When creating campaigns on Meta's advertising platform, it's crucial to adhere to their advertising standards. One important aspect is correctly categorizing your ads. Special Ad Categories apply to ads that require specific guidelines and restrictions. This article will provide a comprehensive overview of these categories, their implications, and recommendations for businesses that fall under them.
What Special Ad Categories Are
Special Ad Categories encompass ads that deal with sensitive or regulated topics. These categories include:
1. Credit: Ads promoting credit opportunities like credit cards, loans, or debt consolidation.
2. Employment: Ads promoting job openings, internships, or career services.
3. Housing: Ads related to housing opportunities, such as rentals, sales, or mortgage services.
Which Features Will Be Impacted
We encourage you to broaden and not restrict your audience. To help you comply with Meta's Advertising Policies, some audience selection options are unavailable or limited when running ads in this special category.
1. Age: Options are generally fixed to include ages 18 through 65+ for housing, employment, and credit ads. However, advertisers running credit ads in Europe can select a different age range in order to meet their industry and local requirements for this Special Ad Category.
2. Gender: Options are fixed to include all genders and can't be changed.
3. Detailed Targeting: Some detailed targeting options, which may include demographics, behaviors, or interests, are unavailable. Excluding any detailed targeting selections is unavailable.
4. Location: Postal code or ZIP code selection is unavailable. Location selection must include all areas within a 15-mile radius of any selected city, address, or dropped pin.
5. Custom Audiences: When using a custom audience, be sure that your audience selections do not discriminate against people based on certain personal characteristics.
6. Lookalike Audiences: Lookalike audiences are unavailable. To reach new people, keep your audience selections broad.
7. Saved Audiences: Using previously saved audiences or saving a new audience is unavailable.
Which Businesses Are Affected on Each Category
1. Credit: Ads for Credit cards, Brand ads for credit cards, regardless of offer, Auto loans, Personal or business loan services, Mortgage loans, Long-term financing, Debt recovery, Debt consolidation and relief must be labeled within the Credit Special Ads category. It doesn’t include ads for the following: Gift cards, Store rewards, Debit accounts of services, Checking accounts or services, Savings accounts or services.
Learn more here.
2. Employment: The areas included are: full-time job, part-time job, internship, apprenticeships, professional certification programs, job fair, job board or aggregation services, guaranteed interviews or career placement, promotion of company perks alongside employment opportunities. The areas not included are: general advice on how to succeed at work unrelated to specific listings, general advice for career development unrelated to specific listings, discussing a company without sharing employment opportunities or perks.
Learn more here.
3. Housing: The areas included are: sale, rental or temporary housing listings; homeowners insurance offers, including as part of insurance bundles; renters insurance offers, financing options, including mortgage loans; home equity or appraisal services; real estate and house hunting services; aggregator services. The areas not included are: hotels, resorts, retreats, tips related to homeownership or home buying, education for consumers or housing providers about their rights and responsibilities under fair housing laws.
Learn more here.
Remember this list is not exhaustive so always play it safe when advertising in these areas.
Step-by-Step Guide
Access the Connect Platforms Tab:
Navigate to the Connect Platforms section of our platform.
1. Select the Facebook Connector:
Tap on the Facebook connector to expand its options.
2. Toggle Special Ads Categories:
Look for the question "Do you advertise Credit, Employment or Housing" at the bottom of the expanded section.
Toggle this option on.
3. Choose Your Category:
Select the appropriate category (housing, credit, or employment) that best describes your ads.
4. Specify Target Countries:
Use the selector provided to indicate the countries where you'll be running your ads.
Recommendations if Your Business Falls Within a Special Ad Category
If your business falls under a Special Ad Category, consider the following recommendations:
Understand the Requirements: Familiarize yourself with the specific guidelines and restrictions applicable to your category.
Plan Your Targeting: Explore alternative targeting options that align with your audience while adhering to limitations.
Be Transparent: If required, provide necessary information and obtain authorization for your ads.
Monitor and Adjust: Regularly review your campaign's performance and make adjustments as needed to ensure compliance.