Special Ad Categories: Why You SHOULD Be Using Them

Some version of this question has been asked of the Ad Zombies team a LOT lately: can you write me an ad for X type of business that Facebook will accept?

The default answer is almost always, "if you can advertise it on Facebook, we can write for it!"

But here's the trick: recently when this question comes up, product (or service) X is almost always in — or related to — one of Facebook's restricted content categories.

A quick aside here: if you're running ads on Facebook and aren't familiar with their Advertising Policies (commonly referred to as their TOS), it's time to start cozying up and getting to know them.

Here's what we know, what we've observed, and what we recommend for businesses running into challenges with Special Ad Categories -- after two decades of writing copy for clients in housing, employment, credit, and every flavor of financial services that Facebook loves to flag.

What We Know

Did you click that Advertising Policies link above? Congratulations! You have the same amount of information we do about what Facebook allows and doesn't. Them's the facts and no one gets anything beyond that.

"But that's totally vague and unhelpful!" we hear you shouting at your computer. And yes, you're right. But it's just the way it is. Facebook won't tell you what words or phrases are a problem, or what you CAN say that's compliant.

They're the judge, jury, and executioner along with being the newspaper printer. At the risk of repeating ourselves, we'll say it again: it's just the way it is. That's a policy environment, not a copywriting problem -- and once you accept that, you stop wasting time trying to 'crack the code' and start writing ads that hold up under review the same way a strong headline earns the read instead of begging for one.

The Landing Page Problem

When ads are rejected, most marketers look at the creative: the image or video and the words that were just loaded into Ads Manager.

If your creative looks compliant, STOP. Your landing page could be the problem.

Facebook says

"During the ad review process, we'll check your ad's images, text, targeting, and positioning, in addition to the content on your ad's landing page. Your ad may not be approved if the landing page content isn't fully functional, doesn't match the product/service promoted in your ad or doesn't fully comply with our Advertising Policies."

That's right. The same rules that apply to your ad, apply to your landing page copy and creative, too. We've had clients with a spotless, fully-compliant ad get rejected because the landing page still had an old testimonial with an implied income claim sitting three scrolls down. Facebook's reviewers don't grade on effort -- they grade on the whole funnel.

What We've Observed

The Guilty By Association Trap

Make a marketing product for mortgage brokers? Great! You're guilty by association. Since mortgages are related to both Financial Products and Real Estate, you're likely going to use language in your copy that the AI will flag as being related to a highly scrutinized category. So what happens? BOOM, your perfectly compliant ads are rejected.

Logically speaking, your ads wouldn't fall into a special ads category, but logic doesn't always apply when it comes to FB. We've watched this exact scenario play out with real estate lead-gen clients, credit repair services, and even HR software brands that just happen to mention 'employment' one too many times in a headline.

What We Recommend

Don't Go "Black Hat"

Anyone else remember around 2010 when the hot trend in marketing was using Black Hat SEO to try and game Google's search results? A lot of companies spent a lot of time, effort, and money to get short term gains and then got burned in the long run.

We've seen a lot of marketers trying to "pull one over" on FB's algorithm and it's a losing game. If your product or service is restricted or prohibited, follow the rules…or choose a different platform to advertise on.

When in Doubt, Push the Button

In Ads Manager, there's a little button where you can identify your ad as belonging to a special ad category. We recommend using it, when in doubt. Take the example of the product marketed to mortgage brokers…using the button isn't going to get you more scrutiny, it's going to tell FB that you know and expect scrutiny and you'll be following the rules. That way when the AI picks up on "trigger" words, it'll be reviewed in the right context. And if an ad IS rejected, you can still appeal.

The Bottom Line

When it comes down to it, almost everything related to FB's advertising policies is an educated guess. We always recommend complying with their policies (for the good of your brand and ad account) while being willing to test new copy and creative. Ad accounts can be shut down for a history of bad behavior (like predatory targeting, excessive negative feedback, gaming the system with "workarounds", or running prohibited content), but a rejected ad here and there won't hurt you in the long run! We have ads for our own account rejected all the time. Most of the time, they're approved after appeal because they just needed a human to see the CONTEXT of the creative and the copy -- which is exactly the kind of judgment call AI can't make for you. Compliance is a discipline, not a hack. Build it into the way you write from the first draft, and Special Ad Categories stop being a minefield and start being just another box to check.