Forbidden Phrases You Must Avoid In Your Facebook Ads

It is no news that business owners in this never ending technology advanced era have been using ads to boost and promote their business, especially on social media. With the increase in user activities on social media, it is no wonder that social media has been one of the best places to place business ads. One of the social media platforms that is actually the largest social media platform is Facebook. Although many people use Instagram more often than Facebook nowadays, when it comes to advertisements, Facebook is still in the game. Using Facebook is considered as effective marketing effort because it does not only help you reach many people at once, it also helps you reach straight to your target audience – according to your preference. However, in case you didn’t know, Facebook is cracking down on ad copy from businesses around the world. If you are a business owner, you should know that you can’t just post an ad without Facebook watching you. For that reason, if you want your ads to run smoothly, make sure you avoid these forbidden phrases at all cost before placing your ads on Facebook. What are they? Keep reading to find out!

“Your ad wasn’t approved because it doesn’t follow our Advertising Policies by addressing the age and/or relationship status of people on Facebook (e.g., “Single and Lonely?” or “40 and Single?”).

How to fix: We recommend focusing on your product or service, rather than audience, with your ad. If you think your ad follows our Advertising Policies, you can appeal this disapproval.”

Well, what happens if you receive a message like this? Facebook will flag your account and your ads will not be allowed to run until you fix them. If you get these messages a lot, Facebook may shut down your advertising account completely. That’s why I’m here in this article to tell you these forbidden phrases and sentences that you MUST NOT include in your Facebook ads.

“Going through strict diets but never worked? Need to lose weight fast without problems?”

Weight loss or something to do with body shaming and body negativity is one of the sensitive topics that can lead to self-abuse, self-blame and self-degradation. While you are not deliberately doing that and you don’t intend to do that, sometimes it can indirectly affect some people and without realising it, you are already promoting body negativity. Believe it or not, sentences containing weight loss, anti-aging, health and beauty products are addressed under Facebook’s Personal Attributes Policy, Personal Health Policy or Misleading or False Content Policy. I know, it is difficult to make the right phrases and sentences for advertisements when you are selling beauty products or other products and services relating to health, fitness and beauty; however, you can work this out even without having to use sensitive topics. Instead of saying “Lose 20 pounds this summer and get your beach body ready!” you can say, “Feel balanced and fit to feel great this summer. Join my free Fitness Challenge!”

“Gain $10,000 in just 40 days. I’ll tell you how by joining my free webinar!”

We often see ads claiming they can change our life forever with the so-called “get rich quick straight from home” methods. However, this kind of message is often considered as misleading content that brings negative impacts on those who read it. We all have our own pace and timeline in everything. Not everyone can achieve the same outcome as promised and that’s the problem. Therefore, Facebook addresses this under its Personal Attributes policy, Multilevel Marketing Policy, Prohibited Financial Services Policy and Misleading or False Content Policy. You need to be careful when it comes to using any language related to making money, work-from-home opportunities as well as (and especially) persuading readers into quitting their jobs because you can’t guarantee their well-being in the future, let alone with the advice from a complete stranger. Instead of saying “Make 6-figures and be filthy rich fast with this ground-breaking opportunity!” try to motivate them, “Learn the most important habits that every successful entrepreneur needs to master their first year in business.” This one sounds better and friendly with the algorithm as well.

“&%@%#^%!!!!” (i.e., the cursed curse words, you get it)

Isn’t it obvious? Facebook always tries to keep curse words to a minimum as possible. In fact, Facebook is always protecting its family-friendly environment. The last thing the platform wants is parents scrolling through content, a child by their side, only to encounter a four-letter curse word on a sponsored post. This prohibited phrase is addressed under Facebook’s Grammar and Profanity Policy.

Keep your ads clean and child-friendly. Remember; Facebook can read between the lines of a bunch of “&%#%^@%#%$&” characters to figure out that you’re trying to swear. Also, if you use all capital letters or lots of exclamation marks like this “WANT TO BE RICH? CLICK HERE!!!!” you may come off as being rude and yelling at potential customers. In fact, overuse of punctuation is sometimes flagged by Facebook under Grammar& Profanity.

Managing social media for business may not be as easy as what it looks like. You have to keep interacting and engaging with your potential customers. Aside from that, you also have to be up to date with the trends and you always have to come up with content plan that will be useful for your business social media content. However, if you grasp the meaning of what you should and shouldn’t do on social media, it will be easier for you to manage.