Listen on…
Hey there! I have a fun topic to cover in today's episode:
The Online Entrepreneur's Worst Nightmare. (Cue spooky music.)
Sorry…I couldn't resist. Blame the post-Halloween sugar overload.
The actual topic is how to keep your Facebook account from getting shut down.
Now, this is a topic that I know truly does scare some of you…maybe you've received warnings from Facebook about your content, or maybe you know somebody whose account has been shut down.
I know how upsetting this can be, not just to the people it occurs to, but to every other online entrepreneur in their community. It's just like that feeling when someone you know gets their house or car broken into. Suddenly it feels like the whole world is out to get you.
I don't want you going through your business day freaking out about this. That's why I'm devoting this episode to defusing the scare out of this “nightmare.” Seriously…breathe. It's going to be OK.
There's nobody who knows more about protecting your Facebook account than my friend Rick Mulready. Much of the credit for today's episode goes to him.
When I was talking to Rick about this issue, the first thing that came up was how often Facebook's ad guidelines change. If you've ever felt like the old FB is a little trigger-happy on the guideline updates, you're not crazy. Not only do the guidelines change very often, but they're always couched in vague verbiage. It's just not a simple “Don't do this, this and this” with Facebook.
Rick told me that it's important to understand the foundational principle of Facebook's guidelines. For them, it all comes down to creating a great user experience. In other words, Facebook wants to protect all Facebook users from feeling lied to, “sold to,” bullied, harassed…you get the picture.
If you're thinking, “Amy, I would never lie to my audience!” … believe me, I know. And I'm on your side.
But Facebook is going the extra mile to protect users from people who do lie.
So they're not letting people make bold, specific promises to our audience about concrete things (like saving money, making money, losing weight, etc.). And they're not letting us use highly specific imagery that suggests these things (like images of idealized body types, huge stacks of cash, etc.).
Why? Because some people hear/see those things on the internet and feel bad about themselves. And feeling bad is not a good user experience.
So what is an online entrepreneur to do? Answer: get creative! (Click Here to Listen to the Full Episode!)
As you're reading through the list of ten tips about protecting your Facebook ads account, try to adopt an innovator's perspective. Rather than feeling defeated, think about how you can beat Facebook to the punch by creating content that makes all users feel amazing, hopeful, inspired, uplifted. That's a win for everybody–Facebook, your audience, and you.
Tip #1: Add a privacy policy to your registration page.
If you’re running an ad to a page where you're collecting name/email (or any information) from people, you need to have a clear explanation of what you will/won't be doing with the information you're collecting.
We explain a lot more about how to do this in the full episode. Click here to listen now.
Tip #2: Disable all pop-ups on the page where you are sending your ad traffic.
A lot of people will send Facebook ad traffic to a blog post. Facebook loves this (because users don't have to opt-in to get the content), but what they don't love is if a pop-up ad shows up 20 seconds after the user clicks. Pop-up ads have a bad rap, what can I say?
Tip #3: Pay attention to your reputation on Web Of Trust.
This is a third-party reputation site that Facebook looks at frequently to decide if an account should be shut down. It's an extra step, but checking yourself out on Web of Trust can let you know if you're building up a negative reputation somehow…and can save you a lot of heartache in the long run.
Tip #4: Use the Lead Pages plug in on your WordPress site.
Facebook currently counts a LeadPages URL as suspicious content. (We can thank shady LeadPages users for that.) As a company, LeadPages is totally above board, and they are working with Facebook to create a solution. In the meantime, though, they've created a plug-in that you can use to change your LeadPage URL to something Facebook-friendly. Again, an extra step, but it will help a lot in the long run.
It's a lot simpler to set up than you realize–listen to the podcast episode to hear me walk you through it.
Tip #5: Your landing page must accurately reflect what is being promoted in your ad.
This one probably sounds like a given to most of us … but you'd be surprised how many people get confused when they make the transition from your ad to your landing page. Save everyone the confusion and use the same language/visuals/design in your FB ad as you have on the landing page, and everyone will be happy.
Tip #6: Be mindful of your ad copy.
You already spend hours laboring over your ad copy, I know…so take a deep breath here. The key thing to remember here is that 80% of the time, a robot is the first one judging whether your ad copy gets approved or not. Which means sometimes an ad that was just FB-approved gets disapproved the very next day…and if you leave it up, that spells trouble for your account. Key things to remember here are that you must not over sensationalize, create a false sense of urgency, or use metrics that don't apply to everyone.
(Listen to the full podcast episode to understand how different spins on ad copy can affect your Facebook account.)
Tip #7: Create a feel-good story.
#6 focused on what not to do…this one tells you what you should do. Instead of going down to negative town with your ad, you want to portray happiness, excitement, enthusiasm. You want to give your audience an overall good feeling about whatever it is you're addressing in your ad.
Tip #8: Stick to your account’s regular activity.
If you have a lot of different people logging into your FB account (for example, out-of-country VA’s or contractors) that could be a red flag with Facebook. It makes it look like there is some weird activity going on in your account. So either stick to one dedicated user (ideally yourself), or make sure you are using Facebook business manager instead of just a regular ads account.
Tip #9: Pay attention to your overall activity because it all adds up.
It's important not to push your limits too much with this stuff. I know it might be easy to think “Well, if they don't like my ad, they'll just disapprove it and I'll create a new one.” But the thing is, if Facebook disapproves too many ads in a row, they may disable your ad account.
Tip #10: Focus on the relationship.
You'll rarely (if ever) see me sell directly from a Facebook ad. For me, the power of Facebook is creating and cultivating the kind of relationship I want with my audience: genuine, passionate, and truly friendly. Striking a friendly tone is what will build your email list, and keep Facebook happy.
Like I said at the beginning, this isn't something to freak out about. I just want you to be informed. Yes, it might take a little time to revamp your approach to ads, but in the long run, it's going to make for much stronger, more effective Facebook advertising for your business.
