How to best use the Cover Photo on Facebook Timeline Brand Pages

With the introduction of Facebook Timeline for Brand Pages and the removal of the ‘Landing Tab’ feature, the Cover Photo is now likely the first branded content the user will encounter. It is extremely important to align your Cover Photo with your brand and deliver an appropriate message to your Fans. We will explain the “Dos & Don’ts” of Cover Photos, and how to best use the Cover Photo on your Timeline Brand Page.

Cover photos should be exactly 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall. If you upload an image that’s smaller than these dimensions, it will get stretched to this larger size, and will look pixelated. In any case, the image you upload must be at least 399 pixels wide.

Facebook also has strict requirements as to what Fan Page Cover Photos must not contain, including:

No price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website.
No contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s About section.
No references to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
No Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.

Marketing Magazine Australia uses their cover image like a cover page/mast head of a print magazine, highlighting the featured articles of that month's issue.

These limitations are intended to ensure Cover Photos don’t turn into a mess of marketing, discounts and call-to-actions, even if they do seem a little harsh. Asking users to “Like” your page was a staple of almost all Landing Tabs (the equivalent initial page). I am sure Admins will break these rules, in fact many won’t even know they exist. It will be interesting to see Facebook’s response – whether they suspend or shut down Pages which break the rules.

Here are some examples of creative Cover Photos:

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