Social proof sells.

There’s no question about it, reviews and testimonials drive conversions. But in health and wellness, the way you use those reviews can make or break your Meta ad account.

If you’re in the habit of copying and pasting a glowing 5-star review that says “This cured my anxiety overnight”, you're sitting on a ticking time bomb.

We’ve helped brands scale into the millions while navigating strict compliance rules around what you can (and can’t) say in ads. Here's what we’ve learned about building a review strategy that’s both high-converting and Meta-compliant.

Why Reviews Are High-Risk in Health & Wellness

Let’s get one thing straight: it’s not just your claims Meta cares about. It’s your customers’ claims too.

A single customer review that includes medical terminology, exaggerated results, or “before and after” language can trigger Meta’s enforcement system. Doesn’t matter if you didn’t write it. Meta sees it in your ad, it’s on you.

You’re also juggling country-level regulations. In the US, you’ve got the FTC. In the UK, the ASA. In the EU, local equivalents. And they don’t love testimonials that make unverified health claims, especially in categories like supplements, skincare, or mental health.

The Risk: What Happens When You Get It Wrong

It usually starts small. An ad gets disapproved. You edit, resubmit. Maybe it happens again.

Then you get the email.

• Ad account disabled.

• Pixel restricted.

• Instagram page flagged.

• Or worse, legal threats from regulators or lawsuits from the “ambulance chasers” who make a living off compliance violations.

And suddenly, your top-performing testimonial ad isn’t just offline. It’s dragging your entire marketing operation with it.

So… What Actually Works?

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to stop using reviews. You just have to be smarter about how you use them.

We’ve built ad campaigns that outperform traditional DTC brands with compliance-safe testimonials.

Here’s how.

1. Redact with Purpose

In the UK specifically, if a review contains flagged terms, like medical conditions, cure language, or side-effect references, don’t bin it. Edit it.

• “This helped my anxiety” → “This helped my a***ety”

• “Cleared up my eczema” → “Cleared up my e******”

• “Cured my insomnia” → “I finally got a full night’s sleep*”

Censoring keywords can increase engagement, people love trying to decode them, and it gives the brand a chance to reply in comments and explain the need for compliance.

2. Use Pattern Recognition in Review Collection

Build structured forms into your review collection process.

Ask questions like:

• “What specific benefit did you notice?”

• “How did you feel after using the product?”

• “What would you tell a friend about this?”

This nudges users toward personal experience, not sweeping claims.

If you're using tools like VideoAsk, you can even guide the structure of responses, keep them human, but safe.

3. Avoid Before & After Traps

No before/after photos. Period. Meta hates them. Doesn’t matter if it’s visual or described in the text. Even implying transformation can be risky.

Instead, spotlight the journey:

“I used to feel sluggish all the time. Now, I’ve got energy to spare. Couldn’t be happier.”

It’s subtle, it’s emotional—and it sidesteps the compliance tripwires.

4. Lean Into the "Help, Not Cure" Language

Reframe your review selections to align with compliant language:

• “This cured my acne” → ❌

• “This helped reduce my breakouts” → ✅

Meta doesn’t want you selling miracles. But it’s fine to show how a product may support a customer’s goals.

Even better: pair the testimonial with ingredient-level education or science-backed claims to back it up.

5. Create a Library of Compliant, Approved Testimonials

If you’re already running ads at scale, start building a safe library of reviews you’ve vetted, redacted, and tested.

Tag them by:

• Benefit (energy, sleep, mood)

• Product

• Format (text, video)

• Compliance status (green = safe, yellow = light edits needed)

This gives your creative team a go-to bank of assets they can deploy without needing to start from scratch every time.

Alpha Inbound’s POV

We’ve run campaigns for brands who thought they had nothing left to say once the claims were stripped out, until we helped them reshape reviews into emotionally powerful, compliance-safe stories.

We don’t just write better copy. We build systems. We train teams. We scale brands that don’t want to risk their entire acquisition engine over a careless word in a testimonial.

If you’re in wellness, this is the game. Learn the rules, or lose the account.

Final Word

Testimonials work. But they can also wreck your momentum if they’re not handled with care.

A smart review strategy isn’t just about what people say about you. It’s how you shape and use that story in a way that keeps your growth sustainable.

Compliance doesn’t kill performance. It protects it.

Need help building compliant, high-converting campaigns for Meta?

We’ve done it hundreds of times. Let’s make your reviews work harder, and smarter.