Insurance Facebook Ads 2025: Lead Generation, Compliancy, & Special Ad Category Update

Agents that don't understand the special ad category are about to potentially waste a ton of money on ad spend and also risk getting their account banned. But it doesn't have to be that way. And in fact, there are strategies that you can start implementing right now that will help set your account up for success, whether you are currently running ads or you plan to in the future. If we haven't met yet, my name is Shauna. I am the founder of Social Waves Media, and I first started specializing in social media lead generation, specifically on the Facebook or Meta platforms in 2015. I've managed multiple millions of dollars of ad spend. I've worked across numerous different industries. And then in 2022 is when I first started working with insurance agents and also when I launched my course Insurance Click to Close. Now I wanna share with you, over my many years of being in this industry, there's one thing that has remained the same, and that is Online marketing is always shifting. It's always changing and it's always evolving. I like to say it's kind of like an ocean wave that's coming in towards you. You can either learn how to surf so you can stay on top of any wave that's going to come your way, or you can fight it and eventually that wave's going to go over your head. And this change in your industry specific is something that really does affect you across the board, But it's something that I guarantee you that with the right tools and strategies, you will be able to get on top of, surf, and come out on top. In fact, now that I've really gotten some more experience in testing this special ad category, I've gotten into the weeds about what we can and cannot do. I've tested different strategies. I am seeing the potential that when you approach this the right way, that this could be an opportunity for the good agents the honest agents with integrity and with honesty to actually stand out from all of those scammy agencies that kind of pop up during AEP or OEP and kind of start hammering the market with all of these generic ads. Now, I'm excited to share with you the updates that I have. It's been a little bit delayed for a couple of reasons. One, my number one priority is taking care of the agents enrolled in my course. And in January and into February, I did a major overhaul of all of the resources that I shared with my agents. And then number 2, I I like to make sure that everything I'm sharing with you is as accurate as possible. And with this being such a big change, I, one, met with other industry leaders that are in the Facebook marketing space. And then number 2, I have spoken to multiple different people at Meta to make sure that I'm actually providing accurate information. So with that being said, let's jump right in. So first, what is the special ad category and do insurance agents actually have to declare it when they are running their ads? So the special ad category, first came out in 2019. And the reason why Meta created the special ad category— this, I swear she knows what I'm filming and I'm not giving her attention. Meta first came out with the special ad category in 2019, and the entire purpose of it was to prevent advertisers from purposefully discriminating against specific demographics when it came to certain opportunities. And those opportunities were primarily loan opportunities, housing opportunities, career opportunities, job openings, and these types of things. They also extended it to include any type of political ads because those ads need a little bit more monitoring than maybe some other ads. So that was the purpose of it coming out with it. And then in 2025, in January of 2025, is when Meta decided that insurance must declare themselves as a special ad category from this point moving forward, and you select it under its financial products, and it specifically says in there now insurance-related services. Now, do I think that this makes sense for all lines of business? No, I don't. I have even heard some industry leaders specifically in the insurance space say that individual agents, you don't need to declare it as a special ad category. That is for big agencies and so on. I'm sorry to tell you that's absolutely not true. I've spoken to multiple people at Meta, and while I can see, okay, this makes sense for maybe life insurance or annuities or IULs or something like that, does this mean that Medicare agents who have an age requirement— it's not because they're discriminating, they have an age-related requirement— or if it's for ACA-type ads that have an age demographic that they're able to write business for Do they still have to declare this? And Meta has said 100% yes, you absolutely have to declare it as a special ad category. Now there is one exception, and I did specifically ask, well, what if an insurance agent wants to run an ad that has nothing to do with insurance-related services? And they said, well, like, what would an insurance agent run an ad to? And I said, like, maybe a page-like campaign, or maybe they want to run an engagement ad that is specifically aimed towards getting seniors to interact with their brand? Or what if they want to run a video view ad but it doesn't mention anything about insurance? They said technically, if the ad does not mention anything about insurance, you don't have to declare it as a special ad category. But please note that Meta is kind of in this phase of don't mess with us, we will just block your IP address from ever being able to run ads ever again. And, and I've seen that happen. I am actually working with a group right now that they were working with a marketer. This was before special ad category, but the marketer was doing some shady things and it got them and their entire group banned from running ads. And this was probably something that happened 5 or 6 years ago. And so their IP address and connected to their individual accounts is not going to allow them to create an ad account. So You don't want to mess with this. The consequences of doing this could be not just your ad account gets shut down and you're like, oh well, I'll just start a new ad account. It could actually mean that you as an individual will never be able to advertise on their platform again. So you want to make sure that you're compliant and you're selecting special ad category when we are running any type of ad related to insurance, especially when it comes to lead generation or lead conversion ads. Let's talk about what you can and what you cannot control anymore whenever it comes to the backend of setting up your campaign. So things that you can still control, you can still control the state that you're targeting, and also you can go all the way down to the city that you wanna target plus a 15-mile radius. So you are able to select only the states that you are licensed in, and you're able to break down that data to verify that you've selected that correctly and that your ads are only serving to states that you have selected. Now, number 3, you are still allowed to use interest targeting. It's just a little bit more broad. So some of the very specific targeting, uh, options are not available once you choose that you're going to be running a special ad campaign, but there are still interests such as insurance or even life insurance or even health insurance. And there's other different demographical interests you're able to input. Now, while the limited interest can make it sound a little bit scary, the truth is back in the older days, we used to rely so much on our targeting and it was all about if we can just get our ad in front of the right person, then we're able to get the conversions. But the reality, as I talk about this more, is that broad targeting is more of the direction that Meta is running, irregardless of if you are in a special ad category or not. So we'll talk about that more when we get to that part. Okay? Number 4, you are allowed to control the placement. So when you run an ad campaign on Facebook and Instagram or Meta platforms, I always say that Meta wants to serve your ad always in all ways, and that's not always the best decision to make when you are running a lead generation campaign. So there's some placements that you don't want your ad to be showing up on that maybe if you're running an e-commerce or you were just wanting some brand awareness, you would. For example, lead generation ads don't typically perform very well when they're stacked top of another reel. So they're watching a reel and then your little ad comes up. That's great for a reminder for a product or a limited time offer, but it's not the best placement for a lead generation campaign, or if you're running webinar conversions, or when you're trying to collect their information. So we don't want it there. We don't want it in Audience Network. We don't want it playing in-stream whenever it comes to certain videos and so on. So getting into the weeds and controlling where your ads are actually being served to individuals on the platform is a huge plus. And then the last but not least thing that you still have control of is your messaging. And we're gonna talk about this a little bit more later, but the messaging is the most important thing, irregardless of if you're running an ad in this special ad category or not, because we live in a day and age that the content finds the user. Talk about that more in a second. All right, so let's get into the things that we no longer control on the backend. So we no longer can select the zip code. We no longer can select the gender. So your ads will be shown to both men and women. And then the big kicker is we no longer can control the age. Now here's the thing. The algorithm is still working in the background. They really want to match the ad with the right user. Number one, they want to make the user happy and have relevancy in their newsfeed. And number two, they do want to get you, the advertiser, the conversion that you're looking for. You leads if that's what you're looking for. So just because certain demographics are not in our control anymore does not mean that they're not still at play with the algorithm. I've talked about this before, but there's many different ad accounts that I have done an audit for, and they were still getting leads and getting their ads served to a senior population, even though the marketer before the special ad category had selected broad, broad, broad on everything and hadn't done any type of detailed. So while it sounds scary to say that the age that we're not able to say I want 64+, or we're not able to say I want 25 to 63. The reality is the content's going to find the user, and we are now in a world where the ads are going to do the targeting. When you speak to everyone in your messaging, your ads and your message is relevant to no one. So there's some very strategic approaches that you can take on your messaging that allows people to self-qualify or or self-exclude. So the reality is your T65 ads will probably at some point get in front of people that are in their 20s. You want those people to be like instantly see it and be like, ew, this is not for me, and keep scrolling. Then the algorithm's gonna learn, okay, when people look like this or they're in this demographic, they want nothing to do with this ad. Meanwhile, you want individuals that are turning 65 in 2025 or whatever year it is that you're putting on there to self-identify and start interacting with it. And then the algorithm is going to be able to learn how to get in front of the right people. So the consequence is your ads are going to take some ad spend to serve to different individuals to test it out to see if it's going to work. So before I get into the information that we can and can't ask for, let's talk very briefly about how the algorithm works and just demystify that process. So the way that the algorithm works is you say to the algorithm in your settings on the backend, hey, Mr. Algorithm, I want to get people that are most likely to become a lead from this ad. The algorithm is going to go, okay, got it. It's going to read the content that you have on your business page already. That's why it's important to have some essential posts up. It's going to then go and look at what the actual content of the ad is. It's going to look at the type of people that have interacted with your account, and then it's going to go serve your ads to 1,000 people and it's going to say, hey guys, take a look at these ads. Don't you like them? To about 1,000 people. And then after it has shown it to 1,000 people, it's going to charge you. So that is called the CPM. That's how you're actually charged is every 1,000 eyeballs that gets on top of your ads. Now, while the algorithm's going to charge you for showing your ads to 1,000 people, its ultimate goal is to try to figure out how to match you up with the people that are most likely going to convert into a lead. Now, there are very specific strategies that you absolutely can implement that are going to help quickly teach the algorithm who that demographic is and get your account seasoned and get it serving to the right audience faster. Hey, I wanna stop for just a second and say, if you are enjoying this video, if you have learned anything new, then please consider hitting that subscribe button. It costs you nothing and it means the world to me. All right, let's keep going. And now let's talk about the area that I see agents make the biggest mistake on that makes them not be compliant right now. And this is really important. It's the information that you are allowed to ask for when you are converting them into a lead. It's the information you're allowed to ask for whether it is on a Facebook form or if you are sending traffic to a landing page that is on your website. Now, it's only a matter of time before those agents that are asking for these things are going to set off the flag system and you're going to get your ad rejected once it realizes you're in the special ad category. So this is not something that you want to mess with. So take note, when you are collecting information, you are allowed to ask for their name. So their first name, last name, You can ask for their email address. You can ask for their phone number. You can ask for the state that they are in. Now, I will tell you, I have read so much Meta documentation that was unclear if we could ask for state. And I have finally spoken to a higher up at Meta that wrote me back. We talked on the phone, and then they also wrote me a written document that says you absolutely can still ask for the state when you are collecting information. You can also ask a custom question as long as it is nothing that could be seen as being discriminative. Now, what you cannot ask for— like I said, this goes on the form level, or if you are running a landing page that is for a lead magnet, for a webinar, for a seminar, for anything— you can no longer ask for the zip code. You cannot ask for the zip code. Don't ask for it. You can't ask for their age or what their birthday is. You cannot ask what their gender is, and you cannot ask what their marital status is. Now here's the deal. Once they're in your CRM, you can do whatever you want with it. This is just simply to stay compliant in generating that lead on the platform. So once they're in your CRM, in your warmup series, you can say, hey, there are very specific Medicare plans that are available to you based on your zip code. So if you could send me your zip code, I'm going to do the most research and I'm gonna make sure that I offer you or that I share with you options that are available. You can do that for ACA. You can do that for life insurance, final expense, and so on. So once they're in your CRM, you can do that. But this is very important. Don't ask for this information at the form or on a landing page form. Let's talk about some strategies that are working moving forward that will help quickly optimize your account, get you in front of the right demographic, and start generating those higher quality leads. Now, before I get into this, There is a misconception that I wanna make sure that I tackle first. There is a misconception with new advertisers that it is the platform's duty to go get you what you want. It's Facebook's job. I put this ad out there. It doesn't matter that it is a crappy ad with generic messaging, with a generic AI person or a picture of a casket that then says Social Security has approved new funds for your state. It doesn't matter if your messaging is not great. It's the platform's duty to go get you leads. And if you don't get leads, Facebook ads don't work. Mm-mm. That's not the case. The reality is the platform is giving you an opportunity to get your content out there in front of their users. They have what you want. They have people that are like zeroed in on their device. It's their job to serve your content in front of those individuals and then report back to you what the metrics are so you can make a decision of if you need to make a change or not. Now, obviously there's a little bit of a working relationship. Meta is going to go serve your stuff to individuals, and then you need to be able to break down the metrics on the backend, and you need to see what's my link click-through rate whenever it comes to this demographic I want to get in front of. Ignore the link click-through rate from the 20-year-olds, the 30-year-olds, if you're running T65, or if you're running ACA, or if you're running final expense or life insurance or whatever it is. Break down the demographics and then get in there and look at what the metrics actually say. And then you need to believe the data. If everyone's clicking on your ad but they're not clicking over to your landing page or your form, guess what? Your ad's not doing the right job. It's not driving traffic to the link. If everyone's clicking on that link but then they're not converting once they get to your landing page or your form or your webinar page, then it's your webinar page. We need to look at the landing page conversion rate. So all of these little things come together to make the perfect ad that is going to resonate with the person, make them self-identify, self-qualify, and then take them through the process step by step by step. Like, hey, just click on this link. Hey, just read what this page says. Hey, just give me your information. Hey, just push that button and convert them into a lead. So it's important that you know how to actually look at the metrics and make adjustments accordingly, because this is going to be a little bit of a working relationship, a partnership with the Meta algorithm to really teach it what you're looking for and for you to really hone in your message to make it resonate with the people that they're serving your ads to. So it's not all about that. It's not all about that the platform isn't doing its job. The other big misconception is that I just need to get my targeting right. And I think that this misconception comes— I will tell you, targeting was a big deal in 20— '16, '17, and maybe even '18, and then it started to become less of a big deal. And I think that marketers sometimes like to talk about advertising like it's rocket science when it's not, and they like to keep people confused. If you're not tech savvy, they're like, oh, this is like, you have to optimize and get into these niches and create these like specific audiences. Things have changed. So the broad targeting is more where it's at across all industries. And whenever it comes to this, It's the messaging that's actually going to be doing the targeting for you. So don't get so caught up in Facebook ads don't work because I can't control certain things, because remember, those things are still at play just because you can't see them. I always use like the example of if you don't believe me that the content finds the user, while you're scrolling, start watching videos that are not something you're normally interested in. The latest example I've been using is in one of my newsfeeds, I stopped and watched a jumping spider video, okay? I'm normally looking at motivational things, self-growth things, business things, what's happening in advertising, I'm watching insurance-related content, and then a jumping spider popped up. I thought it was cute so I watched it, then guess what? Another jumping spider— and don't judge me, okay? They are cute, they're cute, okay? And another jumping spider popped up and it was doing a little dance and he was so cute, and then another one popped up and it was using a little voice for the spiders. I started watching it. It took the algorithm just a few videos to go, this girl's watching these jumping spider videos, I'm gonna start serving them to her and putting it together. So the content's going to find the user. You being really specific in what your content is is what's going to really help the algorithm move forward. So let's talk about some very strategic approaches. There are some things that you can do that are going to cost you money And there are some things that you can do that you can start right now that are for free that will start seasoning your account. So let's talk about when it comes to actually money, things that are going to cost you a little bit. So when you're running ads, obviously you're going to be spending money. And I always say that you want to start off kind of small, so $10 to $50 a day to kind of let you start learning how the platform works, it to start learning how your account works. And you to get some data in order to make some other optimizations. So some things that you can do to help kind of cut costs, but you're still gonna have to spend some to start getting your content served. One, you wanna have the right campaign structure when you're setting up your ads. You do not wanna set it up from this, okay? Where it says boost post, don't ever boost a post. We can do a whole nother video on that. Don't ever click boost a post. You wanna set it up the right way. It's kind of like if you're gonna set up, your account to run an ad with training wheels and it's like, here's the one little path you can take, or you can set it up with, uh, having it actually have the optimal campaign structure. And part of having that optimal campaign structure is having multiple ad creatives with very specific messaging. So multiple ad creatives. So we've got multiple different images and/or videos. My cat is really trying to mess up this video today, isn't she? She's cute, so it's worth it. You really want to have very specific messaging with multiple different ad creatives, whether it's multiple images, multiple videos, multiple little short clips, and so on. And then because your ads are going to be served across kind of a broad spectrum, you want to give it a little bit more time than you normally would before going in and making manual adjustments. When you're reading your data, it's a very good practice if we're trying to get in front of a specific age demographic to break down the results based on age and see what the different demographics are doing. You want to have a low link click-through rate on a demographic that you do not want to be interested in your offer. And then of course you want to look at the link click-through rate in the the demographic that you are trying to get your opportunity in front of. Number 3, how you can save money is you can use logic forms. So on Facebook, they have this really cool thing on the backend. When you are setting up your form, you're able to turn on logic form, and based on how people answer the question, they either will become a lead or they won't become a lead. And this very quickly teaches Meta, okay, this person clicked on the ad, but they didn't become a lead. So this isn't an ideal person. This person did become a lead, and it helps the algorithm start zeroing in on the people that look more like the people that are converting into a lead. And then last but not least, one thing that I'm seeing that is really helping in very specific lines of business is offering a lead magnet. So a lead magnet is a piece of content that adds value to the user, and it also sets sets you up as an advisor from the very beginning. Now, the reason why a lead magnet is also great and performs well on social media ads is because it makes it very easy for the individual to interact with you. So let's use T65 for an example. You could say, if you're turning 65 this year, there are 3 deadlines that you must be aware of in order to avoid penalties. And on top of that, the entire process can be overwhelming and frustrating. It doesn't have to be. That's why I created this free guide that includes a timeline, a checklist, and breaks down the Medicare insurance process to make it simple for you. You know, access it instantly, instant access. Give us your name, email, and phone number, and we'll send it your way. That makes it very easy for someone to want to interact with you out of curiosity. So you want to hit on something that is curious, that they like want to know more. Like if you're trying to work IULs or annuities or something that it's like you're talking about the benefit of— did you know that there are these opportunities out here that can actually help you in retirement, or they can have a living benefit, or these things? There's misconceptions about life insurance policies that many people don't realize. Here's my free guide that breaks it down. If you have someone that is just starting to consider that, or you hit on a pain point like Many people make the mistake of thinking that their job has enough coverage for their family in the event that something happens. Download my free calculator that will help you break down if you have enough coverage or not. You've piqued their curiosity, you've shown the benefits, you have hit on the pain point. So now it's very easy for them to request that from you. It's a big ask. We live in a day and age of like fast, fast, fast, fast, fast. People don't wanna give up their time as quickly as they used to. This is why things like, back when I was first running ads, the ebook was a thing. No one wants an ebook now. If you're scrolling through and it's like, download this 150-page ebook, we're like, no thanks, I'll just ask ChatGPT, right? But if it's something that's coming from an agent that you're like, I'm gonna share with you the 3 biggest mistakes that I have seen clients make that you can't, That's something that I can't just Google or ChatGPT it. I want to talk to an agent that I view as an advisor to actually hear what those things are. But if I've never heard of you before and I'm suspicious, it's harder for me to want to commit to a free consult, especially when it's not AEP, OEP. There's no like time deadline, there's no urgency for you to push. So having a lead magnet can make it very easy for the people to be interested in what you're offering them, get them in your email list, warm them up, let them get to know you. And then of course, if they don't convert immediately, if it's Medicare or ACA that you're pushing or private life insurance, or I mean, sorry, private health insurance, then when it becomes that season again, you can start giving them some emails that provide value and set you up as the go-to person. All right, so that is lead magnets. Now let's talk about a few things that you can do that don't cost you any money at all. So we used to say all the time, is, is the pixel seasoned? And that was like a little term that marketers would always use. And basically what they're saying is, have you gotten a lot of traffic to your website where the Facebook pixel is so that it's got data on who your audience is? Now we want you to have a seasoned account. We want the right demographic to have been interacting with you both organically and then also through paid. But what you can do to start seasoning your account is number one, you cannot be a secret agent anymore. Okay? You can't be a secret agent. I've worked with so many different insurance agents. Like I'll have them, they'll follow me on Instagram and message me or something. And then I go check out their account. There's nothing that says that they're an insurance agent. Or their account is private. They have it private. So they're essentially a secret agent out there. They're like, I'm an insurance agent, but no one can know. The first thing that you need to do if you want to have a successful business that generates leads online, you have to be okay with an online presence and you have to be okay with you, the person being associated as an insurance agent. It is proven that personal brands outdo business brands every single time. People don't get on a social network to connect with a business. They want to connect with a person. So you putting yourself out there as the face of your company, as an independent agent, as someone that started your agency, or as an FMO owner, or whatever it is, is going to make a huge difference. And if you're thinking, I just I don't want to, then I would challenge you to really dig deep and figure out where does that come from? Where does that come from? Does that come from fear of putting yourself out there? Does it come from imposter syndrome? Are you afraid of judgment from others? Where does that come from? I challenge you to dig deep and try to figure that out. So what you can do. So first, you're no longer a secret agent. Okay? It's listed on your profile. You can organically post, and you can post things that are insurance related, and you can also post things that are just interest related. If you really like dogs, post a few pictures of your dogs. Post pictures of clients' dogs that you've interacted with. Ask the client, can I tag you and feature your dog on my page? Guess what? Now everyone that is friends with that person is going to see that you tagged them, and you're going to be able to say, look how cute this dog is, get them to interact with you. And then if they click over to your account, they're going to be exposed to the fact that you're an insurance agent and they're going to put it together. Oh, they work with my friend. Okay. So you want to be posting things that you can get engagement. So posting, okay, we can do a whole nother video on different content ideas that you could post. 2, commenting on others' pages. So if you like dogs, we're using that as an example. Go to someone's page. Google first of all in the search bar on sorry Instagram. Search for your city. Okay, so I'm going to search Tampa, Florida, and go to people's pages and start making comments. Cute dog. How was that golf course? I've never been there before. That's my favorite meal at that restaurant. Start interacting with people just like you would if you met them at a party or at the grocery store. Or somewhere like that. Okay? If someone sees you say cute dog and they're like, thank you so much. One, it's a win because you're getting the right type of person to interact with your account and you're starting to season the account. 2, it's a win because now that person is gonna go say, who is this person that thinks my dog is cute? And they're gonna see that you're an insurance agent and it's gonna be the very first step of kind of warming them up. Double bonus, if you're running lead generation ads, guess who's going to get retargeted with your ads? Those people that just interacted with you. So that's why it's important that your face, your personality, in an ideal world, is, is part of your branding. Okay, number 3, interact online. Okay, there's some unconventional ways that you can get your account seasoned. So looking up that local— you can look up the local hashtag, see what's going on. You can join local Facebook groups or different state Facebook groups in different interests. Are you really into golf? Go join as many different golf groups that are based around the states that you're licensed in with your business page. Okay? So go in there and interact with people, and the more people that you're interacting with on your page, you're not trying to sell them insurance in there. You're just genuinely being a, a contributor. You're being a person that's fun to interact with. You're showcasing some of your personality and you're starting to just start to interact with them, they're going to be nosy and want to go see what you do and see who you are, look at your page. And then when you do start running lead generation ads, you're going to be targeting those people. So in summary, while the special ad category does change some things whenever it comes to insurance lead generation marketing, it does not mean that is the death of insurance ads being able to be successful. Actually, on the other end, in the new accounts that I tested, very specific messaging, very specific lead magnets with conditional logic forms actually performed just as well, if not better, from the lead generation ads that were being ran previously whenever we were able to lock in the age and the different demographics. And the reality is Because the longer that you are active on social media, the better your results are going to be. So even if you're not ready to start running social media lead generation ads right now in 2025, I suggest that you at least start seasoning the account. Get like the right audience to start interacting with your account, start building your online presence, and start putting yourself out there. I truly believe that you are capable You are able, and you are worthy of achieving anything that you want in your business. So take the next step and go get it. Let me know if you have any questions below, and I'll see you in the next video. I wanna remind you, if you have any questions, leave them in the comments below. I do my very best to reply to every single comment, and it also will give me ideas for what type of videos you wanna see next.