Disclaimer
The goal of this guide is to show you how to keep a healthy Facebook ad account.
The information you'll find in the next pages has come from years of experience as an advertiser on Facebook as well as working with other internet marketers and digital agencies on their Facebook advertising campaigns.
However, it's important to make a few things clear before any further information is provided.
* Anything you do using this guide as reference is 100% your responsibility. I or my company can't be held responsible for any problems you eventually face using the information below. This guide is just for your reference and you're the only person responsible for your business and decisions.
* I can't guarantee your account safety. Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this guide is precise and reliable, I don't own Facebook. Facebook can make any decision in any situation based on factors I can't predict.
* Things may change. Facebook isn't static. This guide is being written in April, 2021. I do intend to keep it updated, but I can't guarantee that it will be possible. Also, there can be a time span between changes on Facebook and updates in this guide that can make part of the information (or all of it) obsolete.
* I don't claim this to be the only or even the best way to use Facebook ad accounts. This is just what I have learned in my experience with my own accounts and my students' accounts.
* English is not my first language, so please excuse any mistakes. If grammar errors or a bad choice of words make something unclear for you, feel free to get in touch.
Please, have keep this disclaimer in mind when reading and using the information in this guide.
Important Facts You Need To Understand
* There's always a risk of having an account banned when running ads on any ad platform. Each platform has its own rules and people working there can interpret situations in their own way. Every single advertiser on Facebook is at risk of having their account banned whether it is due to a mistake they make or simply due to a misunderstood by Facebook. Providing a guarantee that an account will not be banned is impossible. But, of course, certain practices can be (a lot) riskier than others.
* Read Facebook's ad policies. This is the silliest yet the most commons mistake new advertisers make: to start running ads on Facebook without reading their ad policies. Search on Google for "Facebook ad policies" and take 10 minutes to read them. This will save you a lot of time and prevent many headaches in the future.
* Don't believe in horror stories. There are horror stories about any company out there. It's not different with Facebook. Most of them are pure sensationalism or have been written by clueless people who simply don't know how to work with Facebook. Of course, there can be many situations were Facebook acted in an unfair way and even exceptional situations where very uncommon things happened. However, you shouldn't see those stories are the rule and have them as your main reference when doing business with Facebook. Mad people writing blog posts to rant and relief their emotions towards a company they can't really do anything against will never be a wise reference for your business decisions.
* Don't take it personal. Facebook doesn't hate you nor they want to play games with you. Don't take it personal and avoid being emotional. It's business and if they're picky with ad accounts they have their own reason for doing so, which do not include messing your life.
* You need Facebook way more than Facebook needs you. Remember this before you get angry and say that you won't use Facebook anymore. Facebook is the largest social media platform and together with Instagram they have over 3 billion monthly active users. They choose the song and we just dance. If something annoying happens with your account, it's better to ask your ego to go walk the dog while you sort things out.
Personal And Business Ad Accounts
Facebook has 2 type of ad accounts: personal and business.
A personal ad account is an ad account that belongs to a personal account (just a regular Facebook profile).
A business ad account is an ad account that belongs to a business account.
You can advertise with both, but there are differences that favor the business account. The main ones are:
* Business accounts are less likely to get banned once you've had them verified
* Having a Business Manager (business accounts only) is very useful, even though you can do well with the Business Suite available for personal accounts
* Business accounts can own more than one ad account (up to 5 in normal circumstances) and, in case an ad account is banned, in some cases it won't affect the others
If you can, it's advisable that you use a business account for your business activities.
If you can't, it's ok to use your personal account.
In order to set up a business account you'll need a personal account as Facebook assumes that every business has a manager, an administrator. That personal account will be the first admin of the business account, but it's possible to add others later.
This is the link to set up a business account using your personal account:
Business Manager Overview
You should also be able to access your Business Manager via the same link after you've created the business account.
The most common question at this point is whether it is necessary to have a business to set up a business account or not.
The answer is "more or less".
I have more than one company and al my business accounts are associated with a real, registered business.
However, many of my students who are just getting started with internet marketing don't have a registered business, so I'll use my experience working with them to answer this question.
Based on what I've seen recently, it seems that Facebook started making business accounts very easy to get and they're now moving towards making it possible for actual, existing businesses only.
A few months ago, any student trying to get a business account would be able to do it and then verify the account (we'll talk more about the verification process in a moment) using their personal documents.
At the moment that I'm writing this, I can say that some students have managed to do it recently, but not all.
Even in countries where the government allows one to act as a business being a person (DBA, Doing Business as) I've seen some failed attempts from students trying to get a business account.
I suspect this will progress to a point where you'll need a business to have a business account and there will be no way around it.
Business Suite for personal accounts have been improving, though, so it may be not a big deal.
Still, if you can register a business easily where you live, it's not a bad idea.
In general, having a business is a good idea when you're... doing business.
On the other hand, I understand that in some places it can be time consuming or even expensive to register a business. So, if this is simply not reasonable for you at this point you can use a personal account.
You can also try to get a business account set up using your personal name and address.
Chances are that once you start running ads you'll need to verify the account and Facebook will ask you for business documentation. I'll explain better how to handle this when we get to the verification part, but what you need to understand now is that your documents may get rejected and you may have to switch back to the personal ad account.
The good news is that I haven't seen anyone having issues with their account for trying to get a business account and failing. It means you probably won't lose anything if you try it.
The Verification Process
The verification process is something that scares many people and they end up looking for ways to bypass it, instead of learning how to do it.
Bypassing the verification process is very unlikely. Depending on the ads you're running it may be possible (e.g. running ads for a local business), but in most cases you'll have to go through it.
In spite of people's fear of the "verification monster", this is actually a quite simple process to complete.
The only mistake you should avoid is not having real information on your account. Use your real name, address and contact information and you'll be fine.
The verification process is not always fast as Facebook may take a few days or even a couple of weeks to complete the verification process, but you don't have to do much.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can't trigger this verification yourself (some people want to get this done before they even start running ads, but it's not possible), Facebook has to do it.
Here's what to do to verify your account:
Personal account
This verification is simple. You'll just need your ID or an equivalent (typically a driver's license or passport). You may also need proof of address. All you need to do is to provide these documents and wait until Facebook finishes the review process.
Business account with a registered business
Most of the times, this one isn't hard. I've seen some complicated cases, but they're not typical and most of the times it's fast to complete if you have the documents.
The main documents you'll need are:
Certificate of incorporation (or equivalent in your country)
Business bank account statement
Utility bill (proof of address)
These are the most common for them to request, but they may ask for additional documents in some cases. You may also submit other documents if you don't have these. See a list here: fb-business-verification-docs.jpg
Of course, the information on the account has to be accurate and match the information on your documents. Go to your Business Manager and then Business Settings -> Business Info. Confirm that you have the right name and address there.
It's also advisable that you can verify a domain.
Have a website for your company. It can be a very simple one with just some basic information. If this isn't possible, consider having a domain with an "under construction" page with this information:
This domain belongs to [company name].
Our website is under construction, but you can reach out to us via email or phone.
[company email]
[company phone]
Business account without a registered business
In this case, make sure that you have your personal information on the business account. Go to your Business Manager, then Business Settings -> Business Info and check if it's your full name and address there.
Everything is the same as described above, the only difference is that you'll provide your personal documents instead of business documents.
Avoiding Account Bans
Once you have an account properly set up, then come the second part, which is to avoid getting it banned.
In order to avoid account bans, we first need to understand how Facebook analyzes campaigns and accounts and debunk a popular myth.
Myth: Affiliate/CPA marketing is not allowed on Facebook
Facebook is very clear about what is or not allowed in their ad policies. And if I ask you to find a statement there to back up this claim, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to do it.
There are many things that Facebook doesn't allow or, at least, doesn't see with good eyes. And it's very easy to do some of those things when running affiliate offers, which may lead to a ban.
However, Facebook won't ban you simply because you're running affiliate offers.
That said, let's go to the most important tips to avoid account bans:
* Read Facebook's ad policies - It's pretty obvious, but also the most common mistake people make. Don't assume things because you've read a blog post or forum thread, do read Facebook's ad policies and understand them.
* Don't promote scams - Avoid scammy offers, specially in more sensitive niches like MMO/BizOpp and weight loss. If an offer looks shady, simply don't promote it.
* Don't make exaggerated claims - Facebook leaves some room for interpretation in the policies as they can define what is exaggerated or not. So, use common sense and don't make too bold claims that will make your ad look suspicious (e.g. promoting a survey offer telling people that it will make them a full-time income).
* Don't make promises you can't back up - Don't use specific figures (e.g. telling people how much money they'll make or how many pounds they'll lose) and don't imply any results guarantee in your copy.
* Use landing pages - Never direct link to offers as most networks' URL are blacklisted and most offers pages are not concerned about being Facebook compliant. Use your own compliant landing pages with a link to a compliant privacy policy.
* Don't make it too personal - Facebook has gone through many scandals recently, so they're concerned about not making people believe that they're disclosing their information to advertisers. For example, targeting people young women in New York and using copy like "Ladies in NY are loving this" would be fine. However, targeting 26-year-old women in NY and saying "26 and living in NY? Women like you are loving this" would be too much. This is the type of ad that can scare people and Facebook won't tolerate these practices.
* Don't offend people - "Tired of being fat?", "Want to stop being a total failure at business?". This type of copy is offensive and Facebook won't accept it.
* Make it look compliant - more than making your ads compliant, make them look compliant. I see many people trying to find "flaws" in Facebook's so that they have an argument for running a certain type of ad. Well, Facebook couldn't care less about your argument. Facebook isn't a democracy, it's a private company and they decide what is compliant and what is not. When in doubt, they will reject ads that look suspicious without further investigation. Depending on the situation, they may even ban the account, simply because the cost-benefit of not taking the risk is better than the cost-benefit of analyzing the account in more details.
* Don't make major changes on your landing pages if your ads are running - pause the ads, make the changes and then clone the ads so that they'll go under review again. Making major changes on your landing page when your ads are driving traffic to it won't be seen with good eyes by Facebook (they may think you got a page approved and are now trying to run one that's against their terms).
* Avoid suspicious activity on the account - in the beginning avoid accessing the account from very different locations (e.g. traveling to a different place and accessing the account from there), have a credit card on file that matches the name on the account and don't give other users admin access to your account.
* Don't insist on rejected ads - if an ad has been rejected, don't resubmit it or try to ask for another review. Simply create a new ad.
Another important thing to notice is that, yes, your account history matters.
New accounts with little or no ad spend are more likely to get banned than accounts with a solid payment history.
Two reasons for that: a history of good ads indicates that one single bad ad may be an isolated issue with no bad-faith; it may be worth analyzing a profitable account in more details.
Thousands of new ad accounts are set up on Facebook every day by scammers and black-hat marketers. They can't analyze all of them, so you'll fall in that category if you make a mistake with a new account.
It's also a good idea to warm up new accounts. Start running some cheap ads promoting fan pages and see if those ads trigger any problem... an account verification process, for example.
If it's a personal account, having some activity on the account (as a normal user) can be a good idea, too.
A final tip here is to keep in mind what Facebook wants.
The most important thing for Facebook is to provide the end-user a smooth experience on their platform. It includes free and paid content that they will see.
It's not because Facebook is a good boy, but because there are many competing social networks out there and they can't lose ground for them.
A good experience is the best way to keep people using Facebook.
So, instead of making this a game where you try to trick Facebook into approving things you want to run, make this a partnership.
Also look to deliver nice ads to people and put some real effort in understanding Facebook's policies and how your ads will be perceived by the end-user.
This can be a simple way to avoid silly mistakes that may lead to an account ban.
Handling Account Bans
First of all, you need to see whether your account has been restricted for a verification process or if it has been banned.
If it has indeed been banned, then the first thing you should do is to delete all the ads on the account and submit an appeal.
Normally, after an account ban you'll receive an email from Facebook with instructions on how to appeal the decision.
I can't say that most account succeed with the appeal, but it's certainly not rare.
Say that you have removed all the ads on the account, that you had no intention to violate the ad policies and that you commit to be more careful with further ads.
It may or may not be accepted, but it's worth trying.
You should hear back from Facebook in 2 - 5 business days (it may take more).
You'll have your account reinstated or permanently banned. If it's the second case, then it's a final decision and you'll need to get a new account.
If the account is reinstated, you should be able to use it again.
However, a reinstated account has a big shinny red flag on it.
For this reason, you will need to start with very simple, "inoffensive" campaigns. Only after a few weeks try to run more aggressive campaigns again.
Creating New Facebook Accounts
Creating new Facebook accounts for advertising isn't so simple nowadays, but it can be done.
You may have heard of grey/black-hat marketers who farm accounts for their marketing.
This is probably still possible, but it's getting more difficult and I strongly advise you to run white-hat campaigns and focus on keeping one or 2 healthy accounts.
But if you need to create a new account, there are a few ways to do it.
Before I talk about them, though, it's important to mention that if you have had your personal ad account banned, it may be a good idea to start a brand new Facebook account for all the alternatives I'll mention below.
If you have a lot of personal activities on your account this can be quite annoying, but it's the safest way to proceed.
Just delete the old account and create a new one with a different email address and phone number. Then, start all over... ad friends, post stuff, talk to people, follow pages, etc.
This is not mandatory, but this is the safest way to proceed.
That said, let's go to the alternatives you have to get a new account.
1 - Ask a friend or relative
You can ask a friend or relative to help you. That person can set up a new account, run some warm up campaigns and then add your personal account as an admin.
Just make sure that you wait a few days to be added as an admin.
After this, you can run ads using your own account and won't have to bother your friend anymore.
Well, maybe with a verification process, but after that you won't need the other person anymore.
This can be done for personal and business accounts.
2 - Register a new business
If you have a working personal account, but your business account has been banned, you can consider registering a new business and creating a new business account.
In some places this may be a lot of bureaucracy and cost a lot of money, so not worth it. But if it's a simple and affordable alternative where you live, it can be a good idea.
3 - New personal account
As I suggested above, start a new personal account, give it some time and use it for personal activities. After a few weeks, start using the ad account with warm up campaigns and then finally run some real campaigns.
In any of these cases, it can be advisable to avoid phone numbers, email address and credit cards that were associated with banned accounts.
IP addresses tend to be dynamic nowadays and name are not relevant as many people have the same name.
This part isn't so important as I've seen many people who had submitted their documents to verify an account, the account got banned and then they used the same documents to successfully verify a new account.
But being extra careful won't hurt, of course.
That's it for this guide!
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you have any questions or suggestions, post them below!
The goal of this guide is to show you how to keep a healthy Facebook ad account.
The information you'll find in the next pages has come from years of experience as an advertiser on Facebook as well as working with other internet marketers and digital agencies on their Facebook advertising campaigns.
However, it's important to make a few things clear before any further information is provided.
* Anything you do using this guide as reference is 100% your responsibility. I or my company can't be held responsible for any problems you eventually face using the information below. This guide is just for your reference and you're the only person responsible for your business and decisions.
* I can't guarantee your account safety. Although every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this guide is precise and reliable, I don't own Facebook. Facebook can make any decision in any situation based on factors I can't predict.
* Things may change. Facebook isn't static. This guide is being written in April, 2021. I do intend to keep it updated, but I can't guarantee that it will be possible. Also, there can be a time span between changes on Facebook and updates in this guide that can make part of the information (or all of it) obsolete.
* I don't claim this to be the only or even the best way to use Facebook ad accounts. This is just what I have learned in my experience with my own accounts and my students' accounts.
* English is not my first language, so please excuse any mistakes. If grammar errors or a bad choice of words make something unclear for you, feel free to get in touch.
Please, have keep this disclaimer in mind when reading and using the information in this guide.
Important Facts You Need To Understand
* There's always a risk of having an account banned when running ads on any ad platform. Each platform has its own rules and people working there can interpret situations in their own way. Every single advertiser on Facebook is at risk of having their account banned whether it is due to a mistake they make or simply due to a misunderstood by Facebook. Providing a guarantee that an account will not be banned is impossible. But, of course, certain practices can be (a lot) riskier than others.
* Read Facebook's ad policies. This is the silliest yet the most commons mistake new advertisers make: to start running ads on Facebook without reading their ad policies. Search on Google for "Facebook ad policies" and take 10 minutes to read them. This will save you a lot of time and prevent many headaches in the future.
* Don't believe in horror stories. There are horror stories about any company out there. It's not different with Facebook. Most of them are pure sensationalism or have been written by clueless people who simply don't know how to work with Facebook. Of course, there can be many situations were Facebook acted in an unfair way and even exceptional situations where very uncommon things happened. However, you shouldn't see those stories are the rule and have them as your main reference when doing business with Facebook. Mad people writing blog posts to rant and relief their emotions towards a company they can't really do anything against will never be a wise reference for your business decisions.
* Don't take it personal. Facebook doesn't hate you nor they want to play games with you. Don't take it personal and avoid being emotional. It's business and if they're picky with ad accounts they have their own reason for doing so, which do not include messing your life.
* You need Facebook way more than Facebook needs you. Remember this before you get angry and say that you won't use Facebook anymore. Facebook is the largest social media platform and together with Instagram they have over 3 billion monthly active users. They choose the song and we just dance. If something annoying happens with your account, it's better to ask your ego to go walk the dog while you sort things out.
Personal And Business Ad Accounts
Facebook has 2 type of ad accounts: personal and business.
A personal ad account is an ad account that belongs to a personal account (just a regular Facebook profile).
A business ad account is an ad account that belongs to a business account.
You can advertise with both, but there are differences that favor the business account. The main ones are:
* Business accounts are less likely to get banned once you've had them verified
* Having a Business Manager (business accounts only) is very useful, even though you can do well with the Business Suite available for personal accounts
* Business accounts can own more than one ad account (up to 5 in normal circumstances) and, in case an ad account is banned, in some cases it won't affect the others
If you can, it's advisable that you use a business account for your business activities.
If you can't, it's ok to use your personal account.
In order to set up a business account you'll need a personal account as Facebook assumes that every business has a manager, an administrator. That personal account will be the first admin of the business account, but it's possible to add others later.
This is the link to set up a business account using your personal account:
Business Manager Overview
You should also be able to access your Business Manager via the same link after you've created the business account.
The most common question at this point is whether it is necessary to have a business to set up a business account or not.
The answer is "more or less".
I have more than one company and al my business accounts are associated with a real, registered business.
However, many of my students who are just getting started with internet marketing don't have a registered business, so I'll use my experience working with them to answer this question.
Based on what I've seen recently, it seems that Facebook started making business accounts very easy to get and they're now moving towards making it possible for actual, existing businesses only.
A few months ago, any student trying to get a business account would be able to do it and then verify the account (we'll talk more about the verification process in a moment) using their personal documents.
At the moment that I'm writing this, I can say that some students have managed to do it recently, but not all.
Even in countries where the government allows one to act as a business being a person (DBA, Doing Business as) I've seen some failed attempts from students trying to get a business account.
I suspect this will progress to a point where you'll need a business to have a business account and there will be no way around it.
Business Suite for personal accounts have been improving, though, so it may be not a big deal.
Still, if you can register a business easily where you live, it's not a bad idea.
In general, having a business is a good idea when you're... doing business.
On the other hand, I understand that in some places it can be time consuming or even expensive to register a business. So, if this is simply not reasonable for you at this point you can use a personal account.
You can also try to get a business account set up using your personal name and address.
Chances are that once you start running ads you'll need to verify the account and Facebook will ask you for business documentation. I'll explain better how to handle this when we get to the verification part, but what you need to understand now is that your documents may get rejected and you may have to switch back to the personal ad account.
The good news is that I haven't seen anyone having issues with their account for trying to get a business account and failing. It means you probably won't lose anything if you try it.
The Verification Process
The verification process is something that scares many people and they end up looking for ways to bypass it, instead of learning how to do it.
Bypassing the verification process is very unlikely. Depending on the ads you're running it may be possible (e.g. running ads for a local business), but in most cases you'll have to go through it.
In spite of people's fear of the "verification monster", this is actually a quite simple process to complete.
The only mistake you should avoid is not having real information on your account. Use your real name, address and contact information and you'll be fine.
The verification process is not always fast as Facebook may take a few days or even a couple of weeks to complete the verification process, but you don't have to do much.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can't trigger this verification yourself (some people want to get this done before they even start running ads, but it's not possible), Facebook has to do it.
Here's what to do to verify your account:
Personal account
This verification is simple. You'll just need your ID or an equivalent (typically a driver's license or passport). You may also need proof of address. All you need to do is to provide these documents and wait until Facebook finishes the review process.
Business account with a registered business
Most of the times, this one isn't hard. I've seen some complicated cases, but they're not typical and most of the times it's fast to complete if you have the documents.
The main documents you'll need are:
Certificate of incorporation (or equivalent in your country)
Business bank account statement
Utility bill (proof of address)
These are the most common for them to request, but they may ask for additional documents in some cases. You may also submit other documents if you don't have these. See a list here: fb-business-verification-docs.jpg
Of course, the information on the account has to be accurate and match the information on your documents. Go to your Business Manager and then Business Settings -> Business Info. Confirm that you have the right name and address there.
It's also advisable that you can verify a domain.
Have a website for your company. It can be a very simple one with just some basic information. If this isn't possible, consider having a domain with an "under construction" page with this information:
This domain belongs to [company name].
Our website is under construction, but you can reach out to us via email or phone.
[company email]
[company phone]
Business account without a registered business
In this case, make sure that you have your personal information on the business account. Go to your Business Manager, then Business Settings -> Business Info and check if it's your full name and address there.
Everything is the same as described above, the only difference is that you'll provide your personal documents instead of business documents.
Avoiding Account Bans
Once you have an account properly set up, then come the second part, which is to avoid getting it banned.
In order to avoid account bans, we first need to understand how Facebook analyzes campaigns and accounts and debunk a popular myth.
Myth: Affiliate/CPA marketing is not allowed on Facebook
Facebook is very clear about what is or not allowed in their ad policies. And if I ask you to find a statement there to back up this claim, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to do it.
There are many things that Facebook doesn't allow or, at least, doesn't see with good eyes. And it's very easy to do some of those things when running affiliate offers, which may lead to a ban.
However, Facebook won't ban you simply because you're running affiliate offers.
That said, let's go to the most important tips to avoid account bans:
* Read Facebook's ad policies - It's pretty obvious, but also the most common mistake people make. Don't assume things because you've read a blog post or forum thread, do read Facebook's ad policies and understand them.
* Don't promote scams - Avoid scammy offers, specially in more sensitive niches like MMO/BizOpp and weight loss. If an offer looks shady, simply don't promote it.
* Don't make exaggerated claims - Facebook leaves some room for interpretation in the policies as they can define what is exaggerated or not. So, use common sense and don't make too bold claims that will make your ad look suspicious (e.g. promoting a survey offer telling people that it will make them a full-time income).
* Don't make promises you can't back up - Don't use specific figures (e.g. telling people how much money they'll make or how many pounds they'll lose) and don't imply any results guarantee in your copy.
* Use landing pages - Never direct link to offers as most networks' URL are blacklisted and most offers pages are not concerned about being Facebook compliant. Use your own compliant landing pages with a link to a compliant privacy policy.
* Don't make it too personal - Facebook has gone through many scandals recently, so they're concerned about not making people believe that they're disclosing their information to advertisers. For example, targeting people young women in New York and using copy like "Ladies in NY are loving this" would be fine. However, targeting 26-year-old women in NY and saying "26 and living in NY? Women like you are loving this" would be too much. This is the type of ad that can scare people and Facebook won't tolerate these practices.
* Don't offend people - "Tired of being fat?", "Want to stop being a total failure at business?". This type of copy is offensive and Facebook won't accept it.
* Make it look compliant - more than making your ads compliant, make them look compliant. I see many people trying to find "flaws" in Facebook's so that they have an argument for running a certain type of ad. Well, Facebook couldn't care less about your argument. Facebook isn't a democracy, it's a private company and they decide what is compliant and what is not. When in doubt, they will reject ads that look suspicious without further investigation. Depending on the situation, they may even ban the account, simply because the cost-benefit of not taking the risk is better than the cost-benefit of analyzing the account in more details.
* Don't make major changes on your landing pages if your ads are running - pause the ads, make the changes and then clone the ads so that they'll go under review again. Making major changes on your landing page when your ads are driving traffic to it won't be seen with good eyes by Facebook (they may think you got a page approved and are now trying to run one that's against their terms).
* Avoid suspicious activity on the account - in the beginning avoid accessing the account from very different locations (e.g. traveling to a different place and accessing the account from there), have a credit card on file that matches the name on the account and don't give other users admin access to your account.
* Don't insist on rejected ads - if an ad has been rejected, don't resubmit it or try to ask for another review. Simply create a new ad.
Another important thing to notice is that, yes, your account history matters.
New accounts with little or no ad spend are more likely to get banned than accounts with a solid payment history.
Two reasons for that: a history of good ads indicates that one single bad ad may be an isolated issue with no bad-faith; it may be worth analyzing a profitable account in more details.
Thousands of new ad accounts are set up on Facebook every day by scammers and black-hat marketers. They can't analyze all of them, so you'll fall in that category if you make a mistake with a new account.
It's also a good idea to warm up new accounts. Start running some cheap ads promoting fan pages and see if those ads trigger any problem... an account verification process, for example.
If it's a personal account, having some activity on the account (as a normal user) can be a good idea, too.
A final tip here is to keep in mind what Facebook wants.
The most important thing for Facebook is to provide the end-user a smooth experience on their platform. It includes free and paid content that they will see.
It's not because Facebook is a good boy, but because there are many competing social networks out there and they can't lose ground for them.
A good experience is the best way to keep people using Facebook.
So, instead of making this a game where you try to trick Facebook into approving things you want to run, make this a partnership.
Also look to deliver nice ads to people and put some real effort in understanding Facebook's policies and how your ads will be perceived by the end-user.
This can be a simple way to avoid silly mistakes that may lead to an account ban.
Handling Account Bans
First of all, you need to see whether your account has been restricted for a verification process or if it has been banned.
If it has indeed been banned, then the first thing you should do is to delete all the ads on the account and submit an appeal.
Normally, after an account ban you'll receive an email from Facebook with instructions on how to appeal the decision.
I can't say that most account succeed with the appeal, but it's certainly not rare.
Say that you have removed all the ads on the account, that you had no intention to violate the ad policies and that you commit to be more careful with further ads.
It may or may not be accepted, but it's worth trying.
You should hear back from Facebook in 2 - 5 business days (it may take more).
You'll have your account reinstated or permanently banned. If it's the second case, then it's a final decision and you'll need to get a new account.
If the account is reinstated, you should be able to use it again.
However, a reinstated account has a big shinny red flag on it.
For this reason, you will need to start with very simple, "inoffensive" campaigns. Only after a few weeks try to run more aggressive campaigns again.
Creating New Facebook Accounts
Creating new Facebook accounts for advertising isn't so simple nowadays, but it can be done.
You may have heard of grey/black-hat marketers who farm accounts for their marketing.
This is probably still possible, but it's getting more difficult and I strongly advise you to run white-hat campaigns and focus on keeping one or 2 healthy accounts.
But if you need to create a new account, there are a few ways to do it.
Before I talk about them, though, it's important to mention that if you have had your personal ad account banned, it may be a good idea to start a brand new Facebook account for all the alternatives I'll mention below.
If you have a lot of personal activities on your account this can be quite annoying, but it's the safest way to proceed.
Just delete the old account and create a new one with a different email address and phone number. Then, start all over... ad friends, post stuff, talk to people, follow pages, etc.
This is not mandatory, but this is the safest way to proceed.
That said, let's go to the alternatives you have to get a new account.
1 - Ask a friend or relative
You can ask a friend or relative to help you. That person can set up a new account, run some warm up campaigns and then add your personal account as an admin.
Just make sure that you wait a few days to be added as an admin.
After this, you can run ads using your own account and won't have to bother your friend anymore.
Well, maybe with a verification process, but after that you won't need the other person anymore.
This can be done for personal and business accounts.
2 - Register a new business
If you have a working personal account, but your business account has been banned, you can consider registering a new business and creating a new business account.
In some places this may be a lot of bureaucracy and cost a lot of money, so not worth it. But if it's a simple and affordable alternative where you live, it can be a good idea.
3 - New personal account
As I suggested above, start a new personal account, give it some time and use it for personal activities. After a few weeks, start using the ad account with warm up campaigns and then finally run some real campaigns.
In any of these cases, it can be advisable to avoid phone numbers, email address and credit cards that were associated with banned accounts.
IP addresses tend to be dynamic nowadays and name are not relevant as many people have the same name.
This part isn't so important as I've seen many people who had submitted their documents to verify an account, the account got banned and then they used the same documents to successfully verify a new account.
But being extra careful won't hurt, of course.
That's it for this guide!
I hope you enjoyed it.
If you have any questions or suggestions, post them below!
