Financial services. Wealth management, financial planning, accounting, lending, insurance. Operate under some of the strictest marketing regulations in Australia. ASIC, APRA, and the Corporations Act all have provisions that apply to social media communications. Yet clients increasingly expect their financial professionals to have a visible, trustworthy social media presence.
The regulatory framework
ASIC RG 234. Advertising financial products
Any social media post that promotes a financial product or service is "advertising" under ASIC's regulatory guide. This means balanced messaging, warnings where required, and no misleading or deceptive conduct. A post that highlights returns without mentioning risk is a problem.
General vs personal advice
Social media content almost always falls into general advice territory. This is fine, but requires a General Advice Warning. Either in the post or linked from your bio. Personal advice on social media (tailoring guidance to someone's specific situation in the comments) is extremely risky.
Content strategies that comply
- Market commentary. Share your perspective on market movements, economic data, or policy changes. Opinion and analysis are educational, not advice, when framed correctly.
- Financial literacy. "What is a franking credit?" "How does compound interest work?" Educational content builds authority and is fully compliant.
- Process transparency. Show how your firm works. What happens in a first meeting? How do you build a financial plan? Demystifying your process reduces anxiety for potential clients.
- Team and culture. Introduce your team, share your firm's values, show community involvement. Trust is built through familiarity.
The compliance workflow
Every financial services firm posting on social media needs a documented compliance workflow:
- Pre-approval for all posts before publishing
- A designated compliance reviewer (or AI-assisted first pass)
- Archival of all published and unpublished content
- Regular review of historical posts for ongoing compliance
- Staff social media policy covering personal and professional accounts
Brand and Go's Compliance Portal handles the first pass. AI scores posts against your uploaded compliance documents and AFSL conditions, flags risks, and routes flagged content to your compliance team. Every post, every score, every decision is logged with a full audit trail.