How to Use your Facebook Cover Photo To Capture Attention & Leads – For Groups, Pages, and Business Pages

Did you know you can make a VIDEO or SLIDE SHOW for your Facebook Group or Page Cover Photo?

If you have a group or page on Facebook, you can now change the cover photo to a video or slide show that plays when people go to your page or group.  This is a great interactive visual feature that captures the attention of the viewer.  Have fun and select up to 5 photos that will appear as a slide show.  Or upload a video you have created and it will play when people come to your page or group.  You can reposition the photos and/or video on your page as needed.  

NEXT .  . . Why Use Your Personal Facebook Cover Photo in a Lead Capture Campaign?

One frustration for businesses on Facebook is that they invest lots of time and resources into building a fan base, and then the algorithm takes over. According to a Locowise study from October 2017, less than 9% of fans actually see what pages post organically. And with the Facebook Zero announcement that friends and family content will be favored over public (page) posts, businesses will likely see even less organic reach now, particularly those with content that doesn’t spark engagement. Pages will need to turn to paid ads for visibility in the feed. But what if there was another way to get more value from your existing Facebook fan base? Your cover photo can help you capture your fans’ email addresses so you have an additional platform with more control over to communicate with them. Here’s how.  

#1: Design a Cover Image to Promote Your Offer or Company Services

Your cover photo is “clickable,” as is the photo in your library. So in the photo’s description, you can add copy to direct users to your freebie (via your data capture tool). In funnel marketing terms, that freebie is known as a lead magnet. When you decide what to offer, be as generous, intriguing, and creative as you can. Make it a free offer that users simply cannot refuse to sign up for. Then create an image that shares your offer. Be sure to add a call to action (CTA) to encourage users to click the image. In the description for the cover image, describe your offer and link to the landing page for the offer. This is what users will see when they click the cover image. Remember that when you change the cover photo on your Facebook page, it generates a post update in the news feed. The text that appears in the post is the text you added to the photo description. If you want more exposure, you can boost the post for a few dollars. How to Size Your Cover Image When sizing your cover image, I recommend that you use a 16:9 aspect ratio (the same size as HD video), which equates to 1920 x 1080 pixels. That’s a much higher resolution than Facebook recommends, but it ensures your photo will be nice and crisp when viewed on Retina displays and future-proofs it for improved resolution devices. Tip: Consider using the 1920 x 1080 size for pages, groups, profiles, and event cover photos. Facebook has changed their recommendation for group sizes recently to a bizarre 1.91:1 aspect ratio. The 1920 x 1080 size is a one-size-fits-all approach, allowing you to keep things simple and consistent across placements. Be aware that Facebook will crop the picture a little at the top and bottom on desktop at this size. When you upload the photo, you can drag it up or down to designate where the crop occurs on desktop. If you’re creating the cover image yourself and don’t have access to a tool such as Photoshop, check out Canva or Shutterstock’s excellent photo editor. Shutterstock doesn’t require you to use Shutterstock photos and provides lots of options for annotation. If you use pre-formatted Facebook cover templates, be aware that they could be using an outdated size. You may be better off simply creating your own custom-sized images.

#2: Set Up Your Landing Page

After you design your cover image, you need to add a data capture form to the landing page you direct users to.

#3: Match Your Facebook CTA Button to Your Cover Image Messaging

If you use a CTA button on your Facebook page, it appears immediately below the cover photo. You may find that some users click that button rather than the cover photo. If this happens, no problem. Just ensure you link the CTA button to the correct landing page and use a suitable CTA message.

Promote Your Business With Your Facebook Cover Photo

Your Facebook page is one of the first places people look when researching your business. Your cover photo is crucial because it’s your first opportunity to tell your business’s story. In addition to using it to promote an offer (as outlined above), you can use it to describe what your business does and for whom your products and services are designed. You might even provide social proof by highlighting awards or testimonials.   For more information and examples of content shared above, go to https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-drive-traffic-with-facebook-cover-photo/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=NewsletterIssue&utm_campaign=New Content from Social Media Examiner

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *