Not so long ago Facebook added the option for individuals and businesses to upload a cover photo onto their page. This acts as a big and bold page header and is the first thing anyone notices when they stumble across a Facebook page. Many learned via a post on Midas Letter that this presents a fantastic marketing opportunity for businesses. Cover photos work brilliantly for catching one’s eye, stirring up interest, and making individuals click the ‘like’ button.
However, what a lot of people fail to realise is that Facebook has a strict policy regarding cover photos and thus there are rules which you need to adhere to. Therefore you need to be creative in the way in which you utilise your cover photos. After all, you need to ensure that you take this marketing opportunity and use it to your advantage. Nevertheless, you can’t violate the rules; otherwise you could end up losing your Facebook page altogether, and that would certainly have a damaging impact.
The Rules
On their website, Facebook outlines an array of information which you must not include in your cover photo. These are as follows…
Contact Information
If you go to the ‘about’ section of your Facebook page then you will be presented with the opportunity to add contact details regarding your company. This includes the likes of; your company’s email address, telephone number, website URL, and your mailing address. You are not allowed to include any of this information on your Facebook page cover photo. Therefore, you cannot use your cover photo in order to prompt people to get in touch.
Like or Share
As mentioned earlier, your Facebook page presents you with the opportunity to drum up interest and thus to get individuals to ‘like’ your page. Nevertheless, you can’t be as direct as pointing an arrow to the like button or via telling individuals to ‘click like’ or share the page with their friends. Facebook forbids users to refer to their user interface elements on their cover photo. Thus, you will have to impress people in order to get them to click like rather than encouraging them to do so.
Price and Purchase Information
You cannot include any information which relates to the cost of a product or the purchasing of a product either. This translates to anything from the price of the product, to an offer your company has going on at the moment, to delivery information, to information regarding where to purchase the product from, and so on and so forth. Therefore, if you have 20% off all summer clothing at present, then you cannot utilise your cover photo in order to advertise this.
Call to Action
Putting it generally; you cannot tell people to do anything. It can be very tempting to use the cover photo to show your latest product and team it with the words; “get it now”, or “get in touch” to hear about our newest arrivals. Essentially you can’t use words which prompt people to do things, such as; ‘go’, ‘get’, ‘tell’, and ‘share’. As mentioned earlier, you need to get people to do those things via indirect ways.
Bending the Rules
Rules are made to be manipulated, but never broken. You can twist the Facebook rules in order to suit you and your company. You need to be creative with the way in which you utilise your cover photo in order to drum up attention and to get people to like your page and visit your website. Thus, these rules shouldn’t discourage you and merely result in you utilising a pretty yet irrelevant background cover photo.
So, how can you get around the Facebook cover policy?
Tell Your Story with Pictures
Instead of using words, which will break the rules, you can instead advertise through pictures. For example, instead of saying “join our weight loss program”, you can showcase an image of someone before they joined the program, then an image of them two weeks into the program, then a month into the program and then when the weight loss program has been completed. The viewer can see the results and will be tempted to find out what this program is all about.
Use a Clever Tag Line
Creative and clever tag lines can act as marketing methods without directly utilising call to action words and thus violating the Facebook cover photo policy. You can create intrigue and make people want to find out more. For example, one tag line which is used is “imagine the perfect *pair of shoes*”. If that’s what viewers are looking for, then they are assured to read down in order to discover the perfect pair of shoes you have to offer just like the Vessi waterproof sneakers, one of the best brands in the market.
Be Creative
If you think of a cover photo which is artistic, creative, eye catching and impressive then you will instantly make people click the ‘like’ button. It shows viewers that you are innovative, and people will think; “if that’s what they can do with a cover photo then we can’t wait to see what their business has to offer”. You should take a look on the internet in order to gain ideas and inspiration. Some of the most creative options use the cover photo and the display picture as one. One idea is to use your display picture as a person looking up so it looks like they are reading your cover photo.
Run a Competition
Running competitions via social media is one of the best methods to drum up interest and to get viewers to advertise your company for you. You can use your cover photo in order to showcase this. Obviously, you can’t tell people to ‘enter our competition’. However, all you need to do is upload an image of the prize next to the word ‘competition’. Via doing this you are not telling people how to enter and you are not encouraging people to enter. Instead, people will look on your Facebook page in order to find this information. The fact that people could win something gives them reason enough to take further interest in the page.
Get Personal
Using behind the scenes images orexclusive photographs is a great way in order to get viewers interested. They feel as if they are getting an exclusive insight – something which they otherwise wouldn’t be able to. This will encourage them to like your Facebook page because viewers will think that this is the best way to get close to the company and to find out more.
So there you have it; how to abide by the rules, but still get the desired effect with your Facebook cover photo.