Social media etiquette for businesses: the do's and don'ts

A personal account can be grumpy, joke about anything and ignore messages. A business account is part of your shop window and your customer service at the same time. Every post, reply and comment you leave on someone else's account says something about how you treat people.

Most etiquette mistakes aren't scandals. They're small things that add up: a reply that sounds like a robot, a stolen photo, a sales pitch in someone's comments, a promotional post on a day of bad news. This guide collects the habits that keep a small business account on the right side of them.

Etiquette also gets easier when it's written down. If more than one person posts or replies for your business, put the main rules in your brand voice guide or social media policy, so a new member of staff or a freelancer doesn't have to guess. A one-page list of do's and don'ts, plus the checklist at the end of this guide, covers most situations.

The basic rule is to post things your followers would want to see, not only things you want to say. Promotional posts are fine; a feed made of nothing else isn't.

Replies are where people decide whether there's a person behind the account. Answer questions, thank people for kind comments and keep the tone the same as you'd use at the counter. Sign off with a first name if several people reply, so customers know who they're talking to.

Don't argue in public, don't reply sarcastically to complaints, and don't use engagement bait such as asking people to like, tag or comment to boost a post. If a conversation turns personal, take it to a private message and keep the public reply short and polite.

Humour is fine if it suits your brand, but aim it at yourself or the situation, never at a customer. A witty reply that makes the business look good at a customer's expense often gets shared for the wrong reasons. When in doubt, be warm and plain.

• Reply to questions within the working day you've promised
• Like or thank people for positive comments, in varied words
• Correct mistakes politely, with facts rather than blame
• Never share a customer's personal details in public, even if they did
• Don't delete fair criticism; reply to it

Using other people's work is the most common etiquette mistake that can turn into a legal one. Instagram's copyright guidance says giving credit, adding a disclaimer or not making money from it doesn't stop a post infringing someone's copyright, and that it's generally a good idea to get written permission before posting someone else's work. The same applies to photos you find online, memes built on other people's images and music in videos.

Disclosure matters too. If you give a creator a free product, pay them, or work with friends or family who post about you, they should say so. The FTC's guidance for influencers says to disclose any financial, employment, personal or family relationship, to put the disclosure where it's hard to miss, and not to assume a platform's disclosure tool is enough on its own.

• Ask before posting a customer's or creator's photo, and credit them by handle
• Use platform features like reposts and collab posts where they fit; Instagram only lets you repost public posts when the original creator allows reposts
• Use licensed music, stock and fonts, and keep the licences
• Make sure anyone you pay or gift clearly discloses it
• Don't ask staff to post about you without saying they work for you

Sources: Instagram Help Centre: How to make sure content you post to Instagram or Threads doesn't violate copyright law, checked 15 October 2026; Instagram Help Centre: Repost a reel or a post on Instagram, checked 15 October 2026; FTC: Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers, checked 15 October 2026

Commenting on other accounts, joining groups and sending messages can all help your business, but only if you behave like a guest. People notice the business that drops its link under every post far more than the one that adds something useful.

• Comment to add something: an answer, an experience or a kind word, not your link
• Read a group's rules before posting, and only promote where they allow it
• Don't cold-pitch by direct message to people who haven't shown interest
• Don't tag strangers or other businesses in promotional posts
• Respect competitors in public; never comment on their posts to criticise them
• Comment as the business only where that's normal; on LinkedIn, the owner's personal profile often fits better

When something tragic or serious is in the news, check what you have scheduled. A cheerful promotion that goes out in the middle of a national tragedy or a local emergency looks careless, even though it was planned weeks ago. Pause or move it.

Be careful with awareness days and causes. Only post about them if your business has a real connection or is doing something practical; otherwise it can read as jumping on a cause for attention. Our social media holidays calendar flags dates worth planning around, but choose the ones that fit you.

Trends need the same care. Before joining a meme, a sound or a challenge, check what it's about and where it started, because some trends carry meanings that aren't obvious from a few examples. If you can't explain the joke in one sentence, skip it.

• Check your scheduled posts when big news breaks, and pause anything that could read badly
• Don't use tragedies, disasters or conflicts as a hook for a promotion
• Avoid politics and divisive topics unless they're directly part of what your business does
• If you post about a cause, say what you're actually doing about it

Most etiquette problems can be caught in thirty seconds before you press publish. Run through this list, or add it to your approval workflow so whoever signs off checks it too.

1. Is it useful, interesting or kind to the people who'll see it?
2. Is it posting from the right account, at the right time?
3. Do you have permission for every photo, video, song and quote in it?
4. Is anyone who was paid or gifted something disclosed clearly?
5. Are names, prices, dates and links correct?
6. Could anything read badly given today's news?
7. Would you be happy for a customer to read it out loud in your shop?

Zolyp, which we make, writes posts against your Brand Brain, which holds your tone of voice, audience and banned topics, and nothing publishes to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads until you approve it, unless you choose Autopilot for a pillar. That gives you a moment to run the checklist above. It doesn't answer comments, messages or reviews for you; that part stays with a person. Plans that create the posts start at $29 a month, Lite is $9 a month per brand if you only want to schedule posts you make yourself, team members are unlimited on every plan, and there's a 3-day free trial.