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What is Facebook’s 20% Rule?

Did you know of this rule? No, I think a lot of people didn’t – and a lot of people have been stung by it. The rule is buried in their advertising guidelines. Did you even know that Facebook had a section for advertising guidelines?

We’ve become a species of people who just tick those boxes at the bottom of the registration form for that thing that you think is worth registering for, but ultimately won’t know existed a week later. I know this, because I am totally that person!

However, that is the purpose of this blog post. I want to warn you about this rule which can disrupt your Facebook advertising efforts. So here it is, as Facebook have worded it:

“Ads and sponsored stories in News Feed may not include images comprised of more than 20% text.”

What this means is that within the image, only 20% of it can be text. Also, if your cover photo contains more than 20% text in it, then your ads will be pulled also. This is very counter-productive, so make sure to avoid making this mistake!

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