Facebook Is Removing The 20% Rule

Facebook Is Removing The 20% Rule
29 September 2020
An important change for everyone working with Facebook ads is about to hit the marketing industry. The 20% text rule will no longer be the criteria during the ad verification process. See more!

About the 20% Text Rule

Up until now, we needed to keep our thoughts concise in terms of what we put on the ad image for the Facebook ads campaign. The policy, commonly known as a 20% text rule, was limiting the amount of text that could be included in the advertisement. The campaigns where text coverage would exceed the magic 20% wouldn’t be approved by the Facebook team. But that’s about to change!

Facebook is getting rid of the 20% Text Rule

Previously, any violation of the rule would result in rejecting your Facebook or Instagram Campaign now you can relax a bit. While ads containing the minimal text are still being preferred & the company recommends sticking to the rule, Facebook implemented a new system that won’t be so strict with text coverage. The ad Images with higher text coverage will not be, from now on, rejected, however, the ad reach may be significantly lower. This is what you’ll see in Facebook’s check tool when your text coverage is correct and you’re good to go with the campaign. Screenshot from Facebook Text Check Tool

New text tool to be launched

Facebook, along with updating its Ad policy will introduce a new text overlay tool. The previous version of the tool would determine whether the image uploaded by the user contains an adequate percentage of text. Now, when uploading your campaign image you’ll get the result in which of four categories your visual belongs and what results can you expect. Here’s how the categories will look like: The categories of text coverage - rating from Facebook Text Overlay tool

Piece of advice

While the freedom of choice is great to have in terms of what you want to put on an ad image, we recommend sticking to the old habits and keeping it short. At the same time, some A/B testing can be helpful here. This will ensure that your campaign will be the most effective. After all, the Facebook team had their reasons when creating the initial 20% text rule and it was based on (probably) solid UX related grounds, but images with more text can attract people as they’ll be something new on the Facebook feed. One thing is sure - don’t go for a sudden change but test new possibilities instead! Good luck!
Ula Nowak Marketing Delante
Author
Ula Nowak

Senior Marketing Specialist

At Delante, he has been overseeing foreign marketing strategy since 2020, combining her years of experience in the industry with his passion for all creative things. After hours, an avid seeker of new activities. If she’s not drawing at the moment, she’s probably putting together another playlist, climbing a new boulder, or hiking through Krakow with her dog Mania.

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