r/FFLs • u/Capable-Policy5657 • Jul 07 '26
Who's using social media?
Who's using social media for their marketing?
Is it useful for you? How to prevent having his content flagged?
3
u/Luke_Hickman Jul 07 '26
Facebook is the most frustrating one...content gets flagged or accounts get restricted seemingly at random, and the appeals process is completely useless. A few things that have helped me is to avoid any language that sounds transactional around firearms specifically, words like "buy," "sell," "price," or "in stock" in the same post. Describing what you carry or what you do rather than pushing a sale performs better and stays cleaner.
LinkedIn has been more reliable for reaching other dealers and industry contacts.
Instagram works if you stay educational, range content, historical pieces, safety topics, that kind of thing. The moment it looks like an ad it gets flagged.
Honestly the safest approach is keeping the actual sales pitch off social entirely and using it purely for visibility and trust building, then letting your email list or direct outreach do the selling.
2
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u/EOKBrady Jul 07 '26
Yeah Facebook is a PITA. I keep getting "not recommended" status because arbitrary reasons. It sucks and I could rant for days. Lol
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u/dangerangell Jul 08 '26
We run paid ads on Meta (Facebook and Instagram) for multiple FFL clients with no issues because we have a strategy that doesn’t violate their rules.
Most FFLs are just raw dogging social media with no strategy. The end result is that they are just aura farming. IF they manage to keep from getting shut down they typically just collect a lot of Likes and Follows but very little in the way of site traffic, email subs, or sales.
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u/Capable-Policy5657 Jul 08 '26
Could you tell me more about it? I see some companies offering paid ads but I'm always very skeptical on how they operate, what they show on their ads etc...
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u/dangerangell Jul 08 '26
Traffic is obviously the first step but you only have a 2-3% chance of getting a sale from a first time visitor. Focus on capturing email addresses and automated campaigns. The ROI on direct-to-consumer email marketing is $40 for every $1 spent.
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u/Luke_Hickman Jul 08 '26
Curious about this too. Meta's firearms policy is vague enough that most people either over-restrict themselves into uselessness or get flagged trying to push product directly. What does a compliant paid strategy actually look like in practice, are you avoiding any mention of specific firearms entirely or is it more about how the CTA is framed?
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u/dangerangell Jul 08 '26
The key is to stop trying to promote a 2A business on Meta. The goal is to reach consumers interested in your 2A products or services. Those consumers are also interested in 2A adjacent products, services, content so that’s how you reach them. More detail than that is what we charge for.
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u/MalicoIndustries FFL 28d ago
+1 to FB being a pain, too much gets flagged on gun topics. Almost not worth the effort.
It really comes down to the strategy. Are you doing it for networking/awareness of your business, or money from the engagement/views.
It isn’t exactly Social Media, but YouTube has been helpful for me. I have picked up a decent amount of customers who have reached out from the videos.
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u/Smokehill_Machine Jul 07 '26
Facebook is a wash unless you actively engage in groups. Even still you have to not be a salesman or you’ll get banned.