If your company has a Facebook page, you should put plenty of planning and thought into the cover photo for that page. What you choose as the cover photo on Facebook becomes the image that represents your company, so it’s worth making sure that it’s a good one.
Here are some suggestions about cover photo on Facebook to help you get started
1. Abide by the Guidelines Facebook Has Established
Cover photos cannot mislead, deceive or use the copyright of someone else. In addition, cover photos should display no forms of contact information, such as postal, email or web addresses. Cover photos must also avoid featuring calls to action like, “buy now” or “spread the word.” Basically, Facebook intends for your cover photo to be an aesthetically pleasing image, rather than a distracting advertisement.
2. Format Your Cover Photo on Facebook Correctly
The template for your cover photo is rather unique, in that it is extremely rectangular. So, if you want your image to look as good as possible, it should be designed with the precise cover photo shape and size in mind. The official dimensions are 851 pixels horizontally and 315 pixels vertically.
At the very least, images should have a width of 720 pixels. Be aware that a gray border will be laid above your image by Facebook. If an image is uploaded and it’s too small, Facebook will stretch it so that it fits across the screen. However, if there’s a big discrepancy between the size of the photo you’re using and the space available for the cover photo, image quality could be compromised.
3. Figure Out What Will and Won’t Be Included
You may not be able to place price discounts, calls to action or ways to contact you, but you can include copy meant to grab your reader’s attention. Some ideas of things you could display include: short phrases or taglines that embody your business, inspirational quotes and copyrights for images. The Mosquito Magnet company effectively uses a tagline in the cover photo of their Facebook page (accessible at the bottom of their web page) to convey their effectiveness in getting rid of mosquitoes in your yard.
4. Choose Images That Are High in Quality
Images serve as an excellent tool to evoke emotion within your audience, so the cover photo that you select should capture your brand’s persona. Whatever photo you decide to use, should feature balance in color and appropriate lighting. It’s also a good idea to use software that’s available for photo editing, so the quality of your images can be optimized. If your company is a brand, some types of content you could display include: spontaneous shots of your customers having fun with your products, the founders of your company, the exterior or interior of your store or even products that have been well liked among customers.
5. Use Collages to Display Your Work
If you are a photographer, painter or any other kind of artist, you could make your cover photo a collage in which you showcase pieces of your work. In this example, an artist named Steven Quick displays his paintings in his cover photo, while using his profile picture to show an action shot of himself at work.
6. Design a Collage to Showcase Product Functionality
They say that a picture paints a thousand words, so you should consider using your cover photo to show customers all the things that your products can do. For instance, a company that sells laundry detergent might show before and after pictures to convey how effectively their product removes stains. SpeechGear, a company that develops real-time language translation software, uses their cover photo to show the many different ways customers can use their product. They even go above and beyond by including a tab that links to demonstrations and videos showing the product being used.
7. Convey the Impact You Have on the Community
Cover photos can serve as a great way to demonstrate pride in your community and make customers aware of the influence you have. This works especially well if you’re a small, locally owned business. Another well-done example comes from Bloomington, Indiana’s Chamber of Commerce.
8. Make It Clear That You’re Kind of a Big Deal
Endorsements are always a great way to boost your business. If your company hosts events that tend to draw large crowds, taking a picture of the crowd and posting it as your cover photo can be an excellent way to generate publicity. Minnesota based specialty beer store, The Four Firkins used this strategy to provide a clear confirmation of their popularity.
If you’re designing a Facebook page for your company or just revamping it, it’s essential that you make your cover photo a good one. Try using the suggestions listed above and you can take your cover photo from mediocre to marvelous!
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See also: How Often Should You Change Your Social Media Profile Pictures?
