Because Facebook prefers ad images with little or no text, some users are under the misconception that they should never share an image onto their page that has a high amount of text in it.

Here’s what you should know:

1. Images being run as ads are different than those being shared as a post onto a page.

Images that are being used for a Facebook Ad have to pass Facebook’s image text guidelines. Facebook believes images with a lot of text may create a lower-quality experience for people on Facebook. Ads differ than regular page posts because an Ad targets specific users based on the audience that is created in the ad set. Why limit the text? To prevent spam-like posts and promote a better user experience.

2. Sometimes having an image with a medium-high amount of text performs better organically than standard images with no text.

Organic posts, or non advertised posts, aren’t affected by this policy. If you have a post with 25% text, it won’t be hindered in delivery in the same way that a boosted post’s delivery will be hindered. For example, we run weekly contest giveaways for one of our clients in New Jersey. There was a week we ran a standard image and also boosted that post to see how the reach would be affected. Overall, the post organically reached 1,180 people & the paid reach was 1,801. Now, fast-forward to a recent contest which we shared an image with a medium-high amount of text. The organic reach was over 3,500.

Moral of the story? Yes, you can share images with text on your Facebook page. It really comes down to the type of content that is being published on the page that will affect the organic reach.