Facebook ad policy updates announced this year aim to make electoral campaigns and political advertising more transparent. The latest Facebook ad policy updates also mentioned “issue ads” — but what, exactly, are they? While most believe the new policy applies specifically to political posts and pages, we’ve noticed its reach goes beyond that. The new Facebook ad policy requires political content disclaimers on ads that mention government-related topics (like Social Security or taxes). Other issues that could get flagged under this policy category include immigration or LGBTQ rights.
Facebook now requires any business posting what it considers to be “issue ads” to undergo a process to become “verified.” In addition, pages with a lot of followers must now authenticate themselves with a mailing address. The company’s security team says it will hire up to 20,000 people to help enforce the new Facebook ad policy.
How the New Facebook Ad Policy Impacts Firms Generating Lawsuit Leads
If your practice uses social media to generate leads, the new Facebook ad policy will impact you sooner or later. Any tort, practice area or case tangentially related to either government programs or policies must comply under the policy’s rules. In fact, some examples of what Facebook now considers “political content” includes:
- World Trade Center cancer claims
- Social Security disability law
- Veterans’ disability claims
- Tax-savvy retirement seminars
- Social Security seminars
So, how can you be sure your social media marketing efforts align with the new Facebook ad policy rules? Just follow our tips below.
Tips for Creating Facebook-Compliant Ads Under the Latest Policy
1. Avoid language or targeting that appears discriminatory against any group based on people’s personal attributes — even if it’s unintentional.
Ads must not discriminate or encourage discrimination of any kind based on people’s personal attributes, including:
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Color
- National origin
- Religion
- Age
- Gender/gender identity
- Sexual orientation
- Family status
- Disability
- Medical as well as genetic conditions
- Criminal history
- Membership in a trade union
In other words, take special care to avoid creating ads or targeting tactics that may appear discriminatory and get flagged. Some large corporations currently face discrimination lawsuits for running ads to recruit job applicants that specifically mention desired age ranges.
2. Avoid Facebook ad copy and targeting filters that involve income, financial status or medical conditions.
A new lawsuit claims Facebook allowed publishers to run housing ads that excluded women, disabled veterans and other protected groups. According to the plaintiffs, those ads clearly violate The Fair Housing Act, an anti-discrimination law enacted 50 years ago. And while you can still target Facebook ad audiences based on people’s income, that feature will disappear in August. As a result, firms that specialize in mass tort can no longer run lead ads looking for specific medical diagnoses or symptoms.
3. Ads cannot ask users to answer questions directly or mention the words “you” or “other.”
In general, more specific Facebook ad copy and targeting efforts will produce higher-quality leads. While we applaud the new Facebook ad policy for trying to increase transparency, it has unintended consequences for certain businesses. Without obvious ways to filter out unqualified leads, smaller firms are paying more to source fewer clients through social media.
Marketing Campaigns Less Effective After Facebook Ad Policy Changes? Get Pre-Qualified Leads Delivered Every Month
The most recent Facebook ad policy changes make social media marketing significantly harder for lawyers trying to generate new leads. If your firm’s struggling to bring in new clients each month, leave your client acquisition needs up to the experts. Partnering with LeadingResponse will fill your monthly pipeline with highly qualified leads in your preferred target location and practice area, including mass tort, social security disability, workers’ comp, personal injury and auto accidents.
Our team of analysts work directly with a dedicated account manager at Facebook who guided us through the recent ad policy changes. This relationship ensures we can quickly adapt to changing policies and requirements without any interruption to your lead volume.
Ready to spend less time on business development and more time serving your clients? Complete the contact form on this page to request your free evaluation of your lead volume needs and availability.