How to Rule Your Facebook Ads
by Meg Brunson

With over 2 Billion users and 50 million businesses represented, Facebook is a social media platform that is simply too big to ignore. Having a strong social media presence is essential for digital marketing success. Because organic (unpaid) reach on Facebook has declined over the past years, it’s becoming increasingly important to allocate a portion of your marketing budget toward Facebook Ads.

When it comes to advertising on Facebook, Health & Wellness is a vertical that tends to encounter difficulty with ad approvals due to Facebook’s strict ad policies. As a former Facebook employee, I have assisted with getting ads approved for dentists, massage therapists, doctors, beauty products, addiction treatment centers, and more. I have identified 3 areas of focus for finding success with Facebook Ads as a Health & Wellness professional.

1. “Ads must not contain ‘before-and-after’ images or images that contain unexpected or unlikely results.” – Facebook Ad Policy

Instead of showing a before-and-after image, consider showing progress photos (before-during-after) in a carousel, slideshow, or a video. Explain the entire process, not just the end result.

Ensure that you are not zooming in on your photos to highlight areas that are idealized. A dentist may choose to share a photo of a smiling woman with straight white teeth. However, that image should not be zoomed in to show only her teeth.

You will also want to make sure that your copy is not making any claims that are unlikely. This includes guaranteeing any results.

2. “Ads must not contain content that asserts or implies personal attributes.” – Facebook Ad Policy

This includes direct or indirect assertions or implications about a person’s disability, medical condition (including physical or mental health), and more.  Ad disapprovals due to referring to personal attributes are very high among health & wellness companies.

What this means is that you can’t include questions/statements in your ad copy, such as:

• Is depression getting you down?
• Are you embarrassed by your acne?
• We’ve helped others with anxiety…
• The Ketogenic diet can help you lose weight…

Instead, focus on your products and services:

• We offer depression counseling…
• We have products to help all skin types…
• A new anxiety treatment is available…
• Learn how the Ketogenic diet works…

Anytime you use the words “you,” “your,” or “other,” take an in-depth look to make sure you are not making any implications about the person who will be reading your ad.

3. Testing Multiple Creatives

Testing multiple creatives is a general Facebook Ads Best Practice. Anytime you are running an ad, you should test 2-3 different images at the Ad-Level. Don’t just pick the “3 best” images in your opinion. Make it a point to think outside of the box and select 3 relevant, yet different images.

A dental client I worked with always chose images of people with nice teeth. One day, I convinced her to test multiple creatives, including a fun illustrated image. The fun illustrated image outperformed the other ads. It’s important to remember that your audience may respond to your ads in surprising ways. By testing a couple different creative options, you have the best chance to find one your audience is responsive to.

Learn More…

It’s important to ensure that your copy and creative is policy-compliant.  This includes not referring to your audience by their attributes, making any unlikely or unrealistic claims, or displaying before/after photos. You can find the complete Facebook Ads Policies at: https://www.facebook.com/policies/ads/.

Testing out multiple creatives is one of the general best practices that all businesses should be implementing.  If you are interested in checking out more of the Top 20 Most Often Missed Best Practices, visit AdBestPractices.com.

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Meg Brunson is the Founder and CEO of EIEIO Marketing.  Originally from Rochester, NY, she now lives in Phoenix, AZ with her husband and their 4 daughters.  Meg has been involved with marketing to moms for over 7 years and has experience working for Facebook within their Marketing Expert Program.  When Meg is not managing ads for clients, teaching digital marketing strategy, or furthering her own professional development – she enjoys getting the family out of the house to explore a variety of fun and educational adventures.  After the kids are in bed, Meg enjoys binge watching Netflix, fantasy football, and a glass of wine.  Learn more about EIEIO Marketing.