A clinic social media calendar within the rules

Key takeaways

A clinic social media calendar has to build trust within strict rules. Plan slots for education (what a treatment involves and who it suits), the clinical team and their qualifications, the patient experience, and occasional consented results. Check every month's posts for health claims, and never promote prescription-only medicines such as Botox to the public.

• Slots: education, team, patient experience, consented results.
• Prescription-only medicines must not be advertised to the public.
• Health claims must be backed by evidence under the CAP Code.
• Patient photos are health data: written consent first.

What should a clinic post?

Four slots suit most clinics, dental practices and physios: education that explains treatments, risks and who they are and are not for; the team, with their qualifications; the patient experience, such as what a first appointment is like; and, occasionally, results with explicit consent and honest context. Booking posts sit alongside them.

• How to build a monthly social media content calendar
• Social media for UK healthcare and clinic businesses

Which advertising rules apply?

Prescription-only medicines, including botulinum toxin such as Botox, must not be advertised to the public, so promote consultations rather than the medicine. Health and efficacy claims must be backed by evidence under the CAP Code. Before-and-after images must not be edited or filtered in a way that exaggerates results.

• A monthly compliance check before posts go live
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How do you handle patient images and stories?

Photos and stories about a patient's health are special category data under UK GDPR, so get explicit written consent that covers social media, keep a record, and remove posts if consent is withdrawn. Never reply to a patient's comment with details of their treatment; move the conversation to a private, secure channel.

• GDPR and social media marketing in the UK

Which dates matter for clinics?

Relevant awareness weeks for your specialty, January health goals, pre-summer and pre-wedding season for aesthetics, and back-to-school for family dental practices. Use awareness weeks to educate, not to sell. Plan opening hours around bank holidays and Christmas.

• Awareness days on social media: which to use

When should a clinic post less?

Post less when nobody has time to check claims and consent properly. In a regulated field, three careful posts a month are better than twelve risky ones. Get an experienced reviewer to check anything about a new treatment.

• How clinics turn social media followers into patients

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern with aesthetics clinics: offers on named prescription medicines and filtered results, which risk complaints and removal. Moving to consultations, education and consented, unfiltered results usually keeps the account safe and still brings bookings.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Clinic calendar checklist

• Plan education, team, experience and results slots.
• Promote consultations, not prescription medicines.
• Check every claim for evidence.
• Get written consent for patient images.
• Move clinical questions to private channels.

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Next step

Review last month's posts for any named prescription medicine, unproven claim or filtered result, and fix or remove them before planning next month.