Social media for care homes and home care: a practical guide

Most people who look at a care home's page are family members making a hard decision, often quickly and often from far away. Residents' relatives follow to see what their parent did this week. Care workers look before applying for a job. Each group wants the same thing: honest evidence that people are cared for with warmth and respect.

Home care providers have the same audiences but fewer group moments to photograph, so staff stories, training and practical guidance for families do more of the work.

Two to four posts a week is plenty. Give the activities coordinator a simple routine: photos only of residents with recorded consent, checked by a manager before posting.

• Monday: the week's activities, such as music, gardening or a visiting entertainer.
• Tuesday: the menu, or a baking session told through the food.
• Wednesday: a staff story, with their role and why they do the job.
• Thursday: a resident's activity, posted only with their consent.
• Friday: community news, such as a school visit or a fundraising event.

UK: the Mental Capacity Act starts from the principle that a person has capacity to make a decision unless it is proved otherwise, and that people should be helped to make their own decisions where possible. Where someone lacks capacity, a decision must be made in their best interests, taking their views, wishes and beliefs into account. An attorney under a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney, or a court-appointed deputy, can make some decisions on their behalf. Being in a photo used to market the home is a decision like any other, so treat it with the same care, and if a person cannot decide and the benefit is mainly to your marketing, the simplest answer is not to post.

US: a CMS memo to state survey agencies says taking photographs or recordings of a nursing home resident or their private space without the resident's or their representative's written consent violates their right to privacy, with examples including a resident eating in the dining room or taking part in an activity in a common area. It says any photo or recording that demeans or humiliates a resident must be investigated as possible abuse regardless of whether the resident consented and regardless of their cognitive status, and it treats contractors and volunteers as staff.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country and change, so check with your regulator, trade body or a lawyer before you post prices, claims or photos of the people you serve.

1. Ask each resident, in a way they can understand, whether they are happy to appear on social media, and record the answer in their care plan.
2. Ask again when circumstances change, and remove posts promptly if someone changes their mind.
3. Where a resident lacks capacity for this decision, follow your Mental Capacity Act process and involve their attorney or family.
4. Never post personal care, bedrooms, medication, distress, or anything that could embarrass the person later.
5. Do not add surnames, room numbers or health details to captions.
6. Make it a rule that staff never post residents on their personal accounts.

Sources: NHS: Mental Capacity Act, checked 15 October 2026; CMS memo S&C 16-33-NH: Protecting resident privacy, photographs and recordings by nursing home staff (August 2016, PDF), checked 15 October 2026

England: regulation 20A requires providers rated by the CQC to show their most recent rating on every website they maintain, with the CQC's website address and a link to the latest assessment, and to display signs with the rating at their premises. If you mention your rating in a post, make sure it is the current one and link to the report.

The CMA's consumer law advice for care homes says providers should give an accurate and representative indication of weekly fees for self-funders, what is and is not included, any significant unavoidable extra costs and any upfront payments. It says marketing and advertising claims must be truthful and accurate, giving the example that you must not claim an extensive range of daily activities or an activity coordinator when that is not true. Your social media is marketing, so the activities you show should be ones residents really get.

Sources: Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, regulation 20A: display of performance assessments, checked 15 October 2026; GOV.UK (CMA): UK care home providers for older people, advice on consumer law (CMA96, PDF), checked 15 October 2026

Comments from relatives can be emotional, especially about an incident, a death or fees. Never discuss a resident's care, health or circumstances in public, even if a relative has posted the details. Thank them, say you are sorry they are upset, and give the registered manager's name and a direct way to reach them.

Ask families for Google reviews the same way, for example a few weeks after a resident settles in, and never at a difficult moment. Google bans incentives, selectively asking happy families, discouraging negative reviews and reviews from staff or anyone else with a conflict of interest.

Source: Google Maps user-generated content policy: fake engagement, checked 15 October 2026

Plan around the activities calendar, seasonal events and family occasions like Mothering Sunday and Christmas, when relatives visit and look at your page.

Disclosure: Zolyp, which publishes this guide, makes an AI social media manager. It plans a balanced week across your content pillars, writes the captions and designs the visuals in your brand voice, and schedules them to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You can add your own photos to any post, and you start by approving every post. Brand Brain can hold topics you never want covered, such as residents' health or names. Zolyp does not see consent records or capacity assessments, so a manager should check every post that shows a resident before approving it. Everything in this guide works just as well done by hand.

• Week 1: publish the activities calendar and check consent records are current.
• Week 2: one staff story and one menu or garden post.
• Week 3: one resident activity with recorded consent and one community post.
• Week 4: reply to reviews, check your rating and links are current, and plan next month.