Do advertising rules apply to social media posts?
Yes. The ACCC says any information or claim a business gives about its products or services must be accurate, truthful and based on reasonable grounds, and it lists social media and testimonials among the channels this covers, alongside advertising, quotes and websites. It makes no difference whether the business intended to mislead. That covers captions, images, replies the business posts in comments, and stories that disappear after a day. The ACCC can require a business to back up claims it makes, so keep the evidence behind any factual claim, such as a licence, a product specification or a customer's written permission, where you can find it.
Which claims cause trouble?
The ACCC's guidance on false or misleading claims covers several areas that come up often in small business posts: prices, stock and delivery timeframes, the need for a service, comparisons with competitors, and claims about the future. It advises businesses not to guess facts, make vague claims, make promises they cannot keep or make predictions without solid evidence. Wildly exaggerated statements nobody would take seriously, such as a restaurant claiming the best steaks on earth, are generally treated as puffery. A specific claim, such as 'fully licensed' or 'same-day service', must be true. Images count as well, since a photo of work you did not do misrepresents what you offer.
Can you post customer testimonials and reviews?
Yes, if they are genuine. The ACCC says reviews should be independent and reflect the genuine opinion of the person who used the product or service, and that it is against the law for a business to create fake or misleading reviews or to arrange for others to do so. Reviews can mislead if they are written by family, staff or people paid by the business without the connection being stated, if they come from someone who has not used the service, or if someone else has edited them. When you share a review as a social post, quote it exactly, keep the reviewer's permission on file, and never trim out the negative half of a mixed review.
Can you offer something in return for a review?
The ACCC says businesses that offer incentives, such as discounts or free gifts, for positive reviews risk misleading consumers and breaching the law. Incentives offered for reviews must apply whether the reviewer leaves a positive or negative review, and must be clearly disclosed so readers know the review was incentivised. Suppressing, editing or removing genuine negative reviews can also mislead, and the ACCC says businesses should clearly display their policy for publishing, editing and removing reviews. For a small business, the simplest course is to ask every customer in the same way, offer nothing for a rating, and reply to negative reviews instead of hiding them.
What if you pay or gift an influencer?
If you pay a creator, give them free products or services, or offer any other incentive to post about your business, the post must make that clear. In its December 2023 sweep, the ACCC found that 81 per cent of the 118 influencers it reviewed made posts that raised concerns, most often by not disclosing brand relationships or by using vague terms such as 'sp' or 'spon'. The ACCC says businesses should make sure influencers know their obligations and should not give them scripts that require them to misrepresent their experience. Ad Standards has found social posts in breach of the AANA Code where a commercial arrangement was not clearly disclosed.
What does 'clearly distinguishable' mean for your own posts?
Section 2.7 of the AANA Code of Ethics states that advertising shall be clearly distinguishable as such. Ad Standards says ads should never be disguised as news, independent reviews, private blogs or user-generated content, and that this is particularly relevant on social media. On your own business Page this is rarely an issue, because the account name shows who is posting. It matters when staff post about the business from personal accounts, when you pay for a post on a community page, or when content is written to look like an independent recommendation. In those cases, state the connection plainly in the post, for example that the person works for the business or that the post is paid.