Running Political Advertising Campaigns on Facebook 

In many ways, Facebook and political advertising is a match made in heaven, but it’s one that has become fraught with complications in recent years. At the heart of the political Facebook controversy is the Cambridge Analytica scandal . The data Cambridge Analytica used for their demographic targeting was provided in part by Alaksandr Kogan, who wrongfully obtained data through an app that accessed users’ Facebook data. In addition to Cambridge Analytica, there has also been a lot of press regarding alleged U.S. election interference by Russia during the 2016 general election in the form of Russian-run Facebook ad campaigns. Facebook suspended Cambridge Analytica as well as their parent company, Strategic Communications Laboratories (SCL), and has taken many steps to improve its reputation in the political space .

Facebook has implemented an authorization process for advertisers who want to run campaigns related to politics or “issues of national importance,” such as gun control. Advertisers need to:

1. Undergo an identity confirmation process to verify who they are and ensure they represent the candidate or organization they claim to advertise for
   
2. Link their ad account to the relevant political advertising campaign
   
3. Create disclaimers and link those disclaimers to the ads
   

One of the controversial aspects of Facebook’s role in the 2016 campaign was alleged user confusion regarding the validity or political nature of paid content appearing on their feeds. To combat this confusion, Facebook now requires all political advertising to feature clear disclaimers. When the ad is displayed in a Facebook user’s feed, there will be a disclaimer displayed at the top of each ad that identifies the organization or candidate who is paying for the ad. Any ads with content that’s political in nature, either in regards to a candidate or issue of national importance, must have this disclaimer in order to receive ad approval. All political ads still need to adhere to Facebook’s existing advertising guidelines and go through the normal ad review process for approval.

In the United States, local jurisdictions may impose additional limitations and reporting requirements on political advertisements. For example, in New York, political advertisers have to provide additional expenditure reporting disclosures . The state of Washington has also recently expanded disclosure requirements for digital political advertising. Facebook has added fields to their disclaimer forms to allow political advertisers to provide additional funding information for localities where it is required, enabling candidates and organizations running Facebook ads to maintain compliance with all local campaign finance laws.

Despite recent negative publicity, Facebook’s value for political advertising is still staggering. Facebook, more than most social media platforms, has an older user base that is more representative of the nation’s electorate.

Percentage of 2016 Voter Turnout Based on Age

• 18 – 29: 46.1 Percent
  
• 30 – 44: 58.8 Percent
  
• 45 – 59: 65.9 Percent
  
• 60+: 70.3 Percent
  

Facebook Users as of January 2018

• 18 – 24: 39.4 Million
  
• 25 – 35: 58.3 Million
  
• 35 – 44: 42.4 Million
  
• 45 – 54: 35.4 Million
  
• 55 – 64: 26.5 Million
  
• 65+: 21.2 Million
  

According to the Federal Register, there were 252,063,800 voting-aged citizens in the United States as of July 2017. If the numbers from Statista are accurate , there are 223.2 million voting-aged Facebook users in the United States. Even if those numbers are inflated, it’s still safe to assume that Facebook gives advertisers, including political campaigns and advocacy groups, the ability to reach the majority of the U.S. electorate. Better yet, it allows campaigns to narrowly target people by geographic location, age and other demographic characteristics. The breadth of Facebook’s user base and the demographic nature of its ad targeting platform enables political campaigns to narrowly spend their ad dollars targeting the people most likely to be impacted or swayed by their messaging. Campaigns can also tailor their ad creative to specific demographics and adjust strategy to appeal to different types of voters and issues. Most importantly, campaign advertising and political advocacy can be done legally and ethically with the tools allowed by Facebook using data users agree to share.

If you or your clients are looking for an experienced Facebook advertising partner to run an advocacy or political campaign for a candidate, contact our Facebook advertising team . Our Facebook ads team is authorized to run political advertising campaigns through Facebook and we have the knowledge and experience to create compelling content that promotes your goals or candidates. We’d be happy to discuss your specific needs and offer solutions and strategies that will help you reach your goals.