Free Assessment: How does your sales & marketing measure up?

Get Started
Close

Free Assessment:

How does your sales & marketing measure up?
Take this free, 5-minute assessment and learn what you can start doing today to boost traffic, leads, and sales.
Get Started
Sales & Marketing Technology  |   Facebook Marketing

A New Facebook API Could Save Your Brand from Controversial Connections

Arielle Gnann

By Arielle Gnann

Jan 23, 2019

A New Facebook API Could Save Your Brand from Controversial Connections

Have you ever thought about what content your ads are running alongside?

As marketers, we know the devil is in the details and this is a detail you're going to want to keep a close eye on.

Back in 2017, big name brands pulled their advertisements from YouTube after they appeared alongside controversial videos.

This event sparked marketers to be more aware of where their ads are actually appearing. After all, you want your ad to increase brand awareness, not ruffle feathers.

Cue Facebook’s upcoming API which will give you more control over what your video ads run alongside online.

What is Facebook’s Upcoming API About?


Facebook is working on a new API which, according to Social Media Today,"...will enable third-party groups who monitor content for brand safety to automate the implementation of such block lists. The main focus will fall on Facebook's Audience Network.” 

Why Does This Matter?

Right now users do have some say on where their video ads will run. However, these controls are limited and don’t always get the job done. Users have been waiting for more granular controls and their upcoming API will provide them with just that.

 It is important for a brand to know what their ads are being surrounded by at all times. By having your ad appear next to something it can look like an endorsement. For example, if you are a political association you may not want your ad running next to a politician that your association does not support.

What’s Already in Place

>As mentioned above, users do currently have the ability to somewhat control where their video ads show up, but it’s limited to two options: block lists and exclude categories. 

Block Lists: These lists allow you to block your video ad from running on specific pages. For example, Nike might not want their ads running on an Adidas page.

The catch, you need to manually list out the page domain for every page you would like to block list. Furthermore, there is a limit to how many block lists can be applied to an ad.

Exclude Categories: There are currently five exclusion categories that you can apply when running your video ads. While this is helpful and help you avoid a broad spectrum of issues, they are also quite vague and may not specifically speak to your needs or concerns.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the five categories:

  • Debatable social issues: Topics related to debated social issues, such as religion, politics, immigration and more. Does not apply to Audience Network mobile apps.
  • Mature: Topics including violence, firearms, sexual content, profane language, and more. Does not apply to Audience Network mobile apps.
  • Tragedy and conflict: Topics that contain emotional or physical suffering, such as crime, illness, bullying and more. Does not apply to Audience Network mobile apps.
  • Dating: Websites and apps that have been categorized as dating. Ads may still appear alongside content about relationships and dating.
  • Gambling: Websites and apps that have been categorized as gambling, where winners receive money or prizes. Ads may still appear on websites or apps where people play games just for fun. 

Why We Should All Be Looking Forward to the Rollout of Facebooks Upcoming API?


The use of this third-party vendor will allow you to prevent your brand from being associated with things you do not support. You will no longer be limited to how many domains you can list on a block list. Rather, you can be confident in how your brand is represented while you advertise across the web.

There is no release date set for Facebooks upcoming API. However, it is exciting to know that this is in the works!

Free Assessment:

How does your sales & marketing measure up?
Take this free, 5-minute assessment and learn what you can start doing today to boost traffic, leads, and sales.

Related Articles

The AI Best Practice Guidelines Your Company Needs

September 1, 2023
Marcus Sheridan Marcus Sheridan

HubSpot CRM Review — Pros and Cons

July 24, 2023
John Becker John Becker

5 AI Marketing Tools That Stand Above the Rest

June 9, 2023
Briana Meisel Briana Meisel

20 Best Video Editing Software and Apps for Any Budget in 2023

May 25, 2023
Megan Lang Megan Lang

The Best Way for Marketers to Learn AI? Get Into the Sandbox and Start Playing

May 24, 2023
John Becker John Becker

Best Virtual Sales Tips, Tactics, Strategies, and Tools

February 6, 2023
John Becker John Becker

A Content Marketer’s Guide to ChatGPT and AI-generated Content

January 16, 2023
Mandy York Mandy York

Check Your Ego and Understand the Metrics that Matter

December 28, 2022
Chris Duprey Chris Duprey

22 Best Content Marketing Tools and Apps for 2023

October 29, 2022
Liz Murphy Liz Murphy

8 Best Content Management Systems for Digital Marketing in 2023

October 1, 2022
Ramona Sukhraj Ramona Sukhraj

What Marketers Need To Know About Switching to GA4 [Google Analytics 4]

July 30, 2022
John Becker John Becker

The 4 Top Business Analytics Platforms for Data-Hungry Organizations

June 20, 2022
John Becker John Becker

Ultimate List of HubSpot Pros and Cons

January 8, 2022
Carina Duffy Carina Duffy

HubSpot Sales Hub: 18 Things Every Sales Rep Should Know How to Do (+ Videos)

October 28, 2021
John Becker John Becker

How to Get Sales Reps to Use the HubSpot CRM

October 18, 2021
Kimberly Marshall Kimberly Marshall

How to Know When You’ve Outgrown HubSpot Sales Hub Starter

September 23, 2021
John Becker John Becker

How to Get the Most Out of Your 2-Week HubSpot Free Trial

September 13, 2021
John Becker John Becker

5 HubSpot Sales Hub Tips for Assignment Selling

July 23, 2021
Tracey Stepanchuk Tracey Stepanchuk

Get your sales team using your CRM platform in 5 easy steps

July 13, 2021
John Becker John Becker

HubSpot vs. ActiveCampaign: a head-to-head comparison

July 13, 2021
Tracey Stepanchuk Tracey Stepanchuk

Is the HubSpot CRM the best for They Ask, You Answer?

April 5, 2021
John Becker John Becker

8 Best Digital Marketing Tools and Tech for Every Business (+ VIDEO)

March 31, 2021
John Becker John Becker

7 Best Social Media Management Tools (+ Video)

March 26, 2021
Connor DeLaney Connor DeLaney

HubSpot vs. Pardot for marketing: a head-to-head comparison

February 2, 2021
Joe Bachir Joe Bachir

Marketing and Sales Alignment When Using HubSpot and Salesforce [Infographic]

January 16, 2021
Joe Bachir Joe Bachir