If you’re one of the 2.5 million advertisers leveraging the world’s largest social network, you’ve no doubt noticed that hardly a week goes by without a change to their platform.
Often this is simply a cosmetic update to the Ads Manager interface, but more recently they’ve also been tightening their advertising guidelines and restrictions.
This means trouble.
There’s been a significant spike in ads getting disapproved over the past few months (often from well-meaning marketers who are trying their best to keep everything “above board.”)
And most disconcertingly, many marketers have been getting outright BANNED.
Here’s the thing:
You really don’t want to go to Facebook “jail.”
Getting your account shut down is a royal pain in the “tush”…
- Firstly, your traffic comes to an immediate, grinding halt.
- Secondly, the appeal process isn’t easy, particularly quick, or even guaranteed (…not by a long shot).
So the best course of action is to “play ball” using a few ‘unspoken’ Facebook guidelines.
Listen below to learn all about keeping Facebook “happy” when running ads:
And read on for a complete breakdown of what you should and should NOT do when creating ads, capture pages, opt-in forms, sales pages, etc.
To start, and most importantly…
1. Communicate a clear business objective
Ask yourself…What experience are you delivering to someone who clicks on one of your ads?
- Are you serving them a content-rich blog post?
- Are you offering value in exchange for an opt-in?
- Or, are you (perhaps unintentionally) trying totrick your prospects into something other than what they bargained for?
This is one of the most common mistakes advertisers make:
Not having what Facebook considers to be a “clear business objective.”
Okay, I know that sounds vague.
So what qualifies as a clear business objective, according to Facebook?
Essentially, the purpose of your page needs to be clear, right off the bat.
Thus, when people click on your ad and land on your site, they need to know immediately…
a.) If they’re being sold something (sales page), or
b.) If they are being presented with an opt-in form (capture page), or
c.) If they’re being led to a piece of content (blog post) they are expected to read.
People who click on your ad need to know what they’re “getting into” without having to scroll down─this is what’s commonly known as “above the fold,” by the way.
Let’s break these down…
a.) Sales pages:
If you’re placing an ad that’s going directly for the sale, you need to design the page so that all that’s needed for someone to buy from you can be found above the fold.
This means, for example, that leading people who click on your ad to a long-form sales page─where you have to scroll all the way down to find the “Buy” button─isn’t the best thing to do if you want to stay compliant.
b.) Capture pages:
There seems to be a lot of talk going around about Facebook not allowing marketers to generate leads with their advertising. That’s not necessarily true.
You just need to make it VERY clear that people are opting-in to receive something in return.
For example, if you’re offering our
Attraction Marketing 10-Day Boot Camp in exchange for their contact information, you can’t have a broad headline that says, “Click Here to Learn How to Recruit 100 Reps in Four Days,” since people wouldn’t really know what they’re signing up for, right?
You need to set expectations like:
- How will you use their personal information (e.g., to send email, direct mail, etc.)?
- When, where, and how will the content you promised be delivered (e.g., a PDF in their inbox)?
- What are they also consenting to receive (e.g., daily emails)?
All these details need to be clearly articulated.
c.) Blog posts:
Promoting blog posts is much more straightforward, “Facebook-approved,” and is currently the preferred advertising method across the board.
You can learn more about our
exact process for quickly crafting high-converting, traffic-ready content right now in this
100% free live presentation.
Bottom line: It comes down to NOT trying to trick or mislead people, even if it’s unintentional.
Always keep this in mind:
Facebook is in the business of creating a pleasant experience for its users and giving them the most engaging and relevant content possible.
No matter how large your advertising budget might be, Facebook isn’t going to allow any advertiser to negatively impact their users’ experience in any way, ever.
Having a clear objective above the fold allows Facebook to provide a positive experience for their users by avoiding any confusion, frustration, or anger that might cause them to click away, and possibly associate those negative emotions with Facebook.
2. Pop-ups are a BIG mistake…
Many marketers teach tactics involving “hidden” page elements like pop-up ads, or “exit pops,” which create annoying dialogue boxes in visitors’ browsers whenever they attempt to leave the page.
Let me be extremely clear on this:
Facebook absolutely HATES this kind of thing!
It’s considered to be deceptive and a poor experience.
So don’t do it. Period.
3. Brand yourself
Do you have a logo on your page? Is there a picture of you on your page? Can visitors clearly identify your business and who’s running it?
Facebook wants to do business with other businesses.
They want to know that you’re running a REAL, legit operation, and aren’t just some “goomba” that put up a generic capture page with a big promise in your headline.
Bottom line: You need to put the effort into branding yourself.
NOTE: Here's an great example from my Facebook Fan Page below=>
And not only to stay compliant with Facebook, but also to increase your conversions.
For example, when you go to Vince Reed’s, Kate McShea’s, or
my blog, you immediately see their classy pictures, professional logos, and an overall “branded” experience, which lends credibility and legitimacy to their businesses.
On the other hand, if your prospects are simply clicking to a half-baked capture page with no branding whatsoever, they aren’t going to know who the heck you are and they’re going to click the “spam” button when you show up in their inbox.
4. Always link to your “legal pages”
It’s essential you link to the three following legal pages on any page you’re running traffic to.
#1. “Privacy Policy”
It’s actually illegal to NOT have a Privacy Policy link on your webpage.
Now, you probably won’t get sued, but if Facebook sees you don’t have a Privacy Policy page, you will definitely lose your account.
Your Privacy Policy also needs to be very clear!
When someone from Facebook reviews one of your ads, he or she will click on your Privacy Policy page looking for two things:
- First, language indicating that your site is using cookies, making it clear that information is being collected and how it’s being used;
- Second, how retargeting is being used and what are the options for people who want to opt-out of retargeting.
#2. “Terms of Service”
Disclaimer that I am NOT a lawyer (nor do I make jokes about not being one on the Internet), however, you could probably Google something like “terms of service generator,” or something to that effect, and download a generic template for this purpose.
Again, you don’t necessarily have to hire a lawyer for your Terms of Service page on your website (remembering, of course, that I’m not your legal counsel), but you absolutely need to have one!
#3. “Contact Us”
You want to make sure that visitors have a way of contacting you. In fact, it’s best to have a business phone, address, and all the other indicators of owning a proper “storefront.”
Now, 99.9% of the people who opt in to your offer will never go to your “Contact Us” page, but note that it is legally required.
And think about it, what legit business wouldn’t want prospects and customers contacting them? That’s a red flag if there ever was one.
Makes sense, right?
5. “Unrealistic” claims are a deal-breaker!
Facebook is specifically looking for anything that they deem unrealistic or exaggerated, as well as any “spam trigger words” in the language that you’re using.
This applies to your landing page, your ad copy, your URL, as well as the name of your Facebook Fan Page, and all the content you’ve posted on it.
Yeah, they’re watching.
The worst part is that…
If you’re new Facebook marketer, you’re under a lot more scrutiny.
I recently worked with some people who wanted me to run traffic for them. However, their Fan Page had the words “network marketing” and “make money” on it.
I told them flat out that, a.) Facebook wasn’t going to like the language being used in their Fan Page, as well as the fact that, b.) they wanted to spend a lot of money where they hadn’t been spending it before, not to mention the fact that, c.) they hadn’t really put any content on there.
That’s three strikes, if you were counting!
I basically told them that they would lose their Facebook account if I ran the ads. And sure enough, three days in ─and $150 spent─their account was banned!
The moral to this story?
You DON’T want to position yourself as a “business opportunity” with the language you’re using.
Business opportunities are NOT on Facebook like they used to be.
The people who still try to promote “biz opps” on Facebook generally don’t last long. They almost always use exaggerated claims like “make X amount of money from your couch,” which is exactly the kind of thing that Facebook HATES, and they quickly get banned.
Pay close attention when I tell you that…
ANY “unrealistic” language puts your ad account at serious risk!
Stay FAR away from URLs like…
- “MillionDollarFacebookAdFormula.com,” or
- “SixFigureLaptopLifestyle.net.”
These are unrealistic claims in Facebook’s mind, simply because you’re implying people are going to achieve the result of making (a large sum of) money.
You’ve probably seen those type of fan pages a million times, with the pictures of people at the beach, wearing sunglasses, driving sports cars, smiling, with not care in the world. Right?
It’s these type of pages that go down the fastest!
I’ve seen so many of these accounts disappear overnight.
Avoid words in your copy that have anything to do with money!
Words like “wealth,” “trick,” or “secret” have been proven to give results in direct response advertising over the years. However, these words are considered “spam trigger words,” and Facebook definitely does NOT like direct response marketing.
Bottom line: Any type of exaggerated claim or spam trigger words in your URL, your ads, or your fan page will get your account shut down…period!
6. Change is the ONLY constant
There is one final piece of advice I’d like to share with you…
Facebook is constantly changing its policies and updating its marketing tools in order to provide a better experience for users and allow advertisers to easily connect with their target markets.
It’s generally a good idea to review
Facebook’s Terms of Service at least twice a year to stay on top of what you can and can’t do when it comes to advertising.
You don’t want to lose your account over a slight change in the regulations.
A Quick Recap to Stay Facebook Compliant
Let’s recap some of the key points we’ve covered here to maintain a Facebook ad account in good standing:
- Make sure to articulate a clear business objective in your ads and on your pages
- Never use pop-ups or exit-pops
- Make sure your content and site is branded to let people know who you are and what type of business you run
- Links to a Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and Contact Us pages are legally required!
- Stay away from unrealistic claims and “spam trigger words”; Facebook doesn’t like misleading language in URLs, or on Fan Pages, or ad copy
- Stay up to date with changes and updates to Facebook’s Terms of Service
Keeping your Facebook account compliant shouldn’t be too hard if you keep these pointers in mind.
So, now that you know what NOT to do, let’s talk about…
How to profitably advertise on Facebook (without getting into trouble)
With over a billion users, Facebook’s truly a source of nearly-unlimited traffic (…if you know how to do it right).
But, if you’re been around for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that there’s a lot of terrible advice floating around the ‘net.
And this garbage leads novice marketers make mistakes like…
- Wasting money on DEAD traffic generation tactics,
- Spending countless hours with little-to-no results, and, of course,
- Getting their ads disapproved and even their accounts banned
These are costly mistakes when you’re just starting out.
As I’m sure you can imagine, getting kicked off Facebook is NOT the way to start your entrepreneurial journey.
Bottom line is that if you need to know what works—and what doesn’t—from an industry leader with a proven track record of real, in-the-trenches results.
(…and not just some “guru” with 110% real screenshots of gazillions of dollars in commissions!)
Luckily you’re in the right spot…
Tim Erway, CEO of Elite Marketing Pro, has already done the “heavy lifting” of methodically testing and validating exactly what’s working right now on Facebook through our own in-house campaigns.
Tim’s generated over
1.4 million leads online—producing multi-8 figures in sales—and reveals the inside scoop on how you can quickly generate 100s and even 1,000s of red-hot leads online in his new,
100% FREE traffic workshop.
You’ll discover…
- 5 pillars of traffic generation you absolutely must have in place or watch your campaigns suffer and bleed cash…with little to no sales.
- A 120-year old advertising secret which has become the single best list-building strategy you can use right now.
- How to get started on a tiny $10, “shoestring” budget and scale to massive profits.
In fact…
You’ll see a case study of how to turn a mere 10 bucks into a whopping $141,246.30.
I know, it sounds “hypey,” but it’s true.
These are tested strategies you can safely use right now to leverage Facebook for ultra-targeted clicks, quality leads…and most important of all…SALES!
To YOUR Success,
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