New Facebook Guidelines....Again...

Yup, they're at it again! Shocking. I just think they like to keep us on our toes. Turns out they will be implementing new guidelines next week that will affect just about all of us. "*le sigh*

Beginning January 15th, Facebook is implementing a 20% rule for all cover images as well as images that are paid to be in newsfeeds (i.e. promoted posts and sponsored stories.) This rules makes it so that these images cannot include more than 20% text. Yikes! Just about every page I visit has a cover image with more than 20% text, mine included! I have a feeling this is going to cause issues for the many small business owners out there. So lets take a moment to explore these new guidelines and what they mean for you.

Newsfeed Images

If you pay to promote your posts, or, if you pay for Facebook ads that show up in people's newsfeeds, then the 20% rule applies to you. Images you pay to promote cannot contain more than 20% text. When stating this, Facebook is referring to the spatial aspect of images. Images that show up in newsfeeds are 398x398. The 20% doesn't have to be located in one area. Facebook will be using a grid based overlay detection tool to determine which ones meet their criteria. EEK! There's no skating around this rule.
Lets look at a couple examples.

This doesn't look so bad, but with the new 20% guideline it is way over the limit. 

This image is an example of a Facebook Newsfeed Ad that violates the 20% rule

Here, I've fixed the design and made sure only 20% of the image is text:

I re-sized the text to fit within the 20% guidelines and filled the empty space with another image

Cover Images

Nearly every business page these days  has a cover photo that includes more than 20% text. As a result this aspect will affect most of us. I'm already working on a redesign of  my cover photo. So what can and can't we do with our images?

Things you can't include:

• Price or purchase information ,such as "20% off" or "Download on our website"
• References to Facebook features or actions, such as "Like" or "Share"
   or an arrow pointing at any of these features. 
• Contact information such as email address, web address or information that should go in your page's "About" section.
• Calls to action, such as "Get it now" or "Tell your friends." Covers must not be false or deceptive and must not infringe on third parties' intellectual property.

Here we have an example of an image that violates the new guidelines:

This is my current Cover Image. It violates the price/purchase rule, the 20% rule and the call to action rule

 And here I've fixed it. I removed the line of text at the bottom because it violated 3 rules. I got very lucky that my original image didn't need a lot of reworking in order to abide by the rules. :

Revised cover within all guidelines. I got lucky that most of my text was within guidelines and I only had to remove one item to fix it.

Don't forget that logos are not exempt from these new rules! If you have a logo that contains text then it is included as part of your 20% allowance.

Help Is Here!

This all may seem a bit overwhelming. But don't worry! I'm currently running a special on my Cover Photo and Facebook Ad design services!  For a limited time I'm offering them at a 30% discount. Just mention the code NEWRULES when requesting services and I'll apply the discount for you!
Please keep in mind that this discount only applies to Cover Images and Facebook Newsfeed Ads.

I usually do these services for $50 with the discount it brings the service to $35. So send me a message and lets get to work and fix your Cover Photo before the Facebook police get you!