So... you want to pay Facebook a little of your hard earned money to either boost a post or build an ad! When done right, this is a great way to increase your exposure online! However, there is something you should be aware of before you give up that credit card number!
Before you try to boost a post or create an advertisement, please take a look at the image in your post! If your image contains more than 20% text, Facebook will still take your money but suppress your ad - meaning VERY few people will see it. WHY, you ask? Because their internal statistics show that few people interact with them because ads with more text in the images are generally considered "spammy."
The same goes for ads where you're using a video - but it's considered a little differently. It is ok for a video to contain text, however your "thumbnail" or screenshot which shows when the video isn't playing should adhere to the rule regarding 20% text. Facebook will automatically assign a thumbnail or screenshot when you upload the video, but you have the ability to change it. After uploading your video to the ad, click to edit it and choose a different image from the ones Facebook automatically creates, or upload your own image.
GOOD  | BAD  |
How do I know if the image or video screenshot I'd like to include in my ad meets Facebook's requirements?
It can honestly be a little hard to tell sometimes just looking at a picture. What also makes it a little confusing is that logos that contain text (like ours!) and things like business signage in the background of a photo can be counted as "text" too.
To make it easier, Facebook created a tool that will check your images for you. Just upload your intended image and Facebook will rate it for you.
Here's the link for their tool: https://www.facebook.com/ads/tools/text_overlay