Chapter 3: Ads Structure
Meta’s Special Ads Categories function as a sort of “ad jail”, where certain targeting options are severely limited. The institution of this policy is a result of a slurry of lawsuits Facebook faced back in the day in regards to mishandling consumer data. Unfortunately, the burden has been passed on to advertisers. Your ads will be marked as Special Ads if they pertain to one of the following categories: Real Estate, Housing, Financial Products & Services, Employment, or Politics, Social issues or political campaigns.
When ads are thrown into the Special Ads Category, certain targeting options are limited. You no longer have the ability to filter targeting by age or gender, and the interest groups that are available for targeting are few and far between. As of late 2022, you also don’t have the option to use LLA’s for Special Ads.
Advertising in the Special Ads category can be hit or miss. We’ve had certain products/services that completely flop when thrown into Special Ads. We’ve also had long-term clients that advertise credit opportunities that have been able to thrive in the Special Ads Category. The level of success is completely dependent on the offer, and frankly however Facebook is feeling that day (like I said, it can be hit or miss). That doesn’t mean you should never try ads for a company that might fall into those categories, but be sure to do some testing before jumping in head first.