It’s been seven months since Mark Zuckerberg & Co. introduced the Facebook Timeline design for brands and some companies still aren’t utilizing all the opportunities the sleek layout provides them.
A couple of months ago I outlined the New Rules for Facebook Engagement for Facebook Brand Pages as the following:
*Stay on Topic
*Ask Questions & Use Polls
*Post Pictures & Videos
*Use the Brand Page Photo
*Utilize Insights
However, in the time since that post, I’ve come to realize that I may have glossed over one of the aspects most vital to a brand’s success on Facebook – cover photo design.
While you can’t go wrong with a landscape scene as your personal cover photo (“I don’t have an ego. My Facebook photo is a landscape!”), you want to make sure that your company’s photo appeal to your target audience.
One thing I’ve found incredibly handy when creating client cover photos useful template picture – the image is too large to post on the blog but I implore you to save it to your desktop here.
With the cover photo being so prominently featured, it’s important the picture is engaging above all else. The content featured in the photo is subject to vary depending on your company’s specialty – for instance, if you were a restaurant, I’d recommend photos of your interior or even your most popular items.
One thing to note, the Facebook Page Terms expressly prohibit cover photos including pricing information, contact information, references to Facebook features and calls to action – putting even more emphasis on the graphics in your photo.
Copyblogger has got some great tips on what kind of content or copy you might want include in your photo – your company’s tagline or an inspirational quote.
If you’re looking for inspiration, check our Mashable’s gallery of some of the most excellent brand cover photos out there.
Should you feel so bold as our art director, Laura, I highly recommend using both the profile picture and cover photo together to create one awesome, aesthetically-pleasing profile picture amalgamation. It might take you a little more time than design two separate graphics, but the template above should help.
(H/T Copyblogger, Mashable)