Social media for solar installers: a practical guide for 2026

Solar is a big, considered purchase. Most people research for weeks, compare quotes and worry about being mis-sold. Your social accounts should answer their questions plainly and show real installations on real homes.

Facebook reaches homeowners and local groups. Instagram shows the quality of the install. YouTube suits longer explainers about batteries, inverters and what happens on install day. LinkedIn matters if you install for businesses, farms or schools. Google Business Profile helps people who search for installers nearby.

Give each post a job. Some show the work, some explain the technology, and some answer the doubts that stop people booking a survey.

• Monday: a finished install, with the system size and the customer's permission.
• Tuesday: an explainer. Batteries, inverters, orientation or shading, in plain words.
• Wednesday: install day behind the scenes: scaffolding, roof work, the tidy cable run.
• Thursday: a customer's real generation or bill results, shared with permission and the basis stated.
• Friday: a question answered, such as "what happens on a survey?"
• Monthly: an update on schemes or tariffs that actually apply where you work.

Savings are what people want to hear about and what regulators watch most closely. In April 2026, the ASA and CAP said advertisers making "up to" savings claims for green home products such as solar panels need evidence that a significant proportion of customers can actually achieve the maximum saving. Where a claim rests on a narrow set of circumstances, that needs to be clear, and material information about the basis of the claim should be in the ad itself. Words such as "drastically" may be read as overstating savings.

In practice: give the system size, the type of home, the period and whether the figure is modelled or measured. A real customer's first-year figures, shared with their permission and labelled as one example, are more convincing than a headline percentage.

• Say "this 4kW system on a south-facing semi generated X in its first year" rather than "slash your bills".
• State whether a saving is modelled or measured.
• Include the cost of the system when you talk about payback.

Source: ASA/CAP: Bill-ieve it or not, making greener homes savings claims add up (9 April 2026), checked 15 October 2026

Solar is a green product, but that does not make every green claim safe to post. The CMA's Green Claims Code says claims must be truthful and accurate, clear and unambiguous, must not omit or hide important information, must make fair comparisons, must consider the full life cycle, and must be substantiated. It warns that vague statements of environmental benefit are more likely to be misleading. The ASA also expects marketers to explain the basis of environmental claims and to hold robust evidence.

In the US, the FTC's Green Guides say marketers should not make unqualified general environmental benefit claims such as "eco-friendly", and should use clear qualifying language that limits the claim to a specific benefit. "Zero carbon home" or "100% green" are hard to prove. "Generates electricity on site from sunlight" is easy.

Sources: CMA: Green Claims Code, environmental claims on goods and services, checked 15 October 2026; ASA Advice Online: Environmental claims, general, checked 15 October 2026; 16 CFR 260.4: General environmental benefit claims (FTC Green Guides), checked 15 October 2026

Incentives change, and old posts keep circulating. In the US, the IRS says the 30% Residential Clean Energy Credit is not available for any property placed in service after 31 December 2025. If you have pinned posts, highlights or ads that mention it for homeowners, update or remove them.

The FTC warns consumers to avoid solar companies that say a government program will cover the whole cost, or that claim to be from or affiliated with the government. Never imply either. In the UK, the ASA says "free" must not be used if people pay anything beyond the unavoidable cost of responding or delivery.

In Great Britain, Ofgem describes the Smart Export Guarantee as a scheme that requires some electricity suppliers to pay small-scale low-carbon generators for electricity they export, with suppliers setting the rate as long as it is above zero. Explain it accurately and point people to compare tariffs. MCS describes itself as the UK's quality mark for small-scale renewable energy systems. If you are certified, show it; if not, do not use the logo. The ASA has ruled that implying membership through logos without documentary evidence is misleading.

Sources: IRS: Residential Clean Energy Credit, checked 15 October 2026; FTC Consumer Alert: Solar energy is rising in popularity. So are the scams (26 September 2024), checked 15 October 2026; ASA Advice Online: Use of "free", checked 15 October 2026; Ofgem: Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), checked 15 October 2026; MCS: About us, checked 15 October 2026; ASA ruling on Hanson Roofing and Building Ltd (30 October 2019), checked 15 October 2026

Ask every customer for a review in the same way once the system is running. Google's policy bans incentives for reviews and selectively asking only happy customers, and the FTC's 2024 rule bans buying fake reviews or rewarding reviews with a particular sentiment.

Disclosure: this guide is published by Zolyp, an AI social media manager. Zolyp plans a calendar around your content pillars, writes and designs each post, and schedules it to Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Business, X, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and Threads. You start in review-everything mode, so nothing goes live without your approval. Brand Brain can hold words you never want used, such as "free solar" or "slash your bills". Zolyp does not check savings or environmental claims against ASA, CMA or FTC rules, so read every post before you approve it. Everything in this guide works just as well done by hand.

• Week 1: check every scheme or incentive you mention still applies, and update old posts.
• Week 2: photograph two installs and ask one customer if you can share their results.
• Week 3: post one explainer video and one commercial post on LinkedIn.
• Week 4: check which posts led to survey bookings and plan next month.

Sources: Google Maps user-generated content policy: fake engagement, checked 15 October 2026; FTC: Federal Trade Commission announces final rule banning fake reviews and testimonials (14 August 2024), checked 15 October 2026