If your business runs advertisements on Facebook or Instagram, more often than not, your ads probably get approved without any issues and run at their scheduled times. But have you ever had an ad get rejected? In this blog, we’ll share three of Meta’s advertising policies to be aware of in order to avoid Meta ad rejections, as well as how to troubleshoot if you do face a rejection.  

About Advertising on Meta 

Not anyone and everyone can advertise through Meta, the parent company that owns Facebook and Instagram. Businesses and organizations that do, however, agree to comply with their rules and regulations. According to the Meta website, “Our advertising policy aims to protect users from ads that advertise harmful products and services, and are positioned to not make users feel bad about themselves.”  

In general, the company claims that their policies are designed to:  

• Protect people from unsafe and discriminatory practices 
• Protect people from fraud or scams 
• Promote positive user experiences
• Promote transparency 

If interested, you can read more in-depth about Meta’s Advertising Policies and Community Standards on their respective webpages.

Keep These Meta Advertising Policies in Mind 

In an effort to ensure safe and trustworthy communication across their technologies, there are several things not allowed by Meta in ads on their platforms. To avoid Meta ad rejections, here are just three of those policies you should keep in mind as an advertiser: 

Personal Health and Appearance 

If you work in the personal health or beauty industries, pay attention to this policy; it reads: “Ad content must not imply or attempt to generate negative self-perception in order to promote diet, weight loss, or other health-related products.” Any ads that body shame, promote an unhealthy relationship with food or exercise, or reinforce negative body images are subject to rejection. 

Personal Attributes 

This policy reads: “Ads must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes. This includes direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person’s race, ethnicity, religion, beliefs, age, sexual orientation or practices, gender identity, disability, physical or mental health (including medical conditions), vulnerable financial status, voting status, membership in a trade union, criminal record, or name.” Be sure your ads don’t imply that you as the advertiser have any of this information about the user or their family, nor do your ads request any of this information from the user. 

Nonexistent Functionality 

This policy is less about upholding a standard of safety than the last two policies and more about ensuring an enjoyable user experience; it reads: “Ads must not contain images with nonexistent functionality. This includes imagery that replicates play buttons, notifications, or checkboxes, as well as ads containing features that do not work, such as multiple-choice options in the ad creative itself.” In other words: don’t mimic functionality features if your ad won’t actually function in that way.  

Troubleshooting Meta Ad Rejections 

If an ad is rejected, you should receive an email notification from Meta saying so and providing a link to their Account Quality page where they give the reason for its rejection. If you find yourself in this situation, here are two things you can do to resolve the issue:  

1. Edit and Resubmit Your Ad – If you understand why the ad got rejected, you can make the edit(s) to comply with the policies or even make a whole new ad. When you resubmit edited ads, they’re treated as new ads and reviewed by Meta’s ad review system.
2. Request Another Ad Review – On the other hand, if you believe the ad was incorrectly rejected or restricted, you can request a review of the decision. Unlike in the initial ad review, Meta relies more heavily on their team of human reviewers to process re-review requests. 

We hope this blog has been helpful in aiding your business’ success with Meta advertisements. If you’re still having trouble, or even if you haven’t tried Meta advertising before but want to get started, Vision Advertising can help! From setting goals and objectives to selecting target audiences, designing graphics, writing ad copy, budgeting, and analyzing metrics to understand ad performance, our team will see your ads through from start to finish. Contact us today to learn more.