Have an ad campaign scheduled only to realized your Facebook account is disabled? Don’t worry, there are ways to get unblocked.
Disclaimer: If this is an individual account, the best method to reactive it is to contact Facebook support directly.
Facebook Ad Account Disabled? A Troubleshooting Checklist
The unthinkable has happened. You’re seeing the dreaded “red lock” account message. The horror... the horror...
We know it’s a shock to wake up and find your Facebook ad account disabled. Ads have stopped, sales are down, and revenue has stalled. What should you do first?
As galactic hitchhikers everywhere know, DON’T PANIC! Take a few deep breaths—we’re going to help you fix this, and fast. Let’s dig in and get your ad campaign humming again!
“Ad Account Disabled”? Why Am I Seeing This?
One word: algorithm. Facebook processes over a million gigabytes of user data every day. It’s impossible for humans to monitor even the tiniest percentage, so the task is delegated to a computer algorithm. And that formula has the authority to disable your account without any human oversight.
It may sound like you’re up against the Terminator, but there are plenty of things you can do to fix the problem before melting down your Facebook campaign and starting again.
Identify The Root Problem
Your account was flagged for one of two reasons: either you made a mistake, or the algorithm didn't work as intended.
If the error is yours, here are a some of the more common reasons you might find your Facebook ad account disabled:
- Your content did not adhere to Facebook policy. This is often the case. Without intending to, you’ve run afoul of one or more guidelines outlined in the Community Standards, Terms of Service, and Advertising Policies. There are a ton of criteria with a variety of possible meanings, and you may have misinterpreted one. It happens.
- Overspending. Spending too much on ads, especially at the beginning of a campaign, can look sketchy to the algorithm. A good rule of thumb is to increase the budget by no more than 5%-15% per day.
- You’re late with payments. This one is pretty obvious. No pay, no play.
- Unclear landing pages. Your ad links need to lead to pages closely related to the original ad. If you’re advertising fashion attire and your links lead to snowblowers (or worse, a dead link), that’s going to be flagged.
- Using the same payment information on different accounts. It may be convenient, but the algorithm uses this to identify previous offenders or fraudulent accounts.
- Failure to keep Facebook advertising information confidential. Leaking, passing, or selling this information to third parties is a hard no.
- Guilty by association. If a user on your account is banned, you might have gotten swept up with them.
Whether it’s one of the above issues or the glitch in the Matrix, the corrective measures are the same. Figure out what happened and state your case.
Let’s Get Fixin’!
While there are automated options, it was a computer program that got you into this. Another one probably won’t get you out.
You need to talk to a real human being. There are three ways reach out:
- Request a review. On the “red lock” screen, click the See Details button on the lower right hand corner of the notification. This takes you to the Ad Account Policy Page. On the right hand side, click the green Request Review button. You’ll be placed in a support queue pending a review, and a response should arrive in a few days. It’s a partially-automated process, but it’s also the least work for you.
- Fill out self-reporting forms. If you think you violated a Facebook policy, fill out this form. Be honest and own the mistake—you may as well bring the cleanest possible hands to the table if you want a speedy correction. And if you think Facebook erred, fill out this form instead.
- Contact a Facebook associate through the Facebook Business Help Center. Select your ad account, select the issue, and click on Contact Support to begin a chat with a real person. You must be an admin on an active spending account to see this option (active during normal business hours only), and on rare occasions Facebook won’t offer this option for reasons known only to them.
Option #3 probably gets a human being involved the fastest, though you may have to escalate to reach someone with sufficient authority. Be sure you’ve got your ducks in a row beforehand, and be transparent, thorough, respectful, polite, and courteous while chatting. However justified your frustration and anger may be, play it smart: most customer service representatives are far more likely to help friendly, humble people.
Hopefully, this fixes your problem. But in the end, Facebook’s gonna do what Facebook’s gonna do, and they can say “no”. If this happens (or it’s taking too long and you want to get going again), we’ve still got one last ace for you to throw down on the table.
It’s Better To Be Rich Than Right.
Even if you think your appeal was unjustly denied, keep your bottom line in mind: your business needs ads up and running NOW in order to keep revenue flowing.
It’s an inescapable reality of life that it’s a waste of time and energy to argue with a large bureaucracy that’s made up its mind. Sure, you can try tunneling out of Shawshank with a rock hammer, but wouldn’t you rather get back to making money?
You’re going to have to hit the reset button. Create a new business manager and ad account, migrate all assets, and relaunch your campaigns. It may feel unfair (and that’s only because it is), but trust us: it’s the solid play.
When starting fresh, keep a few things in mind:
- Do: learn from your mistakes, however unintentional. When migrating assets from the old account, remove or modify any that might have been flagged or you’ll just have to go through all this again.
- Don’t: reuse forms of payment Facebook has seen before. This is a sign to the algorithm of suspect accounts or repeat offenders. Also, don’t create a new ad account with the current business manager. It could result in a more serious ban from Facebook.
In the end, no matter what the solution is it’s probably going to be a nerve-wracking hassle to deal with, but hey—this is business. Keep your eye on the prize. Everything else is just distracting you from success.
You Got This!
Social Ktchn’s proven troubleshooting tips will fix most of the problems you’re likely to see with your Facebook ad account. Disabled campaigns can be up and running fast with some know-how and a little elbow grease!
If you could use some help navigating Facebook’s policies, or better yet want experienced social media experts in your corner to keep this from ever happening again, feel free to reach out to us! We’re Facebook and Instagram wizards who know this gold mine inside and out.