Hey!
It’s David with Oberlo, and it’s question time.
We’ve talked a lot about the power of Facebook advertising, and we’ve had several people
write in wanting to know if there are any products that they AREN’T allowed to advertise
on Facebook.
This is a great question.
Facebook ads can play a huge role in your success as a dropshipper.
But, every Facebook ad gets reviewed and approved before it goes live.
So it’s important to know what we can and can’t promote on Facebook.
Now, some of these are fairly obvious, but others, not so much.
Let’s start with one of the more obvious ones.
Number 1: Adult Products This includes any nudity, or depictions of
people in, uh, graphic situations.
You CAN promote adult products if they’re focussed on family planning or contraception.
But, these ads must focus on the core feature of the product, rather than on sexual pleasure,
or sexual enhancement.
Also, these ads must only target Facebook users who are aged 18 or over.
Number 8: Drugs and Drug-Related Products It’s against Facebook’s community guidelines
to promote any illegal, prescription or recreational drugs in your ads.
Also, you can’t use images of smoking-related accessories, recreational or medical marijuana,
or any image which could imply the use of a recreational drug in your ads.
So don’t use a bong as a prop to liven up your ads.
Number 3: Unregulated Supplements The supplements industry generates billions
upon billions of dollars every year.
But understandably, these products come with many rules and regulations.
What’s more, if you plan to dropship internationally, each country has their own laws regarding
health products and supplements.
So for lots of reasons, Facebook doesn’t want supplements being advertised on their
platform.
And you know, unless you’ve manufactured them yourself, and you have all the necessary
certifications, it’s probably best to avoid selling these products altogether.
Number 4: Third-Party Infringements Simply put, your ads can’t infringe on the
rights of any third party.
That means unless you have a trade agreement with the maker of those products, avoid selling
products that are copyrighted or trademarked.
Number 5: Counterfeit Products Counterfeit products are a no-go.
These are illegal, by the way — and not just on Facebook.
You could get into a lot of trouble selling them, so avoid them like the plague.
There are plenty of unique — and legal — dropshipping products available that you can use to build
a legitimate business.
So if you find something with a Hifliger logo on it, even it’s offered at an unbelievable
price, just stay away.
Number 6: Controversial Products Any advertisement related to sensitive or
controversial subjects will automatically be rejected from Facebook’s ad platform.
This can include products related to sensitive subjects, imagery, or controversial symbolism
will be automatically rejected from Facebook’s ad platform.
Number 7: Weapons, Ammunition, or Explosives You can’t advertise guns or bombs.
Shocking, right?
This weapons ban applies to any kind of weapon, including pepper spray, knives, tasers, and
airsoft weapons like BB guns and paintball guns.
Facebook aside, it’s also worth bearing in mind that these products are affected by
various laws and regulations in different countries and U.S. states.
So, it’s best to avoid these products entirely.
Number 8: Tobacco Products This includes cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes,
and other related tobacco paraphernalia.
You CAN use Facebook ads to promote products that help people to overcome smoking addiction,
but not products that add to the addiction.
Number 9: You Can’t Use ‘Before-and-After’ Content When Promoting Health Products
This includes images that contain unexpected or unlikely results.
Facebook point out that adverts must not contain “before-and-after images, or images that
contain unexpected or unlikely results.”
And, once more, any ads promoting health, fitness, or weight loss products must be targeted
towards people aged 18 or over.
Last on our list of forbidden products: Number 10: Surveillance Equipment
This includes spy cams, mobile phone trackers, and any other type of hidden surveillance
equipment.
We know that many entrepreneurs are interested in selling these types of products, and that’s
totally fine, just be aware that you won’t be able to promote them with Facebook adverts
if you do.
That brings us to the end of the 10 things that you’re not allowed to advertise on
Facebook.
So feel free to leverage the mighty power of Facebook advertising – just not with
these products.
If you had your heart set on selling weapons and now you aren’t so sure what to sell,
you should check out our Products to Sell playlist, where we dive into all sorts of
high-performing products and niches.
If you have a question, leave it in the comments below!
I check the comments everyday, and would love to answer your question in the next video.
Thanks for watching, and if you’d like to see more videos like this, be sure to hit
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Until next time, happy Dropshipping!