The FCA’s guidance on financial promotions in social media

[Legal Beagles]

Digital and, in particular, social media are now becoming the media of choice in many cases for customer communications and specifically for financial promotions. We see positive benefits from using social media but this has to be based on compliance. A number of these media, however, have character limitations which can constrain their use. We […]

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[Amethyst]

Re: The FCA’s guidance on financial promotions in social media

Social media share the characteristic of being digital and can be defined as ‘websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in social networking’ (Oxford Dictionaries 2013). The following is a non-exhaustive list:
• blogs
• microblogs (Twitter)
• social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+)
• forums
• image and video-sharing platforms (YouTube, Instagram, Vine, Pinterest)

HOWEVER

It is intended to exclude genuine non-business communications. Social media conversations involving groups and individuals not acting in the course of business are therefore outside our regulation.

[Amethyst]

Re: The FCA’s guidance on financial promotions in social media

This is interesting for Twitter promo's ''Our view is that – for social media in particular – it is important that, in all cases, it is clear that a promotion is a promotion. One generally accepted way to do this, for character-limited media, is the use of #ad.''

Some quite interesting points in the consultation, and some seemingly very fine lines with regard Social Media promotions between compliant and non compliant.