Facebook Advertising can be a very tricky thing.
Especially if you’re just interested in running your business and not worrying about the finer details of Facebook and their million and one rules.
(that change every three to six months or so)
Here’s the deal if you’re going to do Facebook Advertising you have to be mindful of a few things.
Now I’m not saying that if you follow each and every one “rules” your Ads will ALWAYS be approved and you will ALWAYS get the results you’re looking for,
No!
With Facebook there is NO GUARANTEE that your Ads will be approved but
What I’m saying is that if you are doing any of these things listed below chances are your Ads are
NOT being approved or they are just not getting the results you’re looking for.
Now first to begin, the only reason I can share any of this with you is because ….. “drum roll please”
….
I’ve made these mistakes too.
Thankfully I was able to correct some before I lost my Facebook Ad Account!
And I took steps to make sure that my personal Facebook Account would not be shut down.
(You know that whole concept of separate your business from your personal life.)
Well I did that using the Facebook Business Manager (more on that later)
So back to the “rules”.
Yes some of these can put you in real danger of losing your ability to advertise on Facebook.
Facebook Advertising Mistake Numero uno!
1.Sending people to a hard wall page!
One of the biggest things that Facebook took a stand on was people using their platform to generate leads ONLY.
What this meant was that you would created a Facebook Ad that sent people directly to a capture page.
There was no interaction, no value provided, simple a pretty picture on Facebook and then next thing the viewer was being asked to give away their personal information for a “free” report.
Now really?!?! You’re asking people to give you something and you never gave them anything?
Not even a cute video, or an interesting article?
Facebook had to take a stand on this because it’s users started complaining.
So bye bye Capture pages.
But Facebook wasn’t stupid. They realized that businesses would still want to get people’s information so enter the world of
Facebook Lead Ads.
The solution to your “sending people to a hard wall page”.
Because you’re probably saying, this is exactly what I was advertising for.
Well yes you advertise to generate leads, but don’t just send people to a page where they get this!
Facebook has solved that problem for you.
But the worse type of hard wall pages are the ones where there is NO navigation.
I mean zero.
You may be saying – I’ve got capture pages approved recently.
It’s probably because you’re either lucky OR you had quite a few options for the visitor to navigator away from the capture page.
Nothing is wrong with capture pages.
Facebook just doesn’t want HARD WALL Capture Pages.
So what’s the next no no!
Facebook Advertising Mistake Numero dos!
2. Using Spam flagged images on your Ad
Facebook can try some people’s patience.
One of my clients asked me why is it that Facebook gives me these options when I can’t use them.
You would probably never think an image as harmless as that one could be flagged for spam.
But many such pictures are. (I’m not saying this one is)
This is why you create your own images with resources like Canva.com
Images that are used online can be flagged as spam, or used previously in spam.
You will never be aware of it until your Ad is not approved.
But the funny thing is this image will be in Facebook’s gallery of images that you can browse when choosing an Ad image.
SOLUTION!
Create your own Ad Images with Canva.com
Facebook Advertising Mistake Numero tres!
3. Using More than 20% text in your Ad Image
This one is quite basic.
Solution minimize the amount of text found in your Ad images.
But what was the genesis of this “rule”.
Well remember back in the day when you had all these flashy Ads showing up on Facebook.
They were bright red and yellow images in BOLD text!
Well Facebook said that looks ugly and tacty in a newsfeed.
So we’re going to get rid of ya!
And get rid of them they did.
You see when I’m scrolling through my news feed I don’t want to see big bold ugly looking text.
I want to see pleasant images, happy images, videos etc.
NOT
So simple solution.
Don’t create ads with text in the image.
Facebook Advertising Mistake Numero quatro!
4. Making any claims for making money in your Ad copy or Ad Image
Make $10K in a month using this method!
There is nothing wrong with me placing a link or statement like that on my personal blog.
But Facebook does not want it anywhere on their platform.
Now you’re probably wondering why are you seeing Ads like that still?
Look carefully?
Is it an Ad or a post????
If the words “sponsored” aren’t showing up on the page it means someone got very creative with the wording of the post.
It may look like an opportunity seeking ad but if it doesn’t say “Sponsored” Facebook can’t entirely remove it.
Check out this other post to find out what Facebook does with posts like that though.
Facebook Advertising Mistake Numero cinco!
5. Making any claims for making money on your landing page.
Now when you submit an Ad for a approval to Facebook, they are not only looking at your Ad that will appear on their platform.
They are also looking at what page you’re sending people to.
Now this doesn’t matter if you’re running a Promote your Fan Page Ad.
But if you’re sending them to a blog, or offer you need to be very careful that you’re still falling in the confines of the “Facebook Rules“
Entertain and Educate and you’ll be safe.
Don’t let them end up on a page that looks like this. (TIP click the image to see what your landing page should look like)
Facebook Advertising Mistake Numero seis!
6. Sending people a dead url.
This I believe is truly a mistake.
Some people who are in the process of building out their Sales Funnel and they know conceptual where they want to send people to but the url isn’t LIVE as yet.
Be careful with this.
Yes it could be an honest mistake.
You forgot to hit publish on your blog.
But every time an Ad is NOT approved it’s a “ding” on your Facebook Ad account.
So make sure you have all your ducks in order before you place an Ad.
Facebook will disapprove it even if it was an honest mistake.
Finally and what should be most obvious.
Facebook Advertising Mistake Numero seite!
7. Ad Images that are seductive or sexual in nature
These Ads may work for selling beer during the superbowl, but I think it goes without saying,
Keep the tits off Facebook.
That goes for drugs, sex, alcohol.
Facebook will NOT take your money if you try to advertise using any of these means.
And they will refuse to take any money from you in the future by shutting down your account.
So be clean and stay safe with your advertising efforts on Facebook.
Have you made any of these mistakes before and your Ad wasn’t approved?
I’d love to hear about your experience.
If your Ad Account was completely shut down because of any of these mistakes maybe there’s a way to get you back up and running just leave a comment below.
What’s interesting is that this list isn’t exhaustive.
Have you had an Ad not approved for something NOT on this list? Share it with us.
Thanks and have a wonderful day!
Want someone to hold your hand through your Facebook Marketing then drop me a line.
The Marketing Mom
My goal here is to help you learn how to market and build a successful business online around your children
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6 replies to "Are You Making these Mistakes on Your Facebook Ad?"
Awesome post. Great reminder for me on what to watch out for. Facebook can be sooo picky. I feel like one day they have you going down this path and then they decided to change direction.
Love that you are teaching the ins and outs of Facebook advertising!
Chef! Thanks for the encouragement. I know Facebook changes worse than the weather in some parts of the US. And yes they are very picky, but if you’re doing business the ethical way I don’t think many people will have a problem. Rules aren’t for those who follow them unconsciously they are more there for those who don’t take heed to them at all.
Have not ran an ad for awhile but I know it’s part of the marketing plan long term. I will revisit on this again soon!
Great decision Jeff. It is something I’ve realized can be rotated but it’s a definite must in your long term marketing.
Hi Hilary: Picked up some great tips. I just heard about FB lead Ads the other day. Seems like FB is always looking to find a way to monetize anything we try to do as marketers! Keep up the great work!
Yup I explored the whole FB lead Ads still investigating but as you said FB is looking to get a hold of every part of the sales funnel.