8 Spam Words To Avoid When Launching Facebook Ads
Wondering why your ads keep getting rejected by Facebook? Struggling to pinpoint where your advertising campaign has gone wrong?
Facebook is not just a platform, but also a community that follows certain standards when it comes to sharing information to avoid misinformation, discrimination, and false claim, among others.
According to Facebook, “Community Standards are written to ensure that everyone’s voice is valued and Facebook takes great care to craft policies that are inclusive of different views and beliefs- in particular those of people and communities that might otherwise be overlooked or marginalized.”
So any advertising content that contains offensive, misleading, and deceiving content, is automatically rejected by Facebook.
Facebook ad policies are very strict and ads are meticulously checked.
Moreover, repeatedly violating ad policies could get your account taken down or blocked.
So in writing ad content, from images to captions, be mindful of Facebook’s advertising policies.
In launching Facebook ads, here are the things that you need to consider and avoid.
1. Advertising prohibited products
Posting prohibited substances or products on Facebook is not allowed. Facebook is adamant about prohibiting tobacco, e-cigarettes, vapes, and other related products.
What is allowed are only those that explicitly promote anti-smoking campaigns, rehabilitation programs, and services.
Other than tobacco, unsafe substances, weapons, adult content, and other related items are also not allowed.
2. Profanities and aggression
Profanities or obscene languages are completely banned on this platform. Even just mixing a bunch of random symbols (&#%&%$*%&$%) or partially obscuring curses with asterisks are not allowed.
Grammar and punctuation are also two things to keep in mind. Avoid excessive usage of symbols, punctuations, and characters as they could portray the wrong message.
One example is the use of too many exclamation points that could make it seem like you’re screaming at the audience.
Using “SALE!!!” “FREE!!!” “DISCOUNT!!!” are spam words that can reject your ad.
Instead, keep it nice and simple. Use emojis instead as a perfect substitute for profane language.
Did you know that according to Agora Pulse, using one emoji on Facebook posts will result in higher reach and engagement as compared to no emojis used?
3. Schemes that sound like scams
Clickbait is an exaggeratedly-written headline that makes people want to click on the link. It usually states, “Click to see more” without giving further information on what the landing page would be.
Social media is bombarded with clickbait that leads to suspicious websites that are rarely connected to the headline at all such as “make money fast” schemes. But Facebook now prohibits these deceptive schemes.
Writing an ad caption that sounds too good to be true automatically makes it seem like a scam. What you want to do is to sound trustworthy and safe to play well with the Facebook algorithm.
So instead of writing, “Want to earn 1 Million Pesos in one week? Check out this link below!!!” try and say, “Here are easy success tips that every business owner has to keep in mind.” This caption has more chances of getting approved than the one million in one week copy.
4. COVID-19-related terms
Using COVID and other related terms have been used to promote false information and fake news.
In fact, the infodemic during the time of COVID has resulted in nearly 6000 deaths around the globe. This is because some people took the pandemic to their advantage to spread misinformation, conspiracy theories, and fake news.
With unreliable information spreading like wildfire across Facebook, the social media platform allowed users to report posts as “False information.”
On top of that, over the past few years, words related to the pandemic have been overused and Facebook doesn’t want you taking it to your advantage to promote your product.
The Facebook algorithm does not want ads to have the words “pandemic, corona, coronavirus, anxious” and other related words. Instead, you can try looking for words that could convey the same message without triggering Facebook moderators.
5. Controversial topics
Do you want to get on the bad side of your clients? Or do you want to maintain your hard-earned reputation as a brand?
You can stay on the safer side of advertising by steering clear of controversial topics. These are topics that are highly prone to discussions that may start disagreements.
Some of these include politics, religion, gender identification, conspiracies, and body positivity. For businesses, rubbing off on people the wrong way could eventually harm your brand.
And although they are not completely prohibited by Facebook, these topics should be trodden carefully. You want to maintain a brand that is friendly and respectful of all beliefs.
6. Health and safety-related content
If you’re selling health products, then your target audience wants to improve their health or lose/gain weight. Or if you’re providing anti-aging supplements, then your target audience is highly likely interested in looking younger.
These health and safety-related content are considered sensitive topics that Facebook closely monitors.
Due to this, Facebook prohibits pointing out these pain points in your ads. Ad copies that make use of sensitive words violate multiple policy guidelines of the platform.
So avoid using negative words such as fat, diet, weight loss, anxiety, and depression among others. Instead, be uplifting by using a more positive tone on your ad copies.
7. Financial products or services
Anything related to finance is risky and Facebook closely monitors these as well. This is because they are frequently associated with deceptive practices.
Financial services and products should provide sufficient information, such as the physical address of the entity offering the product. On top of this, these services and products must strictly target people 18 years or above.
8. Misspellings of Meta Technologies
Using fb, FB, IG, or ig, may trigger ad rejection. Meta is very particular in the use of its brand names. So avoid misspellings or wrong capitalization of its products. Write their brand names how they should be written – Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, among others.
Writing Ad Copy for Facebook Ads
What are your goals in advertising?
Businesses want the most web traffic, interactions, and purchases. However, brands must also play by the rules of the platform.
Facebook wants its users to feel empowered, and one way to do that is to keep abuse off the platform by developing community standards. If you would like to learn more about advertising policies on Facebook and Instagram, you can click on this link.
On the other hand, if you need help when it comes to creating Facebook ad content, we are here to help.
Check out our 365 Days of Social Media Content Strategy.
You can email us at dgstrategists@gmail.com, reach us on Facebook at Facebook.com/dgstrategists, call/text at 0928-223-8416, or message us on
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Cheers to more effective and well-performing ads!