The internet is full of fancy Facebook ad strategies that look cool on the surface, but the more you complicate things, the harder it becomes to execute well and get good results.
In this article, we'll dive deeper into the factors we can control to get the desired results from Facebook ads. This isn't an article about fancy-looking strategies instead, we'll focus on the truly important things that determine why some advertisers succeed while others fail. Let's begin.
Understanding How Facebook Works
Many people start running ads without understanding how the system works, and this leads to failure. It's like trying to ride a motorcycle without knowing how it works or its features - you'll probably crash. We've seen this happen multiple times with beginner advertisers and marketers.
Facebook is simply a system of code that takes what you provide - like ad creatives, copy, and audience targeting - and shows it to people in its network who match your target audience. They've built software for this called an ad account, where we provide all this information to them.
Over time, Facebook's system has improved significantly. Initially, people would spam a lot and even run harmful ads, like those promoting medicine that should only be taken with a doctor's prescription.
To combat this, Facebook launched their anti-spam system which reviews ads and prevents them from running on their network. We will discuss this in detail later.
So to run successful campaigns in their system, we need to understand their rules, their software, some external factors, and lastly, what they advise us to do. We will discuss these topics next... this alone will improve your performance by a lot.
Understanding Facebook's Rules
To combat spam on their system, Facebook introduced new mechanisms and systems that review ads and reject those that don't comply with their policies. In some cases, they might even ban your account if you keep violating their terms.
While these tools have successfully reduced spam, they've also made advertising more challenging for legitimate businesses. Sometimes your ad might get rejected without a clear reason. When this happens, you can appeal the decision, and if they find you're not at fault, they'll reactivate your ad.
It's very important to be careful with your ads and creatives. You need to avoid anything that might accidentally trigger Facebook's system.
Here are some important things to keep in mind when running Facebook ads:
- No misleading claims or false promises in your ads
- Avoid using excessive text in ad images (keep text minimal)
- Don't use copyrighted material without permission
- Follow privacy policies and data collection rules
- No discriminatory content or targeting
- Maintain clear disclosure when advertising products
- Follow specific industry restrictions (like health, finance, politics)
Breaking these rules can lead to:
- Ad rejections
- Account warnings
- Temporary account restrictions
- Permanent account bans in severe cases
It's important to review Facebook's advertising policies regularly as they update their rules frequently. Always ensure your ads comply with current guidelines before launching campaigns.
Read More: Why Is My Facebook Ads Not Delivering? Expert Tips To Fix in 2025
Setting Up Your Facebook Advertising Workspace
If you are a proper business, simply hitting "promote" to run ads on your Facebook page is not enough - you need to have the proper infrastructure to run ads.
Here are the things you must have to set up your infrastructure properly.
You must have multiple Facebook profiles. Why? You will use these profiles to manage your Business Manager and other assets. Having multiple profiles gives you an advantage: if anything happens to one profile, you will have your other profiles as backup. This allows for smooth ad running without interruption.
You should set up two Business Managers: one to store your pixel and another to run ads. Share access to these Business Managers with all your profiles as backup. Facebook recommends having at least two admins in your Business Manager so you never lose access.
Make sure your Facebook pages are set up properly with good content. Empty pages can cause ad rejections. Keep your pages active and up-to-date.
It's important to set up your pixel and connect it to your website. Facebook uses this pixel to collect data and make your ads work better.
These are the key things to remember when setting up your advertising environment.
Structuring Your Ads the Right Way
Ad structure is important to get the most out of your ad spend budget. Facebook follows a 3-step hierarchical structure:
- Campaign level
- Ad set level
- Ad level
Your budget is mostly set at the ad set level or the campaign level. Understanding this helps because some advertisers set a very small budget at the ad set level while running 10 ads underneath it. This is insufficient for Facebook to properly test each ad and determine which one should be the winner to run ads with.
This is why understanding the hierarchy is important.
1. Campaign Level
This is the top level where you set your primary advertising objective. You can also set budgets, which is also called CBO (Campaign Budget Optimization).
2. Ad Set Level
This middle level is where you define:
- Target audience - demographics, interests, behaviors
- Budget - daily or lifetime spending limits (ABO)
- Schedule - when your ads will run
- Placements - where your ads appear
3. Ad Level
This is where you create the actual ads, including:
- Creative elements - images, videos, text
- Ad copy - headlines, descriptions
- Call-to-action buttons
Best Practices for Structuring:
- Keep campaigns focused on one objective
- Test different audiences at the ad set level
- Create 3 ad variations to find what works best
- Make sure your creatives are relevant and not outdated. Try new creatives.
- Start with broad targeting and narrow down based on performance
- Monitor and optimize each level regularly
Understanding Your Audience and Product
Understanding Your Audience and Product
If you don't know your audience well, you will not get good results. Targeting the wrong people is just wasting your money. This is why it's very important to understand who the main audience is for your product.
We have seen amazing products perform poorly simply because they were targeting the wrong audience. Make sure you know your target audience well to get good results.
Also, it's equally important to know if your product will actually work or not. If you already have very high competition in that product category, it might not be a good idea to run ads for it, as the market is very competitive and you will make less profit. So knowing your product well is also very important.
External Factors Outside Facebook That Affect Results
Now that we've covered Facebook-specific factors, let's look at external factors that can affect your results.
- Your website or landing page quality matters significantly. A poorly designed and unoptimized page will always perform worse than a well-optimized and professionally designed one. Make sure your page is properly optimized.
- User behavior patterns can also impact performance. For example, during public holidays, you might see lower engagement as people are busy celebrating with family and friends.
Learn from your experiences
As you run more ads over time, you will better understand the process and system. With this understanding, you can make better decisions that will help you achieve good results.
This is how most advertisers have learned, but after reading this article, you'll have the knowledge you need. The only thing left is to gain experience, which you can do by running ads for yourself or clients.
Conclusion
I hope this article has added value to your advertising journey. Just make sure to understand how Facebook works and stay up to date with its rules and policies—this will help you become a better media buyer. If you wish to learn more about advertising, you can go through our other articles to learn even more.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. How can I avoid ad rejections and account bans?
Ans. To avoid issues that might prevent you from running ads, always follow Facebook's rules and policies. It's also advised to have backup ad accounts, since Facebook sometimes bans accounts by error or due to payment issues. Having an extra account can help temporarily while your main account gets fixed.
Q2. How do I determine if my product is suitable for Facebook advertising given market competition?
Ans. To determine this, you need to test your products by running ads for a short period of time. This initial testing phase helps you understand whether the product will work in the current market.
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