When clicking onto your Facebook page, the first thing a user notices is the Facebook cover art.

Although this part of your business’s social media page doesn’t seem that important, trust us when you say your Facebook cover art can make or break the consumer experience.

In the seconds it takes for users to glance at this image, they decide whether or not to stay on the page. Your Facebook cover art essentially works like a mini landing page and call-to-action – so getting it right should be one of your top priorities.

You can include quite a bit in the design: product images, ads and promotions, and graphics are all a great way to boost engagement and traffic across your social channels.

As well as being creative, when designing your business’ Facebook cover art, you also need to take the platform’s formatting rules into account.

That might seem like a lot to consider, but we’re here to break it down.

Here are some of our top tips on getting the most out of your Facebook cover photo!

Follow Facebook’s cover photo guidelines.

We said it before, and we’ll repeat it – follow Facebook’s official guidelines. No one wants their page taken down over a cover art, so make sure your design isn’t deceptive, misleading, or infringes copyright.

Another common mistake here is using the wrong format. If a user spots a cut off logo or blurry image, they’re bound to click off your page in less than a heartbeat.

The correct Facebook cover art size is 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels tall. We also recommend uploading it as a JPG or PNG file of fewer than 100 kilobytes.

Make it relevant to your brand.

We process images significantly faster than text, so your Facebook cover art is an excellent opportunity to engage your audience before they even read your page title!

Make sure you’re using a design that supports your brand’s style and explains what your business is all about. Consider what your target audience might like, and incorporate your key colours, themes and values.

Reflect your page’s content.

Think of your Facebook cover art as a shop window. After all, it should highlight what you’re selling – in context and with style!

Update regularly.

…But not too regularly. Although your Facebook cover art is a great place to announce what’s new in your business, changing it too much can confuse your audience.

Striking a balance between updating your cover photo with fresh content and bombarding users is vital. We recommend a refresh approximately every month – just enough to maintain consistency and catch audience attention.

Facebook is a super-powerful platform for businesses, so why not put your cover to work?

If you think your social media presence needs a refresh or a kick into overdrive, get in contact here. Clique Social Media has been helping various types of businesses improve their digital marketing, and we can help you too!