Any form of communication is capable of being a financial advert if it includes an invitation or inducement to engage in financial activity.
Firms have been warned to consider the rapid and far-reaching nature of social media when deciding which promotions to send out through these channels.
Firms must make sure that the original communication is clear, fair and not misleading even if it ends up in front of someone it was not intended for if the message is shared.
The FCA recommended one way of managing this risk was the use of software which enabled advertisers to target particular groups precisely.
Twitter, or any other form of social media which limits space, should be approached cautiously when making the decision to promote complex products, the FCA said.
Sign-posting the product or service with a link which gives more details was recommended but firms were reminded to make sure the promotion being linked to was compliant.
Image advertising was suggested as a way to use character-limited media to promote a firm more generally.
If someone chooses to share a message sent by a firm by retweeting or sharing the link the responsibility for communicating the message lies with the person sharing content and not the firm. But breaches of the rules in the original message remain the responsibility of the financial servives provider. Sharing or forwarding by a third party does not cure any original non-compliance.
Tracey McDermott, FCA director of supervision and authorisations, said: “Social media is already an important tool for industry to engage with customers and its use is only likely to grow.
“Financial promotions, whether on social media or traditional media, must give customers the right information and meet our requirements to be fair, clear and not misleading. We have had extensive industry feedback during our consultation. We believe this guidance reflects a sensible approach that allows the industry to innovate using new forms of media and at the same time ensures customers get the right level of protection.”
To read the full guidance click HERE.
