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So, you're a political candidate looking to reach out to more voters on Facebook? Well, running paid political ads is a great way to do just that! But, before you start running ads, you’ll need to go through the complicated gauntlet of getting verified to run political ads on Facebook.
Because of the (understandably) highly regulated nature of political ads on social media, you will have to jump through many difficult, highly manual steps to be able to run paid ads. Now that we’ve set your expectations, let’s get started on the steps:
Step 1: Create a Facebook Page for your Campaign and Ad Account
First things first, if you have not done so, you need to create a Facebook page for your political campaign and ad account. Your Facebook page is where you'll share updates, events, and other information with your followers, and your ad account is where you'll create and manage your paid political ads.
Step 2: Verify Your Identity and Location
Facebook requires you to verify your identity and location before you can run political ads. You will go through a process of providing a government-issued ID and a document that shows your current address. Make sure that the ID you are using has your correct, current address on it to avoid rejection or complications.
If you are having trouble with this step, you may have to get a document notarized. If so, make sure you bring your ID when you go to the notary, and ensure that your Facebook name matches the name on your ID. (You can change your Facebook name if you need to). You can likely use a virtual notary if needed – check out this option.)
Step 3: Complete the Authorization Process
Next, you need to complete the authorization process. This involves providing information about your campaign, such as your name, party affiliation, and campaign website. You'll also need to confirm that you're a registered political candidate and agree to Facebook's terms and policies for political advertising, which include disclosing who is paying for the ads and ensuring that the ads do not contain misinformation.
Step 4: Get Authorized
After you complete the authorization process, Facebook will review your information and determine whether you are eligible to run political ads. This process can take up to a few days. Once authorized, you are finally ready to start running paid political ads on Facebook.
Step 5: Follow Facebook's Guidelines
Finally, it is important to follow Facebook's guidelines when running political ads. This includes disclosing who is paying for the ad, ensuring that the ad is factually accurate, following Facebook's community standards, and avoiding discriminatory language and imagery. You don’t want to risk getting in trouble with the law or getting on Meta’s “bad side” by breaking or skirting the guidelines.
