Play By the Rules: Facebook & Instagram Ads Policies

Has your ad ever been rejected? Gosh… it can totally suck to spend hours crafting an ad just for it to be rejected. I tend to be a bit of a rebel and rule-breaker at heart, but there are certain rules that choose to follow.

When you advertise on Facebook and Instagram there are a certain number of rules that you will have to follow in order for your ads to be approved. In this blog, I’m going to share 3 reasons why your ad may not get approved. These are rules I have personally encountered or seen others encounter frequently when setting up Facebook and Instagram ads.

The number one thing to remember as you run Facebook & Instagram ads is to lead with value. What I mean by that is, Facebook wants people to have a good experience when they are on their platform. This encourages people to visit Facebook time and time again. The same is true with Instagram. They want people to have a pleasant experience while they are scrolling through Instagram.

So if your ad makes people feel guilt, shame, or like they are not good enough then it will likely be rejected, because Facebook and Instagram want people to feel good while they are on their social media platforms. If a person is constantly bombarded with ads that make them feel self-conscious then eventually that person may stop spending time on Facebook & Instagram.

Think about these questions as you set up the ad: Is my ad pleasant? Does it make realistic claims? How does it make a person feel when they see it? Does my product or service positively impact others? If you keep these things in mind your chances of your ad getting approved significantly increase.

1. Your Text

The rule that I have encountered the most as I have set up Facebook & Instagram ads is the text rule. Facebook has a rule that words on top of an image must take up less than 20% of the overall image. For example, if you are a local salon and you take a picture of the inside of your salon and on top of the image you add the text “Book Your Next Appointment.” That text has to take up less than 20% of the overall image. The good news on this rule is Facebook allows you to put in a headline, ad copy, and description copy with any ad. That is a lot of space to add text around your image.

Headlines do not show on Instagram or Instagram stories. Therefore, if you had ad a few eye-catching words that encourage people to take action on the image itself you will likely see a higher conversion when you run your ad on Instagram.

The place where I have encountered this rule the most frequently is when I run ads with a picture including text. For example, I have run ads for a publishing company and the image of the book cover includes text. The Facebook software often automatically flags these images with text in them. When this happens I request a manual review, and that has led to the ad's approval!

So if you are going to add text on top of an image make sure it takes up less than 20% of the overall image.

2. Your Ad Content

There are 30 items Facebook prohibits in advertisements. Some are very straightforward like you cannot advertise anything illegal. However, there are three that I want to highlight that may be less known.

First, Facebook prohibits the advertisement of multilevel marketing brands. Some examples of multilevel marketing companies you may have heard of are Beachbody, Pampered Chef, and Mary Kay. The reason why Facebook does not allow these types of brands to advertise is because they can claim to offer high compensation for little investment. Facebook is not a fan of get-rich-quick schemes.

Personal health is the second category that I want to highlight. Facebook looks at very closely at ads that promote weight loss or diets. Unrealistic before and after images will not be approved. Facebook wants to ensure a pleasant experience. In the Ad Policies Facebook writes, “Ad content must not imply or attempt to generate negative self-perception in order to promote diet, weight loss, or other health-related products.”

The last piece of prohibited content I want to highlight is language and grammar. Facebook does not allow and ads to pass that use profane language or poor grammar. They want to be sure that your ad makes sense and does not offend people. So take the time to read through your ads a second time or get a second set of eyes on your ads. You can find the full list on Facebook Ad Policies linked below.

3. Your Landing Page

The last thing I want you to keep in mind as you set up ads is your landing page (the web page you link your ad to and send people to from Facebook). Facebook applies many of the same rules to landing pages as it does to ads. This ties back to Facebook wanting people to have a pleasant experience while they are on Facebook.

For example, let’s say you come across an advertisement that is promoting living a healthy lifestyle. The landing page must also promote living a healthy lifestyle. If the landing page is full of negative statements like “You’ve been this way for too long.” Or “America has an obesity problem and we want to fix you.” Any statements that make a person feel guilt or shame are going to increase the chance of your ad being rejected.

They also want to ensure that your web page is working properly. They do not want people to click on the “learn more” button and land on a dead-end web page.

Lastly, Facebook wants to ensure that there is consistency between the ad and the landing page. Do you use some of the same words? Do you have similar images on your ad and your landing page? Does your landing page fulfill the promise you are making in your ad?

For example, if you are encouraging people to book an appointment with you. Then your landing page should take them directly to where they can book an appointment with you.

Play by the Rules

The rules Facebook has for its advertising often make sense. If you are choosing to advertise on Facebook and Instagram then you want people to continue to get on the platform and spend time scrolling through the feed. If you are asking them to perform a particular action whether that is to book an appointment, purchase an item, or download a free guide you want to make that action simple and easy for a person to take.

You have to play by the rules, and if you consistently break the rules your ad account could get shut down. Facebook is constantly updating their rules so I will link to their full list of rules here so you can stay up to date with all the rules and guidelines for advertising on Facebook and Instagram.

If you are ready to start running Facebook and Instagram ads for your company, then download this free guide which will help you determine which campaign is best for your particular goals.

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Stay up to date with Facebook Ad Policies Here!