Facebook’s advertising policy is always changing. Where before, ad content discussing only political topics and then election-related topics were restricted, now broader items considered to be social issues may also require special permission to run. And the updates are not over yet as Facebook is consistently updating the policy. Last week, we shared some of the history of the policy and how to work within it. Today, we’re sharing the authorization steps you need to follow to run these ads.
How do I get authorized to run Facebook Network Ads about Social Issues, Politics, or Elections?
Overall, this a multi-step, but fairly straightforward process. Remember, when you are looking for an agency to help run your advertisements on the Facebook Network—which includes Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, and more—to make sure they are authorized to run these types of ads on your behalf (as is Charles River Interactive). The process is slightly different for each country. In this post, we will focus on the United States.
Below are the steps you will need to take for your Facebook Page to be allowed to run ads related to political, election-based, or identified social issues (like healthcare and cyber security) on Facebook.
- Page admins and ad account admins must submit a government-issued ID and provide a residential mailing address (to which the verification code will be mailed)
- This verification process will come via a letter with a unique access code that only that individual can use.
- As we approach the 2020 U.S. Election Season, Facebook has increased the information required by organizations. Advertisers will have five options for providing more information, three of which rely on US government resources. Advertisers who complete one of these three options and provide a U.S. street address, phone number, business email, and website will receive a “Confirmed Organization” icon that will appear on all of their social issue, electoral and political ads:
- Option #1: Tax-registered organization identification number (ie. EIN)
- Option #2: A government email domain (.gov or .mil) and a similar website domain
- Option #3: Federal Election Commission (FEC) identification number
- Advertisers who may not have those credentials, such as smaller businesses or local politicians, will still be able to run ads about social issues, elections or politics. Those advertisers will have two options for creating new disclaimers and their “i” icon will read “About this ad” instead of “Confirmed Organization”:
- Option #4: Submit a different organization name, along with a US street address, phone number, email, and website that matches the email
- Option #5: Use the Page admin’s legal name, as it appears on their valid government-issued ID (For this option, the advertiser will not be able to use an organization name in disclaimers)
There are a few requirements for each individual user be able to complete the process for your organization. You must:
- Be a Page admin on the page the ads will be
running on
- In addition to the Page admin who’s creating the disclaimers, any person creating, modifying, publishing or pausing ads about social issues, elections or politics will need to have their identity confirmed through this process.
- If you are not a Page admin and need to undergo this process, leave a comment and we will be happy to help
- Have two-factor authentication enabled on your Facebook account.
- Confirm your identity via a government ID (such as a US driver’s license, US state ID card or US passport) and submit a US-based residential mailing address where verification documents can be mailed to you
And finally, here are the actual steps you’ll follow to complete the process:
- Confirm your identity
- In Facebook, click on settings for your Facebook Page (either on the page itself or through Business Manager, if you have one set up)
- Under Settings, click Authorizations
- Update the Where Do You Live section
- Under Step 1: Confirm Your Identity, click Get Started
- Click Get Started again
- Set-up two-factor authentication
- Under Your Primary Country Location, click Confirm Primary Location
- Update the Enter Mailing Address section with your information and click Send
- This will trigger a letter to be sent to your home with your personal verification code.
- Select the type of identification you would like to use (US driver’s license, US state ID card or US passport for those in The States) and click Next
- Now you will need to upload images of your identification in either a JPEG or PNG file (at least 1,500×1,000 pixels)
- Don’t worry if your address on the document is different than the mailing address you give, right now Facebook doesn’t care
- Click Next after your image is uploaded. Approval or denial of your ID should be processed quickly
- Answer a few questions and click Next
- You are all done, click Finish and wait for your verification code to come in the mail (this usually takes around 3-7 business days)
- Once your verification letter arrives:
- Visit the URL provided in the letter
- Enter your code under Confirm Your Identity
- Click Submit Code and you should be done
- Link your ad accounts (each ad account needs to be linked to your Page and a disclaimer must be entered for each one)
- In Facebook, click on settings for your Facebook Page (either on the page itself or through Business Manager, if you have one set up)
- Under Settings, click Authorizations
- In Step 2: Link Your Ad Accounts, click Begin
- Accept Facebook’s Terms and Conditions by clicking Accept
- Select the ad accounts that you want your Page to pay for social issue, elections or political ads for from the list provided. You should see any ad account for which you are an ad account advertiser or admin in the list.
- Create a disclaimer for each ad account added that includes who paid for this ad (example: choose either Charles River Interactive or Rita Business Kulis depending on who is paying for the ads)
- These disclaimers must accurately reflect who is paying for an ad. In my case, I might build and run ads, but my company is probably paying for them so CRI should be listed, not me as an individual)
- Review changes and click Submit
- Authorize your Instagram account
- In Facebook, click on settings for your Facebook Page (either on the page itself or through Business Manager if you have one set up)
- Under Settings, click Authorizations
- Step 3 is Authorize Your Instagram Account (this is Optional). Click Begin
- Check Review this Instagram Name – if your two accounts have different naming conventions, you will have to explain why.
- Click Submit, reviews are usually completed within 24 hours
- Create Ads
- Complete as you would normally, with the only added step being that you must click the ad disclaimer during ad development
- Note: everything must match the country where your authorization is certified (US authorization = USD currency, etc.)
Yes, the process seems overwhelming, but it is easier than it looks. In total, you can expect it will take about two weeks from when you submit your information until your approval codes arrive in the mail.
When you are running ads in Facebook and other social platforms, it is helpful to have a seasoned agency in your corner. Reach out to our team at info@charlesriverinteractive.com to learn more.