Say Goodbye to Every Facebook Adverts’ Serious Nightmare: The 20% rule

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September 28, 2020 Brandi M

Facebook adverts have officially taken a sigh of relief after Facebook cuts them slack by eliminating the 20% text rule over ad images.

A drastic change of events in the world of social media advertising has led Facebook to get rid of a rule that restricted adverts to verbally advertise (excessively) over the ad images they put up. Experts commonly called it the 20% text rule.

Fortunately, the rule no longer exists. Adverts had noticed some slight changes while setting up ads, as to what they would experience earlier. You can now add as much text over an advert image, without having to worry about the post being victimized with limited reach or being entirely disapproved.

The 20% rule history

Facebook advertising and text over imagery adverts do not go well together, at least according to Facebook. This is probably not new news, but for those of you who lived under a rock, legend says a post with more than 20% text on their image was instantly disapproved of or would be less impactful as it gains very little reach.

This rule had been a leading cause of stress in adverts as they had to come up with ad images in such a manner that they complied with Facebook’s ad rule.

To make things even more stringent, Facebook facilitated adverts with a text overlay tool to ensure your advertisement went hand in hand with the 20% restriction as it measured the percentage of text on an image and potential problems you may come across.

How was the change noticed?

It is no doubt that Facebook has taken a step back by easing its advertising restrictions. A couple of days ago, users took notice of the overlay tool no longer being available, and in fact, the page was often redirecting.

What was the purpose of eliminating the rule?

Though the rule existed, maintaining a separate file of exceptions was more crucial. The 20% rule was imposed on all textual images except infographics, software screenshots, book covers, and more.

In several instances, the text is necessary to communicate with the customer, especially in an era of content marketing. The 20% rule, however, made it relatively easy for an ad to get disapproved of or reach a limited number of an audience. Why? All because it could have been flagged for going against Facebook’s ad rules.

Facebook getting rid of the rule not only makes things easy for adverts but Facebook too. After all, they no longer have to come across several appeals.

What does Facebook say about this change?

Despite the ease, Facebook stays firm in its belief where less content over ad images ill bring an inflow of organic reach. The text for ad images still clearly says that “We’ve found that images with less than 20% text perform better.”

Here’s a tweet that highlighted the official statement made by the team behind Facebook themselves:

However, there is no restriction now. Though this may be marketing advice from the social media moguls themselves, and there may be tips given on how to avoid text on ads, you still have the upper hand in trying out things for yourself and seeing how it goes.