting it to one creates a problem.

Sharing "one size fits all" content about products that really aren't. Pension drawdown, for instance, is not appropriate for everyone approaching retirement. But you wouldn't know that from some of the posts out there.

Getting it right:

Be specific about who the content is for. "If you're a higher-rate taxpayer approaching retirement..." is better than "Everyone should consider pension drawdown." It narrows the audience and shows you've thought about target market.

If you're using paid promotion, your targeting should match the product's target market. Running Facebook ads for a high-risk investment product targeted at 18-24 year olds is going to raise eyebrows, regardless of how compliant the ad copy is.

Outcome 2: Price and Value

This outcome requires firms to ensure that products and services provide fair value. On social media, this mainly means being transparent about costs and not creating misleading impressions about value.

Where firms go wrong:

Talking about returns without mentioning costs. "Our model portfolio returned 12% last year" sounds brilliant until you factor in the 1.5% ongoing adviser charge, the 0.75% platform fee, and the 0.5% fund charge. After costs and inflation, the picture looks quite different.

Using comparisons that don't tell the full story. "Our fees are lower than the industry average" might be true, but if your service level is also lower than average, that's a value problem, not a value proposition.

Promoting "free" services that aren't really free. "Free pension review" followed by a sales process where the client ends up paying ongoing fees needs careful handling. The service might be free, but the outcome usually isn't.

Getting it right:

If you mention performance, mention costs. If you mention costs, put them in context. If you compare prices, make it a fair comparison. None of this is rocket science, but it does require discipline in a medium that rewards simplicity and punchy messaging.

Outcome 3: Consumer Understanding

This is arguably where social media and Consumer Duty collide most violently. The consumer understanding outcome requires that communications equip consumers to make effective, timely, and informed decisions.

Social media, by design, is the opposite of this. It's built for quick consumption, emotional engagement, and rapid scrolling. Nuance dies on social media. And yet Consumer Duty demands nuance.

Where firms go wrong:

Using jargon that their target clients wouldn't understand. "Alpha generation through tactical asset allocation within a diversified multi-asset framework" means something to you. It means nothing to the person you're supposedly trying to help.

Oversimplifying to the point of being misleading. There's a difference between making something accessible and making it inaccurate. "Pensions are the best way to save" is simple. It's also wrong for plenty of people.

Burying risk warnings. Adding "Capital at risk" in tiny text at the bottom of an image post doesn't meet the spirit of Consumer Duty. The FCA expects risk warnings to be prominent and meaningful, not afterthoughts.

Using emotional triggers without balanced information. Fear-based posts ("Are you going to run out of money in retirement?") grab attention but can push people towards decisions that aren't right for them. That's the opposite of good consumer outcomes.

Getting it right:

Write for your actual clients, not for other advisers. Test your posts with someone who isn't in financial services. If they can't understand it, or if they'd get the wrong impression, rewrite it.

Risk warnings should be part of the message, not grafted on at the end. Weave them into the narrative. "Pension investments can go down as well as up, and you might get back less than you put in" is more effective mid-post than as a footnote.

Outcome 4: Consumer Support

The support outcome requires firms to provide support that meets consumers' needs throughout the life of their relationship. On social media, this creates some interesting obligations.

Where firms go wrong:

Not responding to queries. If someone comments on your post asking a question, ignoring them isn't just bad marketing. Under Consumer Duty, if that question relates to a financial product you've promoted, there's an argument that you have an obligation to provide appropriate support.

Providing advice in comments or DMs without proper process. The opposite problem. Someone asks "Should I consolidate my pensions?" in a LinkedIn comment and you reply with specific guidance. You've just given unregulated advice in a public forum. Bad idea.

No clear pathway from social media to proper advice. Your content generates interest but there's no obvious, easy way for someone to engage with your firm properly. That's a support failure.

Getting it right:

Have a standard response for queries that directs people to proper channels. Something like: "Great question. It really depends on your individual circumstances. Happy to discuss properly if you'd like to book a call - link in bio."

Monitor your social media for comments and messages. Consumer Duty expects timely support. Leaving a question unanswered for three weeks isn't going to cut it.

The Common Mistakes Checklist

Here are the issues I see most frequently. If you're doing any of these, stop.

• Posting performance data without risk warnings
• Using client testimonials without proper disclaimers
• Making claims about "guaranteed" or "secure" returns
• Promoting products without considering target market
• Using fear or urgency to drive engagement
• Ignoring comments or questions on promotional posts
• Not keeping records of social media activity
• Using jargon that your target clients wouldn't understand
• Sharing third-party content without checking it's compliant
• Running paid ads without appropriate targeting

Your Practical Compliance Checklist

Before you hit publish on any post:

Content check:

• Is this a financial promotion? (Would a reasonable person see it as encouraging financial activity?)
• If yes, does it include appropriate risk warnings?
• Is the language clear enough for your target audience?
• Have you avoided misleading impressions, even unintentional ones?
• If you mention performance, have you mentioned costs and risks?

Consumer Duty check:

• Is the product/service appropriate for the audience who'll see this?
• Does the post support good consumer outcomes?
• Could someone make a bad decision based solely on this post?
• Is there a clear pathway to proper advice/support?

Process check:

• Has this been reviewed and approved?
• Have you saved a record of the post, including any targeting?
• Do you have a plan to monitor and respond to comments?

Going through this for every single post gets tedious. That's just the reality of regulated social media. It's one of the reasons tools like PostGuard exist. Running your draft through an automated compliance check before posting is faster than doing it manually and less likely to miss something. Worth a look if you're posting regularly.

What Happens Next

The FCA has signalled that it intends to increase its focus on social media compliance. The 2025/26 business plan specifically mentions digital marketing and financial promotions as priority areas. Consumer Duty gives them a broader toolkit to take action, because they can now assess not just whether a promotion is technically compliant, but whether it delivers good outcomes.

Firms that are still treating social media as an afterthought in their compliance frameworks are running out of road. The gap between "we haven't been caught yet" and "we're genuinely compliant" is where most of the risk sits.

The good news? Getting this right isn't that hard. It just takes a structured approach and the willingness to accept that social media in financial services will never be as casual as it is in other industries. That's the trade-off. You work in a regulated sector. Your social media needs to reflect that.

But it absolutely doesn't have to be boring. Compliant content can be engaging, human, and effective. It just needs a bit more thought before you hit post.