Checklist: how to pass Facebook moderation without problems?

Facebook platform still dominates the social media universe. This veteran has reached 3 billion users by 2023, which is about 37.2% of the world's population. Up to 4 million likes are generated every minute, up to 1 billion posts are published daily. Is it possible to miss such a source of traffic? It’s a real "gold mine" for business!

There are many effective ad formats on Zuckerberg's platform: carousel, videos, stories, slideshows, and interactive ads. Needless to say, there are also many tools for launching, testing, and optimizing campaigns.

If you still don't believe FB is popular in 2023, then here are the statistics:

• Users are 53% more likely to shop from brands with easy access via Facebook Messenger;
• 78% of consumers claim to discover a new product through this social network;
• Almost 50% of FB users use the platform for B2B businesses.

And usually, for the advertiser, everything goes smoothly until the first turn — passing complex moderation. At this stage, many TOPs "stuffed bumps" and called Facebook the king of Poliсy. The two main reasons why advertisers face moderation issues are:

• Too lazy to read the official rules of the site. On Facebook, prohibited topics are spelled out in black and white: gambling, online pharmacies, tobacco, copies of brands, etc.
• Disregard for the laws of the country in which the service/product is promoted. You should be guided by the platform's strictest rules and the state's legislation that the promotion is aimed at. Separating ad groups by country's also a good idea if the laws conflict.

Compliance with Facebook's official rules will increase the likelihood of passing moderation. We share a useful checklist in order to avoid problems with the promotion of your business!

1. Don't violate advertising policies. Facebook Policies clearly spell out the nuances of working with certain types of ads. Subjects with limits can be moderated, but only if accompanied by written consent (advertising of dating sites, gambling platforms, cryptocurrency exchanges, etc.). In addition, it’s important to configure the targeting properly.

2. Deal with Facebook's checks. The platform checks not only the content of the ad but also the site listed on the page. It needs to find out absolutely everything about the content of the site. In the case of promoting an app, it also looks at its in-store ranking and reviews.

3. Be careful with promises. It’s necessary to provide reliable data if a product is advertised that guarantees "How to lose 5 kg in a week", "Learn to speak Spanish in a month" and so on.

4. Pay attention to the text and the visuals! Ten times re-read the ad's content for spelling, grammatical and other errors to avoid obscene language. For example, in the beauty industry, when using media content, do not show the process of a cosmetic or medical procedure (relevant to "before/after" photos).

5. "Catch" in the advertising banner. According to Facebook's policy, the banner should have up to 20% of the text. But this isn’t bad because, according to statistics, such ads give the maximum effect. In photos, avoid patterns with inscriptions or complex textures. A neural network can easily mistake them for text.

6. Be patient. Sometimes moderation takes a few minutes, and sometimes you’ve to wait several days for a response. But this is even on hand because in controversial situations, there are more chances to get the approval of a real moderator. For example, when artificial intelligence detects a naked body in a picture that isn’t there.

7. Strive for perfectionism. The image or video shouldn’t be blurry. Unique videos and images enhance the chances of successful moderation, unlike those previously used in Facebook ads. A plus will be good sound quality in the video and the presence of clickable icons & buttons.

8. Don’t refer to a fake. Facebook willingly checks sites in advertisements. It "wants to see" a full-fledged landing page with functionality and meaningful content on them. But the write is gone if it "notices" a parser, phishing programs, or forbidden scripts.

9. Forget about shock content. Facebook specialists closely monitor the essence of targeted advertising for the presence of deception and insults. It’s forbidden in ads: to frighten, discredit, and hurt users' feelings. Also, in any case, don't use:

• direct indication or comparison on the basis of race, age, sexual orientation, nationality, etc.;
• mention of physical disabilities to promote goods, drugs, courses, simulators;
• phrases about violence and war, threatening or aggressive content;
• posts about "nudity", sexually provocative content.