18 tips from global brands on how to make the perfect Facebook cover
To succeed in anything, you need to look to the best. That’s why we checked out over 100 Facebook pages of well-known companies that have more than 1 million subscribers or likes – all this, just to find out which Facebook covers are the most effective. We arranged our results into 18 tips you can easily apply in your business’s Facebook page. You can also look at more than 50 vivid examples of Facebook page layouts for inspiration.If you want to know the size requirements for the Facebook cover and profile photo or learn about the 2016 business page redesign, check out the first part of this article (about what your Facebook cover should look like).
In this part, you’ll find 18 tips from some of the world’s top brands:
1. Use your Facebook cover to describe your product or service
The Facebook header is a great opportunity to promote your product and show it in a favorable light. It’s best to use a photo that conveys how someone uses your product. For example, if your business is connected with coffee, it’s better to show a cup of coffee in someone’s hand or the process of making it, rather than just a cup sitting on a table.
A heart-warming atmosphere with a cup of coffee with a Starbucks logo on it perfectly conveys the idea that it’s the right time to enjoy a cup of coffee
This photo shows not only the Coca-cola product, but also the emotions experienced by the character on the cover. But the photo is not relevant to the time of year
Here’s another nice example of showing a product in use on your Facebook cover.
Mom is feeding her baby from a jar showing the Hipp logo, but the summer cover is not at all relevant in winter
Another good example but with using a video:
The “Liverpool” football club page cover shows the video about the club.
As you can see, this is one of the most common ways to use the Facebook cover. In this case, the company logo is usually placed in the profile. However, sometimes it’s impossible to depict a product or service in action, especially if it is virtual. So take a look at some of our other tips.
2. Use a clean, simple design of one or few colours
A bright one-colour background will help you place the accents correctly.
A pineapple made from coconut and a bottle of Malibu are not just placed above the subscription button – they focus your attention on it.
The Malibu Rum page has nothing in excess and results in about 2.4 million subscribers
To achieve this effect, you can use graphics, as in the following examples:
The news company Mashable uses only 2 colors on its cover, and the page has more than 4.8 million “Likes”
You can also use photos with one predominant color and its shades:
More than 1.3 million subscribers follow the HubSpot page
Here’s another way to make several colors dominant:
The darkened photo and several color accents look stylish and convey the idea of MacProVideo
3. Stick to a single style in both the profile design and Facebook cover
Many brands follow this rule. It helps their business pages look holistic and harmonious.
See for yourself:
M&M U.S.A. uses a single-color palette that focuses the viewer’s attention on the profile. The page has more than 10.6 million subscribers
The design of this Disneyland Paris page is made in the same style. It has more than 3.1 million subscribers
4. Use a small element from your cover as a profile photo
Here’s another way to make your user feel like he’s visiting a company website with a solid style.
The Angry Birds page has collected more than 23 million subscribers
5. Make a collage
Collage designs or sets of joined-up photographs have been used for ages. But they don’t lose relevance, because they are a great way to convey several ideas at the same time.
The HBO television network has more than 11 million subscribers – and a shot from the telecasts on its Facebook cover
Not so long ago, BBC News replaced its cover photo with a collage of 3 pictures of women. Subscribers were intrigued and wondered who these ladies were. It turned out that one was a volunteer girl from Syria wearing a white helmet; another was a Trump supporter from the USA; and the third was a Cuban woman expressing sadness about the death of Fidel Castro.
This cover resulted in a lot of comments and 3.7 thousand different likes in just a few months
6. Use icons as a background for your Facebook cover
These covers are not new, but their design continues to draw new fans. Simple icons placed chaotically on the cover can perfectly convey the idea of any business, especially if it’s hard to show its essence in one photo.
Yelp’s bright cover picture tends to attract your eyes again, and again
Lifehacker has not changed its cover since April 2015, but it still looks fresh and continues to gain “Likes” – there are already more than 2.6 million of them
The advantage of such covers is that they always stay current. You can easily convey almost any idea with the help of icons.
Why hasn’t the YouTube business page cover from 2013 been changed? The answer is simple: a cover design with icons will always be relevant.
This page has nearly 82 million likes
7. Focus attention on the buttons below the cover
At the beginning of the article, we gave a few examples of how you can use the arrows on the cover to highlight call-to-action buttons. Here are more examples that illustrate this idea.
Look at how this well-known magazine benefits from using a combination of two primary colors and a collage as a muted background. However, it did not work out with the arrow. The idea is good, and the arrow is visible, but it encourages us to subscribe while it points to a button for sending a message. Apparently, this design was created in November 2016; it was placed thoughtlessly, without attention to the fact that the buttons had changed their locations.
The Business Insider page has 6.8 million likes
Make smart use of the arrows on the cover. Don’t forget that the button sare in a completely different position in the page’s mobile version.
The arrow on the Business Insider cover pointed to nothing
The lesson: think in advance of how the arrow will look on the mobile screen, or discard it altogether.
8. Don’t be afraid to use text on the cover
Facebook’s requirement that text should not cover more than 20% of the cover space was removed long ago. So global brands now have an excellent opportunity to stand out.
This is how Nike used text – with the “Equality” slogan. Nothing distracts the user from the text, which emphasizes its importance. It’s a great way to make the visitor pay attention to the slogan.
The cover of Nike scored 5.3 thousand “Likes” in just 2 weeks
And this example is from Chanel. You can’t think of anything easier than plastering the name of the company across the entire cover. But it looks spectacular – despite the fact that the cover hasn’t been changed since 2014.
More than 18 million subscribers subscribe to the Chanel page
The effectiveness of such a strategy is controversial, but the fact is that text on a single-colour background does attract attention.
9. Change the Facebook cover for the holiday, new season or an important event
The cover is a great way to remind people about your product over during a holiday.
This how Macy’s cover changed for Valentine’s Day. The page has already gained more than 13.6 million subscribers
Nutella changes its cover design from holiday to holiday.
Here’s a good way to remind people that no better pancake stuffing for the Carnival season exists anywhere
The Zappos company used seasonal pictures and made a new clothing line for each season
10. Use your Facebook cover to describe new products
Got a new product? Tell everyone about it on the cover.
Here’s how HTC presents its new gadgets to users:
More than 6 million people liked the HTC business page
And this is how the Adidas company presented its new shoes on Facebook
Here’s an example of how news companies are using this method. The New York Times (which has 13 million likes) puts illustrations from the hottest articles on the cover of its Facebook page.
It works in much the same way the print edition features a picture from the top article on its cover
In this case, a link to the article that the photo accompanies has to be added to the picture
This way, users can easily find information that caught his or her attention by simply clicking on the cover.
Small tip: Use all the features of the Facebook cover. You can add a description to the image, a link, tag a person, or specify a place or time.
11. Announce upcoming events on the Facebook cover
This tip can be seen on the pages of different cinemas and television channels.
2.7 million subscribers of the IMAX page are always aware of which film is coming soon to their local theatre
The Discovery television network page has 38.7 million Likes. Its subscribers learn about the upcoming premieres from the photo on the cover
Here’s stylish and intriguing example from National Geographic
12. Inform people about a promo or discount
Describe your main offer on the cover, and it will certainly be noticed.
Here’s some news about a discount right on The Malibu Rum page
13. Show your website address on the cover
You can attract users to your site using the CTA button. But what if you need it for other purposes? Put the address of your site directly on the cover picture, and don’t forget to add the link in the description below.
This is how Shopify did it. Its page has more than 1.8 million subscribers
Notice how wisely this picture of Tony Robbins was chosen. He’s located on the left side of the cover and looks at the website address, amplifying your attention to it.
This page also has a link to the site, but unfortunately they didn’t add it to the description below the photo. It’s much easier to get a user to click on a link than to type an address in the address bar.
There are 1.2 million “Likes” marks on Alibaba.com
A link from the football player Lionel Messi’s page cover leads to a site that raises money for the construction a hospital for children with cancer
14. Place an invitation to a conference or other event on your Facebook cover
Check out the stylish and discreet way Nokia has placed a message about an upcoming conference on its cover picture.
Nokia page has 15.3 million “Likes”
And this cover was even better thought out. After clicking on it, you can find a link in the description and get to the landing page by following it. There you can buy tickets for the conference.
Information about the conference is in a diagrammatic way that was featured on the Smashing Magazine cover
15. Use your cover to talk about your sponsorship
Sponsoring a great event? You may just as well promote it on your cover!
1.9 million subscribers follow the FedEx Europe page
16. Add humor to your Facebook cover
Amazon.com has 27 million likes and some nifty cups with funny inscriptions on its February cover
Here ‘s an example of how a touch of humour can be used, even in a very serious field. A charming dog wearing glasses makes you smile, and just below the picture you can find the company’s web address.
3.6 million people subscribe to the financial company Chase’s Facebook page
17. Make use of people’s photos on the cover
The fact that a person’s face draws the eye has been known for a long time. This is widely used by world-famous clothing brands. Take a look at these three examples, which are similar:
This black-and-white photo of a sad girl on the Zara cover page collected more than 4 thousand Likes in just 1 month.
Some 24.7 million people subscribe to this brand’s page on Facebook
When you click on the next cover, you can get a closer look at the girl’s outfit, but you can’t follow the link and buy it. Adding a link to the page in the description below would come in handy.
The Next page has 1.7 million followers
Another fine example, but unfortunately it also lacks a link in the description.
ModCloth announced a new spring collection both on its cover and in its Facebook profile. This page has 1.4 million subscribers
18. Add some hidden meaning to your Facebook cover design
Examine the image of the seats of this Tesla car. It’s not just a tender reminder of the car’s endless possibilities and flotation abilities. If you take a closer look at the seats’ outlines, you will see the company logo in silhouette.
The Tesla page cover has attracted 12 thousand likes since June 2016
And here’s another interesting example to inspire you:
The shadow of this bottle of Bonaqua water creates an image of a lightbulb, hinting at the energy boost it will give you
I hope that these 50 examples of branded Facebook pages, together with our tips, will help you to decide on the cover design you would like to have for your own business page. And we’re always ready to bring any of your ideas to life through our professional design services.
If you liked this article, feel free to subscribe to our blog or Facebook page.
