The 5 Biggest Facebook Advertising Mistakes

The news it out: Facebook ads are killing it.

And odds are, if you're running a business you've probably tested out the ads or at least played around with tools. (Note: if not, now would be a good time to start.) 

While there is no shortage of suggestions of what you should do, the reality of social media is that the rules are still being written. 

So while it's hard to say with certain what will work in almost any situation, it's very easy to say what will not get the job done. 

Success leaves clues. Failures leave scars. 

But it's those scars that build character, and if you allow them to heal correctly will make you stronger. And that's exactly the case with Facebook ads. Only in this case, we've done the suffering for you.

In this post you'll learn 5 rules that apply specifically for the health and fitness industry to keep your ads account in “good standing” with Facebook.

The Facebook Rules

So what exactly does “good standing” mean? Facebook has been punishing ad accounts that fail to comply with their ads guidelines.

This isn’t a slap on the wrist either. If you violate the rules, Facebook has been shutting down ad accounts with little-to-no warning.

It goes without saying, you don’t want to be on Facebook's blacklist. Especially since Facebook ads have been proven to be very effective.

So how do you make sure you’re compliant with Facebook’s constantly changing ads guidelines?

The basic answer is use Facebook’s new training module: Facebook Blueprint. This is a collection of eLearning modules that will help you learn the basic skills you need to advertise effectively on Facebook. I’d highly suggest it to anyone who wants to learn as much as they can about advertising and growing your own business on Facebook. 

But let’s also be realistic. Most of you won’t go through the modules. 

So I’ve made it easy. I watched the training module and picked 5 rules that everyone in the health and fitness industry should follow if they want to have advertising succcess on Facebook. 

Rule 1: Your Ad Image Cannot Have Greater Than 20% Text

This is one of Facebook’s most important ad guidelines. It’s simple: make sure your ad doesn’t have text take up greater than 20% of the image.

A great tool to use to make sure you're complaint before you post an ad is the Facebook Grid Tool. You will upload the ad image you are going to use and then select the boxes on the grid that have text. See the example below: 

It tells me that 36% of the image is made up of text and will not be approved by Facebook.

A limitation of the Grid Tool is you need to select the boxes on the grid that have text. But how do you know what Facebook considers text? I got you covered. Here’s a breakdown of everything Facebook considers text. 

You are probably as surprised as I am to see "logos" on the list but it's there. Your logo will be considered text on an ad. Make sure to keep this in mind when you're creating the design of your ad.

Rule 2: Be Very Careful With The Images You Use

Facebook is very particular with the images they allow for health and fitness companies. Here is their exact policy:

Be sure to follow this policy to the "T" or your account will be in jeopardy of being shut down. There really isn’t much wiggle room here. They’ve made it pretty clear what is and isn’t acceptable. No matter how good your client’s before and after picture is don’t use it.

Here are a few other important image guidelines Facebook has: 

Be smart with the images you decide to submit to Facebook for your ad campaign review. If you feel it touches on one of these guidelines then use common sense and don’t use it.

Rule 3: The Page You Direct Traffic To Needs To Be Compliant 

Many people think that the landing page you send traffic to from the ad isn’t monitored by Facebook. That isn’t true.

Facebook makes sure that the site you are sending people to from Facebook meets their own guidelines as well. Here’s what you need to know.  

Also, it’s necessary to fully disclose the "offer terms and conditions (ex: commitment length, cost) and include a privacy policy disclosing how information about the person is collected and used."

The reason behind all of these rules is to allow Facebook to determine the legitimacy of your business and what you’re selling. These legal agreements that you post on your site verify the legitimacy of what you’re doing and also make sure that you’re not being deceiving in any way.

If you don’t have terms and a privacy policy on your site I suggest you get them as soon as you can. 

Rule 4: Be Smart With The Language You Use

Everyone knows that you can’t get a six-pack in 30 days. Yet we all still see those lame ads and articles. Facebook does not tolerate this type of unrealistic result on their ads platform. Facebook also doesn’t allow language that calls attention to “perceived imperfections”. See the policy below for more details.

If your ad has any language along these lines it will be rejected. Be realistic, polite, and honest with the language you use. As we say, the best marketing is honest marketing.

Rule 5: No Minors Ever

This rule is pretty straight forward and simple but I have to mention it. No health and fitness ads are allowed to be targeted to people under the age of 18. Just don’t do it.