Making a FB page cover photo

Hey everyone,

So I finally got around to making a Facebook cover photo for AWoL Productions's FB Page. AWoL Productions is a performing arts company I started fresh out of grad school in 2010.  We've produced one show a year so far, each time presented as part of the Capital Fringe Festival. I'm very happy with it!!

And with this being the first show put up since the new cover photo addition, I thought a compilation of the three shows produced would be a good first one. I consulted FB's How should I choose a cover photo for my page?

The first thing I was looking for was the dimensions, which (if you care to optimize the image for the page), are 851 pixels wide & 315 pixels high. And in case you're another Mac user like me and don't have the software to edit photos, I recommend checking out Seashore, which you can learn more about here.

They have other recommendations for format, size, etc. which you can check out yourself, but what I made sure to take particular note of was what was not allowed:

• Price or purchase information, such as "40% off" or "Download it at our website"
• Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page's About section
• References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features
• Calls to action, such as "Get it now" or "Tell your friends"

In the end, it makes sense, and I kind of like this. In a number of webinars and trainings on social media, you find that a well selected or composed image can be just as, if not more effective than hitting your audience and community over the head with yet aNOther call to action if you're with a nonprofit like me.

SocialMediaDelivered actually has a great post, Facebook Brand Cover Photos: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, in which they shared thoughts on why the image below was not a good choice for Microsoft, with which I agree.

Granted, I am certainly not comparing my small little arts company to a brand like that, BUT best practices are best practices, regardless of how small or large your organization is.

Anyway, that's it. Would love to hear thoughts on my cover photo, what works about it, what doesn't. And definitely share your own, especially if you want feedback.

- JR

Follow @AWayofLife0