Check out the Facebook Ads Guide for the design specifications and technical requirements across each format and placement. You’ll find information on dimensions, file sizes, character limits and more.

On May 20, Facebook released additional detail about how their ad review process works. This new explainer article provided additional context about how errors or missteps may play into your ads being rejected. 

Facebook’s ad policy has long been a cause for confusion – you may spend some serious time digging into their ad guidelines before you submit an ad… only for it to be rejected. The confusion only grows when you see other ads that are obvious scams but have made it through the approval process. 

One of the biggest things Facebook’s new ad guidelines overview focuses on is that the ad review process is largely automated. That information alone better helps advertisers understand why there may be some discrepancies between the ads that are accepted and those that are rejected. 

What qualifies as an ad?  

Before we dive into the specifics of the ad guidelines, let’s make sure we’re all using the same definition of ads. Ads are considered to be any paid content that appears on Facebook apps or services. This includes ad content on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network. Ads include original content that has been boosted as well as ads created from scratch in the Ads Manager. 

What rules should ads follow? 

Getting an ad approved is a multistep process and requires following more than one set of guidelines. 

The first step in the process is making sure your advertising content meets the community standards. It’s important to make sure you meet these basic requirements before jumping into the details of Facebook’s advertising rules. Facebook’s community standards are essentially a list of guiding principles that state content posted on Facebook should be authentic, non-threatening, protect people’s privacy, and be free of harassment. More on that here. 

Once you ensure that your ads meet community guidelines, it’s time to move on to the advertising specific policies. Facebook’s Advertising Policies provide guidance on what types of ad content are allowed. There are a lot of these guidelines, so it’s important to review the table of contents to see where you might run into an issue. Some of the most common points of confusion? Personal Attributes, Sexually Suggestive Content, Facebook's Brands.

As part of the new explanation of rules, Facebook reminds us that your ads may be subject to further sets of rules beyond the basic advertising guidelines. See the graphic below to review the hierarchy of policies -- you need to check to ensure that each ad complies with branded content policies, commerce policies, event policies, and more (if applicable).

Review process

Facebook’s ad review system automatically reviews all ads before they go live – and as we suspected, the May 20 guidelines reaffirm that the system is largely automated. However, sometimes manual review of ads is used – typically for rereviews instead of initial reviews. While ad review is typically completed within 24 hours, it may take longer, and ads can be reviewed again, including after they’re live. 

Based on the results of the review, an ad is either rejected or allowed to run. If an ad is rejected, an advertiser can create a new ad — either with new ad creative or by revising the rejected ad — or request another review if they believe their ad was incorrectly rejected. 

In addition to the standard review, Facebook may choose to investigate overall advertiser behavior such as the number of previous rejections, the severity of those violations, and any attempts to get around the review process. Too many violations and you may lose the ability to run ads on Facebook permanently. 

While this new guidance from Facebook certainly doesn’t answer all of our questions about the process, it does help give some valuable insight into how the process works.

For the full ad review release from Facebook, head here.

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Hue & Tone Creative: Your Social Media Partners 

Struggling to get your social media ads published? Instead of spending all your time reviewing pages and pages of advertising guidelines, let us take the work of writing, creating, and scheduling ads off of your hands.

Back in June 2020, Apple announced it would be making some substantial changes to how iPhone’s collect your data. The changes include enabling people to share an approximate location (instead of a precise one), adding summaries to the App Store that explain what data each app collects, and requiring third party apps to ask users before sharing their data. 

Facebook swiftly responded to these changes with displeasure, specifically taking issue with the consent driven data sharing. By requiring iPhone owners to grant apps explicit permission, Facebook fears the possibility that most users will block them from collecting detailed information. Facebook uses that data to build out detailed profiles that they market to advertisers (including both small and large businesses). 

The type of data sharing that is specifically being referred to is IDFAs (Identifier for Advertisers). IDFA’s are unique identifiers for mobile devices and are used to target and measure the effectiveness of advertising on a user level across mobile devices. Currently, about 70% of IOS users share their IDFA with app publishers, after this change it’s estimated that this number will drop to 10% to 15% (source). Currently, users can opt of data sharing, but it’s a buried feature that you have to search out.

If people are blocking Facebook from collecting their data, the value of advertising on their platform may significantly decrease. And with it, Facebook’s revenue may take a severe hit. In 2019, about 98.5 percent of Facebook's global revenue was generated from advertising, whereas only around two percent was generated by payments and other fees revenue (source). Much of that revenue is generated by small to medium sized businesses who count on social media advertising as an important part of their marketing strategy. 

It’s important to note these changes aren’t specifically targeted at Facebook – they’re simply one of the biggest companies that may suffer and the company that’s made the most noise about them. The fact of the matter is that every third-party app will have to ask your permission before tracking you. 

What does the timeline for these changes look like? 

Apple originally outlined these changes in June of 2020 in anticipation of a Fall 2020 rollout. The changes were delayed and in December 2020 the pushback from Facebook intensified. 

The changes will begin to take effect as users install or update to the new iOS. When you install those updates a prompt will appear alerting you to opt-in or opt-out of the sharing of this information. 

How did Facebook respond? 

These latest changes are only the most recent development in a tense relationship. Apple and Facebook have been fighting for years, with their CEO’s often aiming comments at each other (more on that here). In December, Facebook launched an all-out offense campaign to try and combat the proposed Apple changes. 

They announced their displeasure on the website/app, took out print ads, and created a subsite for business owners to “voice their displeasure.” Instead of focusing on the potential loss to their own ad revenue, the focus of their latest campaign is that they’re sticking up for small business owners. 

The messaging on their website reads: 

Here’s what’s at stake with the iOS 14 update. 

Apple’s policy could limit your ability to use your own data to show personalized ads to people who are likely to be interested in your business. Now that 44% of small businesses are turning to personalized ads to adapt to the outbreak of COVID-191, this update will be especially hurtful to small businesses in already challenging times. 

Apple’s iOS updates make it harder to reach current and future customers.

Measurement of campaign performance will be disrupted, making it harder to determine the effectiveness of ads.

How will this affect my business advertising?  

If you rely heavily on Facebook advertising to meet your regular sales goals, there’s a good chance that these updates will impact you. After all, the personal information that Facebook collects is what allows you to target customers with creepily specific ads. Apple allowing people to opt out also ups the chance that people will see ads that are less relevant to them. 

Most major platforms are still working through exactly how they will address these major changes – but Facebook confirmed they will not collect IDFA’s on their own devices and will begin updating their SDK to support the SKAdNetwork option. More on that here.

In the immediate future, your advertising may be impacted in two major areas:

• Retargeting: Retargeting to users will no longer be possible for people that have opted out. Platforms like Google and Facebook can still identify users through information like their email or phone number, but other platforms will see a drastic reduction in targetable audiences. 

• Measurement: Ad measurement is built around customers IDFA identifiers – and while Apple has announced a replacement API that will allow for conversion data at the campaign level, there will still be a reduction in the reliability of the data. 

What should you do?

As a consumer, we like that Apple is protecting our data and paving the way for further consumer protections to be enacted. As a digital advertiser and social media company, we understand why business owners are frustrated. But don’t let frustration paralyze you! 

 Now is the perfect time to revisit and revamp your social media advertising strategy. Invest some time into thinking through how these changes might negatively impact your customer acquisition numbers and shift your strategy accordingly.  

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Hue & Tone Creative: Your Social Media Partner 

Not sure what shifting your strategy looks like? Reach out – we can help you create a plan to handle these changes and to futureproof your strategy for future changes. From content creation to analyzing your reach, we’re your partner in everything social media related. 

On the surface, Facebook ads seem like a great value. With startup costs as little as $5/day, most business owners jump on the opportunity to start advertising for such a minimal expenditure.  

Looking for a low cost alternative to social advertising? Maybe email marketing is the right fit for you. Learn more about it here.

The truth is that advertising on Facebook can work for almost any type of business – but the catch is that it takes a well-planned campaign, a clear objective, and an appropriate budget to make it worth the investment. Before starting your first campaign, you’ll want to:

1. Learn how to properly use the Facebook Ads Manager (or hire someone who knows how to use it)

2. Determine a clear budget 

3. Narrow down an objective for your campaign

4. Set a timeline for your campaign, including check-in points where you can retool your creative if needed

5. Design and write your ad creative (don’t forget to consider A/B testing for your creative)

6. Carefully target your ads before launching them 

How much do they cost? 

While it’s true that you can start advertising for just a few dollars, that doesn’t necessarily mean that this is money well spent – or that social advertising will be more cost effective than traditional advertising in the long run. 

The real questions you should be asking here are:

• How much do I have to spend? 

• What are my goals? 

• What cost per click (CPC) do I need to make this worthwhile? 

The fact of the matter is that $5 is going to buy you nothing… in fact, if done poorly a low budget campaign may even hurt your brand. At a bare minimum, we suggest setting aside $500 -$1k for each product or service campaign you plan to do (and this doesn’t include creative development costs). The appropriate budget will be influenced by your objectives, how large of a target audience you want to reach, and the length of your campaign­­. 

Setting a goal

While direct sales goal is one clear cut way to make sure you’ll be able to measure your investment, it’s not the only metric that’s worthwhile. In addition to social media sales (for products), you can also measure:  

• New page “Likes”

• Post-level engagement

• Email opt-ins

• Website click-throughs

• On-site sales or lead generations

Picking the proper objective is going to depend on your specific business. If you’re a new business, brand awareness may be an important piece of your marketing strategy. But if you’re a tried and true brand who is looking to boost sales, you should hone in on conversions or direct sales.  

6 mistakes to avoid

1. Use little to no text on your ad creative. Facebook’s 20% text rule has been the rule of thumb for as long as any social media marketer can remember. In general, the less text means the higher the reach. 

2. Using the wrong ad format. Using the wrong ad format is typically a newbie mistake. The ad manager has numerous options and if you don’t know what you’re doing, there’s a good chance you may not be using the most effective format. Let your objective guide your ad format – and be sure to do plenty of research on the different options before even kicking off your first campaign!  

3. Boosting a post and calling it advertising. While boosting a post may get a few extra eyes on it, this is not the same thing as creating a Facebook campaign. You won’t have any of the targeting or format options available through the ads manager if you simply boost a post.

4. Not regularly monitoring and retooling. Facebook advertising isn’t a set it and forget it medium. You should plan to regularly check-in on your campaigns to measure their success. If something’s not working or performing the way you expected, don’t be afraid to rework it and try again. Live monitoring is one of the benefits of social advertising because it ensures you won’t continue to spend money on something that isn’t working… so don’t let this important feature go to waste! 

5. Only running one ad. Facebook Campaigns are based around sets of ads which are made of individual ads. Limit ad sets to no more than 5 ads so you can compare and contrast what’s working well. 

6. Targeting a wide range. Targeting a broad audience is a big mistake – by casting a wide net, you lower the chances that people are going to respond positively to your ad or engage with it at all. Facebook’s unparalleled targeting is what makes it such a successful platform – and not utilizing these features practically ensures you won’t see a return on your investment.  

The bottom line: are they worth it? 

Want to learn more about Facebook’s targeting options? Facebook has a number of valuable resources available for your use!! 

It’s important to not view Facebook as a silver bullet that will fix all your advertising woes for a minimal cost and labor investment. If done well, your Facebook campaigns will require a lot of careful planning, research, and investment. 

Social advertising should be just one part of a carefully planned and comprehensive digital marketing strategy – and they require as much care and attention as everything else that bears your brand name. 

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Hue & Tone Creative: Your digital marketing partner

Feeling overwhelmed by all the options? Don’t worry – that’s what we’re here for. We’ll help you determine how best to spend your digital marketing budget. Once we’ve decided on the right fit, we can help you take the plan from idea to reality. We’ll help you write, design, and launch everything you need to boost sales.

Social advertising is a powerful component of online advertising. More specifically, Facebook has a user base of 1.94 billion active monthly users worldwide, and with consumers spending over 50% of their digital time on mobile devices, it pays to advertise on a site that dominates mobile. Facebook also allows you to target your ads, learn more about your users, and has flexible pricing options... need we say more about why this is a good idea? 

DO use compelling imagery: When paired with a relevant image, people are 65% more likely to remember information. You’ll grab your viewer’s attention and help them remember your product… even after they’ve scrolled away from your ad!

Not sure what kind of image to use? Stock photos are a great option if you don’t have any original pictures on hand.

DON’T blow your budget: Low costs are one of the great things about advertising on social. Facebook allows you to spend as little as $5 a day, which means even small and new businesses can buy advertising without blowing their budget. We suggest starting off small – especially if you’ve never run a Facebook ad before. Spend a little and find out what works before you increase your daily budget.  

DO some testing: A/B testing (also called split testing) allows you to test the success of different versions of your ad. You play around with the headlines, graphics, and CTA’s to find out what will get the most clicks, likes, and highest ROI.

Tip: When A/B testing, be sure to only tweak one element of your ad at a time. If you create a completely different ad you won’t be able to pinpoint which ad element is having an impact on your ad performance.

DON’T forget about mobile viewers: Over 1 billion people visit Facebook via phones and mobile devices daily. Don’t ignore a huge segment of people by sticking solely to desktop designs. 

DO create a CTA: Develop a call-to-action that illustrates the purpose of your ad. What benefit does your product/service provide to your audience? Why do they need this? What is the value?

DON’T make it too text heavy: Too much text will make your ad look cluttered and confusing. If you’re using a graphic, keep the 20% rule in mind: 80% of the ad should be imagery and the remaining 20% should be your text. 

DO learn about your audience: Facebook allows you to narrow down and target specific audiences through: location, interests, behavior, demographics, and connections. Do some research on who visits your page and is interested in your product before you tailor your ads. 

DON’T confuse your audience: You only have a few seconds to capture your viewer’s attention. Make sure that your purpose, product, and information is clear and easy to find. One ad = one objective.

DO try a video: 43% of consumers would like to see more video ads from marketers in the future. Get ahead of the trend and promote a how-to, customer testimonial, or behind-the-scenes video.

DON’T forget to keep track: It’s crucial to track how your ads are performing. If you don’t measure the success of your ads, you won’t be able to tailor future ads, and you’re sure to waste money on viewers who don’t have any interest in your product or services. After you’ve tested out a few promotions, set detailed goals for each campaign (ex. reach, likes, conversion, shares, etc.) and monitor your results frequently.

Ready to create your ad, but not sure where to start? Read up on our 5 easy tips.

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Social Media Marketing in Greensboro, NC

Looking to launch a new campaign? Get the most out of your investment by working with creative professionals. From email newsletters to Facebook and Instagram ads, Hue & Tone Creative is here to help your business stand out from the competition.

Sometimes it feels like Facebook knows you better than you know yourself. Seriously, how do they know you're dreaming of faux suede ankle boots and organic cold brewed coffee? While Facebook advertisements may feel a little invasive at times, there's no doubt that they're an effective way to market. In fact, 92% of marketers are now advertising on Facebook. 

How it works

Facebook tracks what you do both on and off their site. They know about your online searches, the posts you make, and the pages you like – and they use all that information to decide which ads to show you. For instance, if you were recently browsing for inexpensive winter coats, there’s a good chance you’re going to see similar styles pop up along the side of Facebook.

To ensure that ads are relevant and interesting, Facebook also uses information like your age, gender, location, and device preferences to help target ads. (If you’re interested in learning about this process in more detail, this site has an awesome infographic.)

Ready to get started? 

1. Narrow down your objective

When it comes to deciding on the objective of your social campaign, it’s imperative to think about your ROI first. Facebook ads aren’t free, so you want to make sure you’re making the most of it. We recommend quantifying all your advertising goals. How many people do you want to reach? What are your traffic goals? Set a time frame for each goal to keep yourself on track.

2. Craft your call to action

Think about the last time you saw an ad on Facebook. Like most of the 1.4 billion Facebook users, you probably glanced at it for a second or ignored it entirely. Those quick few seconds of view time are crucial! Make sure your copy or call to action is clear and easy to remember. Are you having a sale? Launching a new service? Providing a free gift to the first visitors? If you don’t grab a users attention right away you’ll likely be ignored for a cute otter video. 

To ensure that you’re getting the most out of your ads, we suggest taking advantage of A/B testing. Also known as split testing, this method allows to you compare the cost, click through rate, number of likes, and conversion rates to determine which factors make your ads successful.

Play around with the look and copy of your ads to determine what’s most effective. But, be sure to tweak only one element at a time -- or how else will you know what's caused the change in effectiveness? 

3. Design a strong graphic

Studies show that 65% of people are more likely to retain information 3 days after viewing if it’s paired with a relevant image. Using things like bright colors, minimal text and high res images can help grab attention. 

4. Target properly

There are several targeting options to consider during this step. Whether you decide on targeting a broad or specific audience should depend on your business and goals. Targeting a specific audience may lead to a smaller audience – but they may be more engaged than a large audience would’ve been. If you decide to target a broad audience you’re essentially relying on Facebook’s ad delivery system. This isn’t a bad approach because it means you might end up discovering customers you would never have known about! It's also a good place to start if you're not sure who you want to target.

Some demographics you can target on Facebook:

• Age- Include or exclude specific age ranges
• Location- Breakdown your targeting options to zip code, city, country, etc.
• Languages
• Connections
• Gender
• Detailed Targeting- You can break your targeting options down even further by looking at interests, behaviors, and even interests.   
• Custom Audience
   

5. Analyze the Results

Now that you've run your first campaign it's time to sit down and analyze the results. Who engaged with your ad? Which images worked best? Did you hit your goals?

Take a look at what worked and what didn't, then edit the plan for your next set of ads accordingly. There's no way to improve your campaigns if you're not analyzing the results! 

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Greensboro Social Media Company: Hue & Tone Creative

Ready to start seeing results? From design to delivery, Hue & Tone can help you create a truly unique social campaign. If you’re ready to start seeing a return on your social media dollars then it’s time to invest in a creative agency that can give you more. If you’re interested in social media management, a new campaign, or another creative service, give us a call today for a free social media audit.