Having trouble figuring out Facebook ad policy? Want to get clear on what to do to make sure Facebook doesn’t shut you down?
You’re in the right place. If you’ve ever had your Facebook ad account restricted, it’s a huge blow to your source of income when ads get rejected full stop. Unlike other blogs or websites that just guess about Facebook – I’ve worked at Meta in ads and will guide you to a solution.
My last blog provided you guidance with restricted ad accounts too. Right now, I’ll help you get a better grasp on facebook ad policy and provide a few pro tips on the automations that drop the ban hammer to ensure your Facebook ads stay active.
Facebook Ad Policy Overview
Simply said, Facebook’s audience is huge, it’s global. And with the size of this audience being literally the entire Earth, Meta has engineered their automations to enforce the Facebook ad policy from broad strokes. Advertisers can get banned easily – but why can also be a mystery.
The reason why is the scale of support doesn’t match the size of the audience so Facebook employs bots to make human decisions. Keep in mind, ad policies aren’t the only thing Facebook enforces. The Community Standards govern regular use of Facebook for non-advertisers. 2.5 billion daily active users is a lot to scan for.
Given that Meta or Facebook’s bandwidth is strained, from layoffs, reduced staff, their reliance on automations has only increased over the years. How often do you daydream looking out the window, and imagine the world the eyes of a machine? Probably not that often unless you’re in the super hot field of AI right now.
If you don’t know how to think like the automations who are scanning and shutting ad agencies down left and right, you’re going to be a little lost diagnosing why your Facebook ads are rejected or Facebook Business Manager is disabled. (Also peep the Facebook Ad Policies Checklist)
If you’re like my client Jack Randall, President of Social Flight, you’re tired of beating your head against the wall trying to guess why Facebook has shut you down, and want answers faster.
“Trevor helped me successfully diagnose exactly why my ad account was disabled, and helped me frame out a plan to move forward.” 👍🏻
Click here, to schedule a discovery call.
Facebook Ad Policy: Additional policies that may apply to your ad
JRR Tolkien has the timeless line, “One ring to rule them all,” and so many ad agencies take this approach when attempting to figure out why they were banned.
Facebook’s automations that enforce Facebook ad policy are custom tailored differently per industry. Or there are subroutines for how they employ flags based on the type of business you run.
If you’re running political or real estate ads you’ll be under higher scrutiny because those belong to the special ad categories. But, that’s only an obvious one. Running weightloss ads, or how-to-start a business online ads come with their own degree of risk too.
All because of the nuances for how Meta’s automations enforce Facebook ad policy for those industries. And unfortunately for you, Facebook isn’t transparent about what this looks like in real life, beyond their hypothetical Blueprint courses. (Check out my article Facebook ad account disabled next steps).
As Liana Lang, CEO of Power Up Strategy Inc. said, “Please meet Trevor, my ‘secret weapon’ for all things Facebook compliance. I highly recommend hiring him to help you out especially if you plan to be running ads.”
Want the same white glove treatment navigating Facebook shutdowns?
Click here, to schedule a discovery call.
Facebook Ad Policy: The ad review process
When you submit an ad for review, one of the 1st steps the automations do for facebook ad policies is to examine your track record. While you may think the bots look at just your ad copy and creative, they actually look deeper.
The bots want to make sure you don’t have a history of Circumventing Systems, or countless ad rejections. The ad review could also be rephrased as an “ad account resume check.”
Navigating Facebook’s Advertising Policies as a Business is a good read too to add context and clarity.
What to do if your ad is rejected or if your business asset is restricted
The best thing you can do to not get on the bad side of facebook ad policy is to review the ad copy first. Does it sound crazy? I know you’re thinking, “Well it sounded good to me.” But don’t think like yourself, think like an old man scared of the world who mistrusts ads.
Then, check out the claims you’ve made after kicking the pain points. Are they huge promises? Have you called out a specific group of people too personally? These are the type of questions you want to start asking looking at your ads.
Don’t get ripped off! Read How to Recover Facebook Ad Accounts now
If you’ve been shutdown and wanted a path forward but Facebook stayed silent on what exactly triggered the ban you’re like one of my clients, Steve Martinez, Vice President of Apollidon Learning.
“Trevor took us through the process of getting one of our University of Texas ad accounts reinstated (within minutes). He offered some critical insights to why our Facebook Ad Account was disabled and shared options to reduce our chances of future issues.”
Want to see how I can help you? Schedule a free discovery call here. Or, if you’re in a rush, prepay for your consulting call and skip the line.
Unacceptable content
Facebook Ad Policy Deceptive content
Facebook ad policy deceptive content: is the driver of probably over 80% of all flags and shutdowns on Facebook. It covers these topics:
Unacceptable Business Practices
Cheating and Deceitful Practices
Unrealistic Outcomes
Circumventing Systems
Prohibited Financial Products and Services
Spyware or Malware
Nonexistent Functionality
And out of these potential flags, the number 1 most frequently used flag is the Unacceptable Business Practices flag. Followed by Unrealistic Outcomes, then Circumventing Systems. And lastly, the Nonexistent Functionality flag.
Sure, the other flags you can get hit with too, but out of hundreds of thousands of advertisers I’ve worked with over the years, both working at Facebook and in my own practice, these are the top 4 flags I’ve seen that’s what I’ve seen for deceptive content.
For unacceptable business practices – really this flag is used a lot when your ads sound spammy. Making gigantic promises that don’t sound realistic (that piggy backs onto unrealistic outcomes flag).
Make sure your claims seem reasonable to an audience of skeptics – because that’s what the bots are.
Already completely banned?
If you are running ads and spending $100K a year or more on ads, I can help with that.
Also check out: Top Reasons Why Facebook Disables Ad Accounts
Facebook Ad Policy Dangerous content
I’ve seen more honest mistakes for this flag than many others. Facebook ad policy dangerous content covers: