Until recently I have had a very open relationship with Facebook. As a social media specialist, I tell Facebook everything, my wants and desires, and he (only because the founder/CEO is a male) delivers.
It all began one morning when I was checking the status of a client’s Facebook ad account. A giant red banner displayed across the top of my monitor reading, “Your ad account has recently been flagged because of unusual activity. For security reasons, any ads you’re running will be paused until you can confirm your account information by contacting Facebook.” Immediately I began to cry uncontrollably (possible exaggeration). It was my worst nightmare. I selected the link provided and continued to fill out a form that signed my life away. That’s right, I had to submit my terrible driver’s license with my entire life story for the situation at hand.
After submitting the form, I received an email that said someone would contact me shortly. I waited patiently for their reply. Friday rolled around and I had still not heard from my beloved Facebook.
I ran a search for different methods of contacting them. I did it all. I called (this is a big no-no), emailed, filled out countless forms and tweeted. All hope was lost.
My exuberance to solve the problem proved to be the issue. When working with Facebook it is best to stick to one medium and play by their rules. It turns out that Facebook only has 4.6k employees and 1.3 billion monthly active users. Meaning, for every one person that works at Facebook, there are approximately 282,000 people competing with you for someone’s attention.
Why did Facebook flag my account? How long would it take to be active again? Why couldn’t I get any answers?!
I spent hours searching the internet in hopes of finding the answers that would solve my problem. Now that the issue has been resolved and my faith in Facebook restored, it is important to share my knowledge with the world.
When working with Facebook:
1. Don’t panic
2. Read everything multiple times
3. Complete the forms with exact details
4. Only complete the necessary forms one time
5. Track everything
6. Be patient
Let it be noted that I am not bashing Facebook. I love Facebook. If it were not for Mark Zuckerberg and a handful of internet geniuses my career path would involve manual labor (and that’s not my cup of tea).
The most important concept to gain from my personal experience with Facebook is that social media is still a new concept. There may not be a concrete resolution to your problem because your issue has never occurred.
