How can you grab the attention of people browsing your Facebook Page?
Facebook boasts a colossal audience of about 2.8 billion users who log in monthly and spend approximately 37 minutes on the website per day. This provides an immense opportunity to expose your company to these individuals. However, if you don’t have a cover image that makes a great initial impact, possible customers will go away from your Page and go back to their News Feed.
What is a Facebook cover photo?
The top of your Facebook Page contains your cover photo, and it occupies a considerable amount of space. This is sometimes referred to as a Facebook banner, which is shown on both desktop and smartphone versions of the page. It is the initial thing that viewers observe when they access your Facebook Business Page.
In comparison to your profile picture, your banner covers nearly the entire screen.
Why is my Facebook cover photo important?
Facebook currently has over 90 million small business Pages. The market is becoming increasingly competitive as more and more businesses sign up weekly; however, a lot of businesses are unaware of how to maximize the use of their Pages and how to interact with their audiences effectively.
Since the cover photo on your Page is the first thing people see, it is where their initial opinion of your company is formed. It is essential to make a strong beginning, as individuals form their initial viewpoint of a company within the initial six seconds.
A well-chosen Facebook cover photo will grab your audience’s attention, and you can use it to meet other social media marketing goals, including:
- Increase Page followers.
- Boost engagement.
- Direct traffic to your website.
Facebook cover photo best practices
1. Use the right size image
To ensure that your audience has a clear view of your cover photo, it is important to select the right size and measurements for it on Facebook.
According to what Facebook states, your cover photograph is displayed at 820 x 312 pixels when viewed on a computer and 640 x 360 pixels on cell phones.
The minimum dimensions of your image must be 400 pixels in width and 150 pixels in height. The dimensions that Facebook recommends is 851 x 315 pixels, with a maximum file size of 100kb. It is suggested that the company utilizes an sRGB, JPG, or PNG file format.
If you can, try to match this size exactly. It doesn’t take a design genius to make a great cover image; you can use apps like Canva, which feature ready-made templates created in the correct size.
If not, you can trim the picture or move it around while it’s being uploaded.
2. Make sure it looks just as great on mobile devices
Studies have revealed that almost all individuals utilize the social networking site via a mobile device, but a small fraction still use both computer and phone to do so.
Many companies end up with Facebook cover pictures that have been cut off on their computer screen because they have only designed it for mobile phones (or the other way around).
Desktop devices show Facebook in the landscape orientation, while mobile gadgets display it in portrait mode. You only have one choice to make when selecting a Facebook cover photo, so it’s essential to pick an image that will appear excellent on both phones and computers.
Attempt to make your photograph taller by selecting an aspect ratio of 820 x 462. This gives you more room to be creative so that your picture won’t look distorted when it is seen on either device.
Have your coworkers test it on their tech, just to be sure.
What will your Facebook profile picture actually be?
Examine this Facebook cover photo template to ascertain which sections of the picture would appear on computers and smartphones. If the dimensions for your cover image are not within the limits, Facebook may modify it, potentially distorting the image and cropping parts of it.
The whole image can be seen from mobile devices, however, the orange component is cut off when it’s viewed on a computer. It would be most advantageous to concentrate on the (green) part of the template since it is visible on any type of device.
Kate Bakken, a social media consultant, suggests that you should verify how your profile picture will look when placed in front of the cover photo. Be certain that the significance of your images will not be changed by the positioning of your profile picture and that the text is still readable.
3. Stick to the rules
Facebook’s policies must be adhered to by any business using it as part of their social media plan. It’s dull to go through the Facebook regulations, but it’s worth it to prevent any missteps that could cause Facebook to remove your Page.
These rules include:
- Using a unique image representing your Page .
- Making sure the image isn’t misleading or deceptive.
- Ensuring it doesn’t infringe on someone else’s copyright.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea to review Facebook’s Page regulations when making any modifications to your Page. Doing the same thing again might not be exciting, but it guarantees that your efforts won’t be in vain.
4. Make it readable
Ensure that any text you include on your Facebook cover image is legible. Try your design on both computers and cell phones to make sure your message is being seen.
Studies have demonstrated that the most readable font sizes fall between 18 and 26. You should take this into account when planning how the page will look, as well as verifying that the text is not truncated while using different types of technology.
5. Keep it simple
When creating your cover image, concentrate on one feature as the primary emphasis.
Treat it similar to a call to action. If you make the interface on your website too cluttered with too many distractions, visitors will take longer to comprehend the services your business provides, and why they should be checking out your page.
Get rid of any needless wording and pictures until what is left appears to be concentrated and deliberate. Pick one picture with a clearly defined center of attention that pulls in your viewers.
6. Create a coherent look
Do you realize that having the same branding across all platforms could potentially increase your profits by up to one-third? This applies to Facebook, too.
It is important to make sure the image you choose for your cover photo is congruent with the visual appearance and impression of your company, and is consistent with the guidelines outlined in your brand’s style guide. This entails utilizing the same hues, visual style, typeface, and other components (like hashtags) individuals join with your company.
Having the same look and feel throughout your Page not only improves its appearance, but also helps to assure visitors that they are in the right place, not on a look-alike or imitation page.
Complement Your Brand Through a Facebook Cover Photo
Can you represent your entire brand with a single picture? It’s not as simple as it sounds! However, this is just what needs to be done for your Facebook cover photo. If it isn’t consistent with your image, you could end up bewildering your audience.
Keep Your Audience Front of Mind
As humans, we tend to establish connections more readily with other people than with intangible ideas or non-living things. That is the motive numerous of the highest quality Facebook profile pictures feature images of individuals.
Naturally, in order to communicate with your followers via your cover image, you need to comprehend who they are. Fortunately, Facebook gives you a couple ways to find this out:
The Audience Insights tool from Facebook allows you the opportunity to take a detailed look at the characteristics, interest in pages, location, and participation on Facebook of individuals who are fans of your page, in the vicinity of you, or keen on brands similar to yours.
Looking at your Facebook Business page, you can check who is interacting with it the most in the Actions on Page part. This text demonstrates who interacted with your contact data, the CTA button, or the website, and organizes the data based on age, gender, device, and location.
So what does all this information tell us? It appears that most of the people who follow your page are male, they primarily reside in Mexico, predominantly speak Spanish, and the vast majority of them range between 18 and 25 years old. It could be a good idea to use an image of a young Mexican man for your Facebook cover photo, as well as perhaps including some Spanish text.
Pair the Facebook Cover Photo With Your Profile Pic
The profile picture and the cover photo of your Facebook page should both work together to represent your brand.
That is crucial since the cover photo and profile image are both prominent fixtures on your Facebook Business Page. If the pieces do not work together harmoniously, the outcome is often very disconcerting.
Promote Your Products and Events Through a Facebook Cover Photo
Why not utilize your cover photo as an avenue for communicating the things you want to promote, given its large size? Your cover photo is a great spot to advertise something fresh, such as a deal, a large piece of media, or an event.
Steps to Designing an Impactful Facebook Cover Photo
1. Pick a Facebook Cover Photo CTA Technique That Works for You
Select one or two of those techniques and apply them to your image. For instance:
- About to launch a high-profile new product? Use your cover photo to promote it.
- Got a really specific audience? Speak directly to them in your cover photo.
- Have a recognizable logo or slogan? Keep your cover photo super simple; let your branding do the talking.
2. Choose a Facebook Cover Photo Editing Tool
It is not essential to be a professional graphic designer to produce an efficient Facebook cover photo. Plenty of user-friendly, no-cost software options are available that take care of difficult image processing for you.
Arguably the most popular is Canva. Registering is complimentary and an abundance of Facebook cover photo designs have already been sized to the precise measurements. In order to locate them, you should make a profile on Canva, upload social media photos, and select the Facebook Cover choice.
It is necessary to mention that although Canva has no cost for use, you must pay for some of its design components.
There are lots of other options, too. If Canva isn’t proving successful, perhaps you should try PicMonkey, Visme, Snappa, Bannersnack, or any of the other available options.
3. Start With a Photo
Unless you either possess the skills of a capable graphic designer or have one available to you, the easiest way to make a large impression with your Facebook cover image is likely the route you should take.
If so, you should begin by locating an appropriate photo. Encompassing your brand and addressing your audience in one fell swoop.
There are numerous amazing graphic design apps available online, as well as plenty of outstanding free stock image libraries featuring thousands of images that can be used to design your cover picture.
If you want to use your cover picture to promote a product or service, you can also use your existing website visuals.
4. Remember to Use the Right Facebook Cover Photo Size
Finally, it is essential that you utilize the proper size for your cover image. Otherwise, if you do not upload the image correctly, Facebook will alter its size which will destroy all the effort you put into creating a visually appealing image.
So what are the right dimensions? There’s no easy answer, as frustrating as that sounds. A large majority of Facebook users access the site on their mobile phones, meaning your cover photo must be visible on both computer and phone devices. Yet cover photos display differently based on the device you’re using:
- On desktop, the cover photo displays at 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall
- On mobile, it displays at 640 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall
If you would like an image to work on both devices, it is suggested by Buffer that it be cropped to be 820 pixels in width and 462 pixels in height.
At the bare minimum, Facebook states that your cover image has to be 400 x 150 pixels. Recommendation is to keep the size of your image at or below 100 kb to make sure it loads as quickly as possible.
Conclusion
Keep in mind that your Facebook cover pic is more than just an attention-grabbing visual. Picking the fitting one for you is not always about employing the most brilliant colors or the most emphatic text.
Your brand and target market must be connected to it, the language should appeal to your audience, and the message should be delivered effectively. Ideally, anyone who is familiar with your brand should be able to easily recognize it.
If you are having difficulty, recall the benefit of making things uncomplicated. Don’t try to be too abstract or clever. A simple illustration conveying your identity and services would be much more efficient than something intricate that bewilders individuals.
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