Common Facebook Ad Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Are your Facebook ads getting rejected? Wondering how to lower your Facebook ads costs?

In this article, you’ll learn some of the biggest mistakes marketers make when managing their ads on Facebook and how to correct them. You’ll discover Facebook ad errors stemming from objective selection, ad copy, niche targeting, and more. You’ll also get a list of words and phrases that can lead to poor Facebook ads performance.

To learn about common Facebook ad mistakes and how to fix them, read the article below for an easy-to-follow walkthrough or watch this video:

#1: Selecting the Wrong Facebook Campaign Objective

The first big mistake that Facebook advertisers make is running traffic ads when they really want conversions.

Facebook knows all about the people who use the platform including their history of clicking on things and whether they're likely to convert. If you want to reach people who have a history of providing their email address and phone number, you should be running conversion ads, not traffic ads.

Traffic ads are meant for reaching people who have a history of clicking things on Facebook but maybe not taking action. The traffic campaign objective can be well-suited for running ads to a podcast or your most recent blog posts, for example.

#2: Boosting Posts for Conversions

The second big mistake that Facebook advertisers make is running a boosted post and thinking they'll get a lot of conversions. You'll see a lot of engagement on the post but not necessarily large numbers of people leaving the platform, visiting your landing pages, and performing the actions you hope they'll take.

So save your boosted posts for times when you want to increase the engagement on your post. Put the majority of your Facebook ad budget toward conversion ads.

#3: Using You and You're

I'm putting this next big mistake into a category called the “unspoken rules of copywriting.”

Let me start with an insightful quote from the Harvard Business Review: “When it comes to ad personalization, there's a fine line between creepy and delightful.” If you take that to heart, you'll understand why Facebook wants ads that are relevant but not targeted.

In your Facebook ad copy, avoid using the words you and your too often. While those words work well in email marketing, the Facebook algorithm doesn't favor ads that are full of them.

So instead of saying, “Do you want to scale your business with ads?”, you could reframe it as, “The fastest-growing businesses are scaling with ads. Click here to learn more.” See the subtle difference? When you scale back the use of “you” and “your” in your Facebook ad copy, you'll likely see a big difference in your success rate.

#4: Lacking Sensitivity to Certain Niches

Some advertisers don't have a good understanding of the sensitivities around Facebook's niches, which include money, health, and relationships, among others.

Suppose you're a franchiser looking for new store owners for your frozen yogurt shop. If you say something like, “You can earn an extra $10,000 a month with our franchise” in your Facebook ad copy, that would be a mistake. The issue is that Facebook doesn't like advertisers using specific numbers in their copy.

A better ad would be, “Learn how our franchisees are building great businesses with our frozen yogurt stores.” You're scaling it back a little bit and not making big promises or mentioning specific numbers.

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Another sensitive niche on Facebook is health. When you talk about people's health in your ads, be careful. You don't want to call people out or make them feel bad in your ad copy. For instance, don't say something like, “Lose all of that fat, and get rid of those extra 5 pounds.” Instead, you might reframe the ad by saying, “Feel fit and fabulous in 10 minutes a day.” The Facebook algorithm would look more favorably on that ad copy.

Another sensitive area on Facebook is relationships. Avoid talking about how people might feel lonely or disconnected in your ads. Instead, put a positive spin on your audience's problems. Talk about how somebody might look forward to the right relationship and building a deeper connection.

Even if your business isn't in one of these sensitive niches, be cognizant that Facebook wants more positive interactions for their users. That doesn't mean you can't reference pain points on the platform—you absolutely can—but make sure you give people hope and optimism for their future.

Bonus: Avoid These Words in Your Facebook Ad Copy

I want to share a list of words I've found to create the most trouble with Facebook and Instagram ads. If your ads aren't performing well and you have some of these words in your ad copy, try removing them and see if that improves your situation.

In addition to the problematic words “you” and “your,” you may have issues if you use gender identification in your ads or reference age, religion, or political leanings. Even the words “Facebook” and “Instagram” often cause trouble when used in ad copy.

Also avoid using curse words or fake curse words. They sometimes slip by the algorithm but they usually get caught.

Talking about health products like CBD or HCG is off-limits as well. If you reference dieting, weight loss, fat, or fat reduction in your ad copy, don't include specific numbers or promises—those would be considered claims. Also avoid the word “double;” for example, “double your growth” or “double your revenue.”

Likewise, avoid “step-by-step,” “grow,” “money,” “financial freedom,” “wealth,” “laptop lifestyle,” “working from home,” or “quitting your job.” Facebook doesn't want to be responsible if someone sees an ad telling them they can quit their job and then they quit their job but the opportunity doesn't work out. Facebook doesn't want to deal with a lawsuit that might stem from that.

Additionally, there's a long list of words and expressions that marketers and business owners have been using for a long time that needs to be phased out and the Facebook algorithm is supporting that. Some of these trigger words are “slave,” “master”, “blacklist,” and “whitelist.” So don't say something like, “Are you a slave to your workout?” in your Facebook ad copy. Ads that include these words or phrases are getting increasingly more expensive or aren't working at all.

The bottom line is just to be careful about the types of words and expressions you're using in your Facebook ads.

Conclusion

If your Facebook ads keep getting rejected or are more expensive than they should be, you might be making some obvious mistakes that impact your ad account. These include choosing the wrong objective for your campaign, using certain words and phrases in your ad copy, and misunderstanding the sensitivities around Facebook's niches. Avoiding these mistakes will make your ads more effective and less expensive.

What do you think? Are you making any of these mistakes in your Facebook advertising? Do you have any to add to this list? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

More articles on Facebook ads:

• Discover six Facebook ad copy secrets to improve your conversions.
• Learn how to optimize your Facebook lead forms for results.
• Find out how to convert website traffic with Facebook ads.

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