A monthly compliance check before posts go live

Key takeaways

A monthly compliance check for social media posts is one 20 to 30 minute pass over the approved month before it is scheduled, looking at six things: offers and terms, prices, claims you must be able to back up, labelling of ads and gifted content, permissions for people shown, and music and images you have the right to use. Scheduled posts break rules just as reliably as good ones publish.

• 6 checks: offers, prices, claims, ad labels, people, rights.
• 20 to 30 minutes for a month, done before scheduling.
• Your own social posts count as advertising under the CAP Code.
• Regulated sectors need their own rules checked too.

Why check compliance monthly?

Because a month of scheduled posts publishes without anyone looking again. Checking once, at the point the month is approved, catches problems while they are easy to fix. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) treats marketing on a business's own social media accounts as advertising under the CAP Code, so the same rules apply as for any advert.

• How to build a monthly social media content calendar
• ASA rules for social media advertising in the UK

What are the six checks?

Go through the month once with this list:

• Offers: closing dates, eligibility and key terms are stated clearly.
• Prices: current, including VAT where needed, and any 'was' price is genuine.
• Claims: 'best', 'cheapest', results and testimonials can be backed up.
• Ads and gifts: paid, gifted or affiliate content is clearly labelled.
• People: customers, staff and children shown have agreed.
• Rights: you own or are licensed to use every image and music track.

• GDPR and social media marketing in the UK
• Social media giveaways in the UK: rules and real results

Which sectors need extra checks?

Regulated sectors have rules on top of the CAP Code. Financial firms must follow FCA rules on financial promotions. Clinics must avoid advertising prescription-only medicines to the public and keep health claims within the rules. Solicitors follow SRA standards, estate agents must give material information, and food businesses must be accurate about allergens.

• A clinic social media calendar within the rules
• A content calendar for accountants, solicitors and advisers

How is this different from a post checklist?

A post checklist covers every post before it goes live: spelling, links, image and call to action. The compliance check is narrower and done once a month across the whole plan, looking only at rules and rights. Use both: the post checklist for quality, the monthly check for risk.

• Social media post checklist: ten checks before you publish

When do you need professional advice?

Get advice when a post makes a claim you are unsure you can prove, in a regulated sector without a compliance lead, or for prize promotions with significant prizes. The ASA's free advice service and your trade body can help. This check reduces risk; it does not replace legal advice.

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: a month scheduled with an offer whose terms changed after the posts were made, and a 'was £80' price that was never charged. A 20-minute check before scheduling usually catches both, which is far easier than correcting a live post.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Compliance check checklist

• Check the month once, after approval and before scheduling.
• Offers: terms and closing dates.
• Prices and 'was' prices.
• Claims and testimonials.
• Ad labels, permissions and rights.
• Sector rules where they apply.

• How to schedule LinkedIn posts for the month
• Hand over a content calendar to an agency or freelancer

Next step

Add a 'compliance checked' step between approved and scheduled in your calendar, and use the six checks next month.