Social media for pharmacies: a practical guide

Most people find a pharmacy when they need one now: late opening, a bank holiday, a service they have just heard about. Google Business Profile and Facebook do most of the work. Instagram and short video build familiarity with your pharmacists, so people feel comfortable walking in to ask.

Two to four posts a week is enough. Keep a list of the questions customers ask at the counter and turn one into a post each week.

• Monday: a service you offer, what it involves and how to book.
• Tuesday: general health advice, such as how to store medicines safely or dispose of old ones.
• Wednesday: meet the team, with each person's role.
• Thursday: a seasonal reminder, such as hay fever, winter illnesses or travel health, without naming prescription products.
• Friday: weekend and holiday opening hours.

Under rule 12.12 of the CAP Code, prescription-only medicines (POMs) cannot be advertised to the public. The ASA says any reference to a POM on your social media pages, including images and hashtags, is likely to be seen as an implied ad, and that a post with no POM in it can still break the rules if it links to a page that promotes one. A reference to a consultation for an area of treatment is likely to be acceptable, as long as the POM is not referred to directly or indirectly.

On 11 April 2025 the ASA, MHRA and GPhC published a joint enforcement notice saying that ads for named weight-loss POMs are prohibited, including online, on social media and by influencers. The GPhC said that adverts and special price offers should not be used for prescription-only medicines, because they are likely to promote the specific medicine.

The GPhC's guidance for pharmacies working at a distance tells them to follow the law and guidance on advertising and promoting medicines, pointing to the MHRA's Blue Guide and the ASA's rules. It also says a platform may let people give a preferred medicine before a consultation, but must make clear that treatment decisions are for the prescriber and the person to consider together in the consultation.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country and change, so check with your regulator, professional body or a lawyer before you post claims, prices or patient stories.

• Safer: "Book a consultation about weight management with our pharmacist."
• Not acceptable: a named weight-loss injection, a pen or vial in the photo, a price offer on a POM, or a brand hashtag.
• Check the landing page your post links to, not just the post.

Sources: ASA Advice Online: Healthcare, prescription-only medicine, checked 15 October 2026; ASA: ASA partners with MHRA and GPhC to reinforce rules on the advertising of weight-loss drugs online (April 2025), checked 15 October 2026; GPhC: Guidance for registered pharmacies providing pharmacy services at a distance, including on the internet (PDF, February 2025), checked 15 October 2026; GOV.UK (MHRA): Blue Guide, advertising and promoting medicines, checked 15 October 2026

The GPhC says its standards for pharmacy professionals apply equally on social media. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians should not share information about people and their care without consent, and it gives posting a picture of a patient and asking for advice as an example of what is not appropriate. It asks them to check that what they share is evidence based, and to declare personal or professional interests. In one case study, a pharmacy professional who posted misleading claims about a product they could benefit from was found in breach of its standards.

US: HHS's HIPAA marketing guidance gives prescription refill reminders sent by a pharmacy as an example of a treatment communication that is not marketing. Most other uses of a patient's health information for marketing need their written authorisation, and if a third party pays for the communication, the authorisation must say so.

Sources: GPhC: Using social media platforms professionally (April 2025), checked 15 October 2026; HHS: HIPAA Privacy Rule guidance on marketing, checked 15 October 2026

Ask every customer for a review the same way, such as a QR code at the counter. Google bans incentives for reviews and selectively asking happy customers, and the FTC's rule in the US bans incentives conditioned on a review's sentiment.

When someone describes symptoms or names their medicine in a comment, do not diagnose or confirm what they take. Give general advice, suggest they speak to a pharmacist in private, and give the phone number.

1. Thank reviewers without confirming any medicine, condition or prescription.
2. For complaints, give the manager's name and a direct contact.
3. Answer stock and opening questions publicly; move anything personal to a private conversation.
4. Keep a record of replies to complaints in case the regulator asks.

Sources: Google Maps user-generated content policy: fake engagement, checked 15 October 2026; Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews, checked 15 October 2026; FTC final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (August 2024), checked 15 October 2026

Pharmacy has a clear seasonal rhythm: hay fever in spring, travel health before the summer holidays, and coughs, colds and winter services later in the year. Post about each a few weeks before it peaks.

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 banned topics, so you can list prescription medicine names to keep out of captions. Zolyp does not check posts against ASA, MHRA or GPhC rules, so have a pharmacist approve each week. Everything in this guide works just as well done by hand.

• Week 1: check Google hours, holiday cover and the services list.
• Week 2: write one service post and one seasonal reminder, with no prescription brand names.
• Week 3: introduce a team member and answer one common question.
• Week 4: reply to reviews and note which posts led to bookings or calls.