New Facebook Cover Image Rules and What They Mean to Your Business
New Facebook Cover Image Rules and What They Mean to Your Business
After a few weeks of speculation, it’s official all over the world: Facebook has changed it’s cover image rules for business pages!
Since Facebook rolled out its timeline format for business pages, cover images (those prominent long images at the top of your page) have had strict rules regarding the type of content can be displayed on them. These rules prohibited cover images from including:
- More than 20% of text
- Any kind of contact information
- Calls to action
- Purchase information for example 50% off
- References to Facebook functionality including requests to ‘like’ or ‘share’ the page
The new cover image rules only state the following (from Facebook Pages Terms):
“All covers are public. This means that anyone who visits your Page will be able to see your cover. Covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright. You may not encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines. Covers may not include images with more than 20% text.”
According to Mari Smith’s blog post Facebook has relaxed its cover image rules due to the upcoming news feed design change. Once the new news feed design is rolled out ‘Page Like Ads’ will display a portion of the page’s cover image. So whenever someone likes your business page, that person’s friends will see a portion of your pages cover image in their news feed.
But what do the new Facebook cover image rules mean to your business page?
Here are a few ideas for your new cover image design:
1. Strategically design your cover image to showcase your business in the new news feed layout
2. Include a call to action to your free offer on your cover photo as long as the text doesn’t exceed 20% of the image
3. Include a call to action and an arrow to remind new visitors to like your page – but remember to give a great reason to do so explaining the benefits to your followers to follow your page
4. Include your contact details for easy access
5. Include your website or blog address to drive traffic to your site
6. Promote your Facebook competitions or special offers
Any other ideas or questions? Feel free to share them below >>
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Blog post by:
Minna Salmesvuo
Owner & Social Media Marketing Consultant @ Social Media Tribe
