28/1/2019 5 Forbidden Phrases You Absolutely Must Avoid in Your Facebook Ad

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FACEBOOK ADVERTISING

5 Forbidden Phrases You

Absolutely Must Avoid in Your
Facebook Ad
All caps and too many exclamation points are just the beginning. Facebook is cracking
down on 'pain points' content and get-rich-quick schemes.

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Question 1 of 7 or fewer:

Describe your level of experience as an

entrepreneur?

I want to start a business but haven't yet

I have a startup (< 2 years.)

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The Facebook Ads Strategy How Much Do You Really
That Can't Lose Need to Spend on Facebook
to See Pro ts?
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING
The Secret to Making
Facebook Ads Work for Your
Business
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING
I have a business (> 2 years.)
Solve Your Most What to Do If Your Facebook
Bothersome Facebook Ad Account Is Disabled
I'm looking to sell my business.
Campaign Problems With
These Tips I'm not interested in being an entrepreneur.
I'm not interested in being an entrepreneur.

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28/1/2019 5 Forbidden Phrases You Absolutely Must Avoid in Your Facebook Ad

Image credit: Jaap Arriens | NurPhoto | Getty Images

Tara Zirker
GUEST WRITER
Founder, Successful Ads Club

January 25, 2019 7 min read

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you haven’t heard or had this experience yet, Facebook is cracking down on ad copy
from businesses around the world. Small businesses and entrepreneurs in particular
now need to tread lightly with ads that may seem overly targeted or misleading in any
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way, as the
The Facebook Ads Strategy
platform has begun rejecting
How Much Do You Really
ads at a far greater
The Secret to Making
rate than ever before.
Solve Your Most What to Do If Your Facebook
That Can't Lose Need to Spend on Facebook Facebook Ads Work for Your Bothersome Facebook Ad Account Is Disabled
Related: Here's How to Master Facebook Advertising and
to See Pro ts? Business WhyProblems
Campaign You Must
With
These Tips

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326928 2/11
28/1/2019 5 Forbidden Phrases You Absolutely Must Avoid in Your Facebook Ad

In fact, ads getting rejected is one of the biggest challenges we see with our clients at
the Facebook marketing agency I founded. The reasons why that happens apply widely
-- to relationship coaches, therapists, counselors, institutes and book promotion
campaigns being disapproved by the site. Here’s an example of what a non-approval
can look like:

Explanation: What happens if you see a message like this? You’ll get a ag in your
account from Facebook and your ads will not be allowed to run until you x them.
Receive too many of these warnings and Facebook may shut down your advertising
account altogether. (There are work-arounds in that case, but it’s best not to get into
this situation in the rst place.)

Avoiding these problems is often as simple as following the advice below. Just
remember: The advice won't apply equally to everyone. Some accounts -- like those
that have more of an advertising history -- can get away with more. In fact, you’ll see
plenty of them in your newsfeed. But many accounts are having an increasingly tough
time getting their ads approved. The trouble usually comes down to one of these ve
forbidden phrases

1. "Are you a busy mom with no time to make healthy meals for your
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING family?"
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The Facebook Ads Strategy How Much Do You Really The Secret to Making Solve Your Most What to Do If Your Facebook
That Can't Lose What FB doesn't like: Ads that speak too directly to viewers or pain points. FacebookAd Account Is Disabled
Need to Spend on Facebook Facebook Ads Work for Your Bothersome Facebook
to See Pro ts? Business Campaign Problems With
calls these Personal Attributes. These Tips

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326928 3/11
28/1/2019 5 Forbidden Phrases You Absolutely Must Avoid in Your Facebook Ad

Just as the Google algorithm knows when you're keyword-stuf ng to push your page
higher in the search results, the Facebook algorithm knows when you're using too
much "you" or "your" language to call out directly to viewers online. While a few
instances of "you" or "your" are passable, we have emails from Facebook's reps
themselves saying that if your ads are struggling, it’s best to omit the "yous" and
"yours."

Related: What to Do If Your Facebook Ad Account Is Disabled

Remember: Facebook wants your ads to blend into the newsfeed and not look much
different from a post you would see from a friend.

The solution: Use stories, testimonials, or your own personal experiences or results.
To avoid seeing your ads disapproved, remove as many instances of "you" and "your"
from your ad copy as possible. The ad above could bene t from an easy re-work on the
copy: “Dinner is ready! Meal delivery for busy families on the go.”

2. "STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND CLICK HERE!!!"

What Facebook doesn't like: Too frequent a use of all capital letters or lots of
exclamation marks!!!! (in fact, overuse of punctuation is sometimes agged by
Facebook under Grammar& Profanity.

Remember: You don't want to "yell" at potential customers. That's the impression all
caps gives, producing the opposite reaction of what you hope to achieve.
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING
The Facebook Ads Strategy How Much Do You Really The Secret to Making Solve Your Most What to Do If Your Facebook
That Can't Lose Need to Spend on Facebook Facebook Ads Work for Your Bothersome Facebook Ad Account Is Disabled
to See Pro ts? Business Campaign Problems With
These Tips

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326928 4/11
28/1/2019 5 Forbidden Phrases You Absolutely Must Avoid in Your Facebook Ad

The solution: Use caps sparingly and only to emphasize really important words, and
avoid the rookie mistake of using to many exclamation points to get your point across.
But what if you really want to emphasize your point? That's easy. Play with emoji
instead!

3. "Tired of diets that don't work? Want to lose weight without counting
calories?"

Facebook doesn't like: Sensitive topics. Health, weight loss, beauty products, anti-
aging, supplements ... these all fall under "sensitive topics" that are closely monitored
by Facebook. It addresses this problem under its Personal Attributes policy, Personal
Health policy or Misleading or False Content policy.

Remember: Avoid using pain points or "negative" words like diet, weight loss, fat,
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING
depression, anxiety, stress, fear, overwhelm,
FACEBOOK ADVERTISING
terri ed, etc...
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The Facebook Ads Strategy How Much Do You Really The Secret to Making Solve Your Most What to Do If Your Facebook
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The solution:
to See ProUse
ts? positive language instead. Focus on
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after using the product. For example, instead of “Lose 10 pounds this summer!”

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326928 5/11
28/1/2019 5 Forbidden Phrases You Absolutely Must Avoid in Your Facebook Ad

try, “Feel balanced, t and this summer. Join my free Fitness Challenge!”

4. "Generate $5,000 in the next 30 days! Join my free webinar to nd out

how."

Facebook doesn't like: Get rich quick and "make money" schemes, work-from-home
opportunities, and big --or even small-- claims that might not be possible for
everyone to achieve. Facebook addresses this under its Personal Attributes policy. its
Multilevel Marketing policy, its Prohibited Financial Services policy and its Misleading
or False Content Policy.

Remember: If a message sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Likewise, if it’s so

speci c that not everyone will achieve the outcome promised, that’s a problem, too.

The solution: Be very careful using any language around making money, work-from-
home opportunities or readers quitting their jobs. That's an easy way to get your ads
agged or your account shut down. Instead, reframe true income opportunities or
business trainings to focus on the bene ts of what you’re offering. 

So: “Make 6- gures and re your employer with this groundbreaking opportunity”
isn’t going to go over well. Instead: “Learn the 5 most important habits that every
successful entrepreneur needs to master their rst year in business (even if they’ve
held previous leadership positions and have a strong business background)” not only
sounds less scammy but will also very likely play nicely with the algorithm.

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FACEBOOK ADVERTISING add curse words to your
ADVERTISING ads)
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under its Grammar & Profanity policy. These Tips

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326928 6/11
28/1/2019 5 Forbidden Phrases You Absolutely Must Avoid in Your Facebook Ad

Remember: 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. Along those same
lines, a particularly sexy image and overt language around intimacy are nonstarters, as
well.

The solution: Keep your ads clean and child-

friendly. And as often as we’ve seen people try
to get around these rules, remember that
Facebook can read between the lines of a bunch
of “&%#%^@%#%$&” characters to gure out
that you’re trying to swear. They know all the
sneaky tricks, and that stuff gets shut down
too.

A few more things to understand about

Facebook ads

If we’ve learned anything by consulting with

hundreds of small business owners on how to
x their ads, it’s that the ve simple solutions
described here will solve 99 percent of your
problems with Facebook.

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https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326928 7/11
28/1/2019 5 Forbidden Phrases You Absolutely Must Avoid in Your Facebook Ad

some clean-up work there as well if you’re

promoting something a little more sensitive.

And if even after scrubbing your ads and web page of these forbidden phrases leaves
you still scratching your head, wondering why your ads draw a "Not Approved"
verdict, remember that you can always reach out to your assigned rep (if you have one
-- most are randomly assigned and not all accounts get a rep).

Alternately, you can nd an expert who'll dive in deep with you to gure out exactly
which phrase or word is causing the headache. It’s usually something subtle, so don’t
be discouraged if you’re unable to see it yourself.

Related: As Facebook Clamps Down on Advertisers, Email Becomes an

Attractive Alternative

Finally, never forget that Facebook is still an incredible lead-generation tool despite
these recent changes. Getting the most out of Facebook just requires learning the
rules of engagement and playing nice with the system. If you do that, you’ll be very
happy with your results advertising on the platform.

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FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING FACEBOOK ADVERTISING
The Facebook Ads Strategy How Much Do You ReallyNow
Apply The Secret to Making Solve Your Most What to Do If Your Facebook
That Can't Lose Need to Spend on Facebook Facebook Ads Work for Your Bothersome Facebook Ad Account Is Disabled
to See Pro ts? Business Campaign Problems With
These Tips

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/326928 8/11