Social Media Conduct

Purpose

The purpose of this guideline is to help you understand BCFSA’s professional conduct expectations of real estate licensees when using social media. As a real estate licensee, your conduct on social media reflects not only on yourself, but also on the broader real estate industry and public perception of licensees. This means you have a duty to maintain professional and ethical conduct when using social media, in both a professional and personal context. This guideline outlines key expectations and best practices to help you navigate social media use in a way that aligns with your regulatory responsibilities.

Guidelines

Be Mindful of the Overarching Principles of Social Media Conduct

As a starting point, real estate professionals should be guided by the following set of principles in relation to social media conduct. While these principles are intended to be applied to a social media setting, where applicable, you should apply them to all forms of communication, whether that is on social media, in other forms of online communication, in print, or in-person.

Do	Do not
Do act responsibly on social media, by exercising good judgement and assume that anything you post online is public and accessible to all.	Do not engage in unprofessional, aggressive, disrespectful, or intimidating behavior on social media, including: using abusive or offensive language; engaging in defamatory communication; or insults or threats.
Do communicate respectfully and in a way that promotes and protects the image and integrity of the real estate profession.	Do not post discriminatory statements or hate speech against any person or group.
Do demonstrate accountability and responsibility in your posts.	Do not post any client confidential information on social media, even in closed or private forums.
Do separate personal and professional social media accounts and set your personal account posting visibility to a more private option.	Do not use personal social media accounts for business purposes or in connection with your business.

Demonstrate Professional Responsibility

As a real estate licensee, when using social media in either a personal or professional context, you are a representative of the real estate industry and are expected to uphold the standards of conduct as set out in Section 35 of the Real Estate Services Act, as well as the Real Estate Services Rules. As a result, you are both accountable and responsible for your behavior on social media.

A good way of testing whether the content you are about to post is appropriate is to ask yourself if you would make these comments in person in a public forum. If you would be uncomfortable making a comment in a public space, it is likely not an appropriate thing to post on social media either.

Use Respectful Communication

You should communicate respectfully on social media and in a way that promotes and protects the image and integrity of the profession. This means always maintaining a professional tone and demeanor on social media, especially in professional settings.

It is prudent not to engage in any arguments on social media, including in comment sections or online threads, that could escalate into unprofessional, aggressive, disrespectful, or intimidating behavior.

Any defamatory statements published on social media regarding a client, a member of the public, or another real estate licensee, can reflect poorly on your professionalism and result in legal consequences.

Be Accountable and Responsive to Public Engagement

If a member of the public contacts you about a certain post, picture, or meme on your social media account that also advertises your real estate services, be responsive to their concerns – don’t ignore it. You should demonstrate accountability and responsibility for any of your social media posts (even if you did not create the post, picture or meme yourself and have instead reposted / forwarded it), while staying courteous and professional in your response to any member of the public.

Separate Your Personal and Professional Accounts

If you have both personal and professional social media accounts, it is best practice to keep your personal and professional content separate.

While you may feel entitled to use your personal social media account for however you see fit – for example engaging in political activity or activism that you would not otherwise engage with on your professional account – you should still exercise caution and remind yourself that you are a representative of the real estate industry. This means upholding professional responsibility and communicating with respect.

You should also exercise caution when blending social media posts for any different businesses or employment you may have. Outside of specific professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, consider separating your professional real estate services account with any other accounts that promote other forms of employment you have. If you do have any other forms of employment other than real estate services, you should ensure that your managing broker is aware.

Summary

A prudent licensee would apply the same level of care to both their personal and professional activity on social media. This includes always communicating respectfully and professionally, and, before posting any content, considering: “Would I feel comfortable making this statement in a public forum, in front of clients, colleagues, or the regulator?”

When in doubt, it is best to err on the side of professionalism by valuing facts over speculation, avoiding inflammatory or polarizing commentary, and engaging in a way that reflects the trust placed on real estate licensees.

If you do not uphold the standards set out in these guidelines, it could result in regulatory discipline if it constitutes professional misconduct or “conduct unbecoming a licensee”, defined as conduct that is contrary to the best interests to the public, undermines public confidence in the real estate industry, or brings the real estate industry into disrepute. This can include the conduct of a licensee in their personal life (e.g. on a personal social media account).

Managing Broker Considerations

Managing brokers play an important role in overseeing and guiding the activities of licensees. When it comes to overseeing the social media use of your brokerage or its related licensees, there are several important considerations:

Brokerage policies

Establish clear social media policies and guidelines across your brokerage. These should cover both professional and personal use of social media, emphasize the importance of upholding professional standards, and a focus on communicating respectfully.

Educate your licensees

Ensure that all licensees in your brokerage are well informed about the expectations that are placed on them as representatives of the real estate industry when using social media in both a personal and professional context. This includes ensuring that your licensees make their unlicensed assistant(s) aware of these policies, even if they are not directly employed by the brokerage. Consider providing training on social media use, including topics like professional and ethical standards.

Educate administrative staff

You may have administrative staff who are not real estate licensees but manage the social media accounts of the brokerage. Ensure these staff members are also well informed of the expectations around social media use in a professional context.

Ongoing supervision

Continuously monitor how social media is being used by your licensees and across the brokerage. Regularly review BCFSA’s social media guidelines and information to ensure it aligns with the expectations set out for real estate licensees in your brokerage. When issues do arise and come to your attention, addressing them quickly and proactively will help maintain confidence in the real estate industry while also avoiding potential regulatory penalties.

Applicable Sections of Legislation

• Section 35, Real Estate Services Act, Misconduct by licensee
• Section 36, Real Estate Services Act, Complaints against licensee
• Section 37, Real Estate Services Act, Investigations of licensees
• Section 28, Real Estate Services Rules, Managing broker responsibilities
• Section 30, Real Estate Services Rules, Duties to clients
• Section 33, Real Estate Services Rules, Duty to act honestly
• Section 34, Real Estate Services Rules, Duty to act with reasonable care and skill

* Additional Rules and/or enactments may apply, depending on the facts.

Definitions

Conduct unbecoming is when a licensee engages in any conduct that, in the judgement of the Superintendent of Real Estate:

• Is contrary to the best interest of the public;
• Undermines the public confidence in the real estate industry; or
• Brings the real estate industry into disrepute.

Real estate services mean

• Rental property management services;
• Strata management services; or
• Trading services.

Social media refers to websites and digital applications that allow users to create and share content or participate in social networking. It includes commonly recognized platforms such as Facebook, X, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, WeChat, WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn, as well as blogs, and online forums.

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