Regulated niches can thrive on social—if you play by the rules. This guide gives you a practical playbook for UK and US compliance across real estate and financial services, plus the most common pitfalls (and how to avoid them).
Not legal advice—treat this as a marketer’s checklist and run specifics past your compliance/legal team.
Know who regulates you (by sector + country)
UK financial services: The FCA’s social-media guidance requires every post to be “standalone compliant” (clear, fair, not misleading), risk-balanced, and—if unauthorised—approved under s21 FSMA by an authorised firm. Working with influencers? The firm is still on the hook for oversight.
FCA
US financial services:
SEC Marketing Rule (206(4)-1) governs testimonials, endorsements, third-party ratings, and performance claims for investment advisers. Disclosures and substantiation are key.
Federal Trade Commission
FINRA (Rule 2210) sets standards for broker-dealer communications; social posts are “retail communications” and must be fair, balanced, and supervised/archived.
FINRA
UK advertising (all sectors): The ASA/CAP Code demands that ads are obviously identifiable as ads (think clear #ad/Ad upfront), not misleading, and fairly presented. The new CMA guidance under the DMCC Act 2024 also bans unfair practices like fake reviews and drip pricing.
ASA
GOV.UK
US housing/Real Estate: The Fair Housing Act applies online. HUD’s 2024 guidance covers targeted digital ads, audience selection, and platform tools that can discriminate.
HUD. Perhaps don’t purchase followers on sites like Blastup to ensure you are compliant
Privacy & direct outreach (UK): DMs on social networks count as electronic mail under PECR. For individuals, you typically need consent or soft-opt-in (with opt-out every time).
ICO
Platform rules that bite marketers
Meta (Facebook/Instagram) “Special Ad Category” for Housing/Employment/Credit limits targeting and exclusions to prevent discrimination. Expect restrictions on demographics, exclusions and some audience tools; Meta bars discriminatory ad content and targeting.
Meta Transparency
Google Ads “Access to Opportunities” (HEC) policy limits HEC targeting in the US/Canada (e.g., no ZIP code, no age/gender targeting for Housing, Employment, Consumer Finance).
Google Help
Content that grows—without getting you fined
Do this
Balance benefits & risks in every post that can influence a financial decision; don’t bury risk warnings in carousels or hashtags. (FCA requires each communication to stand alone.)
FCA
Use plain language and state material conditions (eligibility, fees, APRs, lock-ins, investment risks, etc.).
Label paid/incentivised content clearly and upfront: “Ad”/“#ad” or equivalent—don’t hide it at the end of a caption or behind a “more” fold. (ASA/FTC).
ASA
Federal Trade Commission
Use inclusive creative in housing ads: inclusive copy, imagery, and broad audiences that won’t implicitly filter protected classes. (HUD).
HUD
Archive and approve: for regulated finance, keep records of posts, captions, edits, and influencer assets; pre-approve when required by your firm’s procedures. (FINRA/SEC).
FINRA
Federal Trade Commission
Avoid this
Promissory or guaranteed language (“guaranteed return,” “risk-free,” “we’ll get your mortgage approved”).
Cherry-picked performance (finance) or omitting material information (property features, fees, restrictions). The CMA’s DMCC guidance treats omissions of required info as unfair practices.
GOV.UK
Targeting/exclusions that can discriminate (age, gender, ZIP codes in certain regions; narrow lookalikes) in HEC categories. (Meta/Google).
Unapproved influencer scripts in finance. FINRA has fined firms for influencer posts that were not fair/balanced or supervised.
FINRA
Sector-specific pitfalls (and safe alternatives)
Real estate (UK & US)
Discrimination risk in targeting & copy. Use platform “special” workflows and avoid exclusionary language (“no kids,” “ideal for…” implying protected characteristics). (HUD/Meta).
HUD
Meta Transparency
Material information. UK: the DMCC regime makes it an offence to omit required material info from an “invitation to purchase.” If you post a property on social, link to a landing page one click away with the full details (tenure, council tax/rates, charges, restrictions, flooding/cladding where relevant, etc.).
Financial services (UK)
s21 FSMA approvals. If you’re unauthorised, don’t post inducements without prior approval by an authorised firm (and ongoing attestations where required). Every post must be compliant on its own.
Influencers. You must brief, monitor, and retain evidence; pick influencers who understand the product (no “meme-stocks to the moon” style creative for complex derivatives).
Financial services (US)
SEC Marketing Rule traps: testimonials/endorsements need clear disclosures; performance must be presented fairly; hypothetical performance has strict conditions.
Federal Trade Commission
FINRA supervision & records: treat influencer content as your retail communication—review, approve where required, and archive it.
Direct messages, lists, and retargeting
UK DMs = “electronic mail.” For individuals: require consent or satisfy soft opt-in; include an easy opt-out every time. PECR applies to in-app/social DMs, not just email.
Custom audiences. Extra scrutiny in HEC categories (Meta/Google); avoid narrow audiences or demographic filters that could infer protected traits.
Recordkeeping & off-channel comms (finance)
Regulators have hit firms with large penalties for failing to preserve business communications on personal messaging apps. Train teams to use approved channels and archive everything relevant to promotions and client interactions.
SEC
Safe growth playbook (templates you can copy)
Repeatable content formats
Education first: “How stamp duty works in X,” “5 costs first-time buyers forget,” “Remortgage timeline explained,” “What ‘APR representative’ really means.”
Compliance-friendly CTAs: “Learn more” → landing page with full disclosures, risk warnings, and required information.
Human proof (done right): Client stories with written consent, anonymised where appropriate; include “Results vary / Not investment advice.”
Caption skeletons
Financial services:
Hook: “Debt consolidation can reduce your monthly outgoings—here’s when it makes sense.”
Balance: “Downsides: fees, longer term, and you could pay more interest overall.”
CTA: “Use our explainer to compare options.”
Footer: “Capital is at risk. Not advice. See full risk warnings before acting.” (and add required firm/legal identifiers per your regime.)
Real estate:
Hook: “New listing: 3-bed close to the station—here’s the 60-sec tour.”
Material info pointer: “Full details (tenure, council tax band, service charges, parking, restrictions) → link in bio.”
Inclusive note: keep copy neutral and welcoming.
Influencer & UGC checklist (finance & property)
Contract requires clear #ad/Ad disclosure and prohibits guarantees according to here.
Provide an approved script/key claims and a do-not-say list.
Pre-clear creatives; log final versions and URLs.
Monitor comments for compliance issues (remove/flag misstatements).
Re-verify periodically (posts get edited).
ASA
FCA
Quick compliance checklist
Every post is clear, fair, not misleading; benefits v. risks balanced.
FCA
Ads in Housing/Employment/Credit use the platform’s special workflows and non-discriminatory targeting.
Meta Transparency
Disclosures are upfront: #ad/Ad (and SEC/FCA-style statements when needed).
ASA
Federal Trade Commission
Material information is available within one click (UK property) and never omitted from promotional posts.
GOV.UK
DMs sent only with consent/soft-opt-in to individuals, with easy opt-out.
ICO
Archive posts, stories, edits, comments (finance), and keep approval trails.
Bottom line
You can scale social in real estate and finance without stepping on legal landmines. Build content that educates, disclose relationships and risks clearly, avoid discriminatory targeting, capture the full material info on a click-through page, and treat influencer/UGC like any other regulated ad—with scripts, supervision, and records. That’s how you grow fast and sleep at night.c
