Facebook's new "Timeline" design has been mandatory for all Facebook businesses pages for almost a week now, and you may have noticed your cover photo is now taking up some serious real estate. So even if you don't take the time to use new features like pinning, starring, and milestones, it's certainly worth taking some time to make your cover photo stunning, creative, functional, or all of the above.
But innovation doesn't just come out of nowhere ... you need a creative spark before you can fan the flames! So we scoured Facebook looking for some of the coolest cover photos out there we thought would inspire you. Take a look at how these brands are making the most of their new Facebook cover photo real estate. Then get out there and design a cover image that makes your Facebook page fans and visitors "ooh" and "ahh!"
1) Sunrise Signs
We love when our customers get really into their marketing, and Sunrise Signs is certainly showing an interest in the new Facebook cover photo capabilities with this fantastic one that showcases exactly what its product does -- without words. They also highlight their clients, a great way to show customer love!
2) Old Spice
Old Spice has opted for an Eye of the Tiger meets Diehard theme in its cover photo, also known as the punch you in the face approach. Actually, it seems like their spokesman really might jump out of the computer and punch you in the face, considering Old Spice's clever cover photo/profile image alignment. But if you've seen any Old Spice campaigns in the last couple years, it's completely on point with their brand. And while it might not be your cup of tea, there's no denying it captures your attention.
3) Sharpie
Sharpie's cover photo is simple and clean, but also really, really captivating. Look at that detail and artistry! It shows fans how to use this everyday product -- a Sharpie permanent marker, and a paper cup -- in a creative way. Plus, that pop of red draws your eye in, matches the pop of red in Sharpie's logo, and reminds us Sharpie actually has colored markers!
4) OverGo Studio
OverGo Studio is another star HubSpot customer/partner, and their Facebook cover photo is effective because it explains what they do to an audience who may need more information about their services. Yes, they're using words, but it's not overpowering! The font is bright and crisp, and the lighter blue words in the background let someone who is really studying the photo learn about their service offerings in more detail without overwhelming visitors with copy-overload. They're another example of an intriguing, yet subtle use of cover photo-profile image alignment.
5) Uber
Uber's Facebook cover photo is effective because it's both functional and brand-enhancing. The cars on the map show the cities in which they operate, and the old school map reflects the understated, classic, exclusive feeling of its customers' experience.
6) Dropbox
Dropbox's Facebook cover photo made this list because it is simply adorable. And you know what? Sometimes the best thing you can do in marketing is just make people smile. Just look at that little guy in the plane! This cover photo also aligns with Dropbox's Twitter background, and helps make a relatively unsexy service (file hosting) more fun and accessible.
7) Livestrong
We featured Livestrong's Facebook cover photo in a previous post about brands that are making great use of the new features on Facebook's brand pages. Livestrong's cover photo is simple, but still artistic and strong. It just goes to show that you don't always need to get fancy -- just be visually captivating. And while we've seen a lot of brands play around with the alignment of their cover photo and profile image like we just saw with OverGo Studio and Old Spice, Livestrong cleverly carries its cover photo design into the 'Views and Apps' section of its page, where it features the Livestrong blog.
8) Murder Mystery Company
Then again, there's certainly nothing wrong with a little flash in your marketing! HubSpot customer Murder Mystery Company takes you into their dramatic world with their Facebook cover photo, letting you in on the experience of attending one of their murder mystery performances. Plus, it has a little sex appeal -- never a bad thing in marketing!
9) McDonald's
McDonald's uses its Facebook cover photo to give you sense of the company's history. Nostalgia is a great approach for McDonald's -- it showcases what I think many would agree is a more enchanting time for the fast food industry.
10) Jive Software
Jive Software's success with its Facebook cover photo is in the details. When you click on the photo, you see that the caption is "The People are the Network." What a great sentiment for a social business software company's social media page! It creates a sense of community, and the image tells us that Jive's customers are the foundation of the company.
11) PhotoShelter
Unlike Jive Software, HubSpot customer PhotoShelter lets you actually see the faces of people in its cover photo for a more engaging effect. Including pictures of people in your social media is always a great idea, as long as they look natural and not like stock imagery. These photos both reflect the company's purpose, and put sympathetic faces behind the brand.
12) iStockphoto
Another photo site, it's no surprise iStockphoto has a spectacular Facebook cover photo -- they've got a whole website full of them! So it'd be foolish for them not to show off the best of their product. If you look closely, the bottom right corner of the photo gives credit to the photographer, and when you click into the photo, it provides a link to the website where you can purchase the photo. Talk about a subtle call-to-action!
13) Verizon
Verizon gets their customers involved with their Facebook cover photo. Verizon changes the photo every day, replacing it with an image taken by a real customer. Then they add a picture of the customer in a small call-out, include the name of the customer who took the picture, and the name of the device they used. It not only pays tribute to Verizon's customers, but it also shows off the capabilities of their products.
14) Zipcar
Zipcar got some clever copywriters involved with their Facebook cover photo! They combined a funny, quippy saying with an image that shows where you can go with a Zipcar. And notice that directive in the bottom right corner? It tells fans what to do -- get out, and zip!
15) Lawyers.com
Lawyers.com has gotten around the call-to-action restrictions of the new Facebook design by including an image of their latest piece of content. When you click into the photo, they include a link to the post which then takes you to the full piece of content.
16) UrbanDaddy
UrbanDaddy's Facebook cover photo is exceptional at reinforcing their brand, but with subtlety. The photo doesn't tout their product -- which is their content -- or their offers. It's all about the person who reads UrbanDaddy, and the lifestyle they embody.
17) HubSpot
And of course, we wanted to give our own Facebook cover photo a little love! We combined the orange our brand is known for with the Boston skyline -- it is our Hub, after all!
What creative Facebook cover photos have you seen? Share them in the comments so we can all be inspired!
Image credit: Sean Rogers1
Inbound Marketing Blog Feed
Cary McGuckin 3:35 PM on April 05, 2012
Excuse the self promotion but I wanted to share what our team did for our Facebook pages since I think they came out really nice.
http://www.facebook.com/EmpireBeautySchool
http://www.facebook.com/mastersofbeauty
http://www.facebook.com/hairdesignschool
Corey Eridon 3:37 PM on April 05, 2012
@Cary don't worry, I was hoping people would share their cover photos in the comments! Your photo does look awesome, I love how you integrated the smaller photo with the larger.
Ale Arreola 3:59 PM on April 05, 2012
In my opinion, Starbucks does it great too. Today they have a picture of a part of their workforce which goes perfectly with the Starbucks Global Month of Service that they announce and share in their Timeline. Engaging, personal; it's not only just about coffee in the end.
Jelene Morris 4:01 PM on April 05, 2012
I love checking other creative FB cover photos! Great article Corey... Check out the cover photos we made for our 4 stores. Thanks!
http://www.facebook.com/JewelryWarehouse
http://www.facebook.com/GarnetAndBlackTraditions
http://www.facebook.com/TigerPawTraditions
http://www.facebook.com/PalmettoTraditions
Justin Farrow 5:16 PM on April 05, 2012
check these out:
http://facebook.com/landsurveyorsunited
http://facebook.com/surveyearthinaday
http://facebook.com/ilovesurveying
Haneef Saleem 5:43 PM on April 05, 2012
We also did a little revision of our header graphic - http://www.facebook.com/macleemsportswear
Alvin Ang 7:11 PM on April 05, 2012
@Cary, I really like the hairdesign school's design. It looks gorgeous!
@Jelene, TigerPawTraditions rocks! Did you take that picture?
@Justin, SurveyEarthInADay is awesome. It kinda reminds me of Google's 16-bit google map April Fool's video, which is funny :)
Check this out guys, let me know what you think:
http://www.facebook.com/sslcorp
Thank you!
Tor Ellingsen 7:21 PM on April 05, 2012
Great samples:)
Hopefully into something with my site inboundwave on FB
https://www.facebook.com/Inboundwave
Keep on show more examples:)
Regards
Tor
Raphael Paulin-Daigle 10:24 PM on April 05, 2012
Love it!
Facebook page covers are a creative way to display your brand or company's creativity and personality. It's a great way to show off it's colors and to make the customer more emotionally attached/involved to your brand (of course, if done right). I think the FB covers should not be neglected and made with care as it's something small that can make a big impact.
Thanks!
Jenn Staz 12:55 AM on April 06, 2012
I love the Sharpie cover photo! I feel like there's really no need to repeat the logo in the cover photo like a lot of the other examples did, especially when it's in the center. I'm also a huge fan of Zipcar, because while it doesn't repeat the logo, it has a nice flow and relation between the profile photo and the cover image.
Ina Lejins 1:04 AM on April 06, 2012
What really intrigues me is how a number of these cover photos, when clicked, provides the viewer another crumb of information and a chance to engage. I'm learning to like the new look ...
Ashish Kulkarni 2:17 AM on April 06, 2012
Thanks for these examples, i would like to share with all this fan page: http://www.facebook.com/SuzlonPALS fan page of Pure Air Lovers Society. The creative use of cover page on this page too deserves an appreciation.
Nebulas Web Design Braintree 5:16 AM on April 06, 2012
Some really cool examples especially like the McDonalds cover image.
I also like Cary's examples, very clever.
Jared Kimball 7:50 AM on April 06, 2012
@Corey great examples. The Verizon Wireless example is a stellar way to increase customer engagement. Photographers and wanna be photographers love to have their pictures shared, so I'm sure the people who get their photos featured get a kick out of it getting posted. With all of their excitement I'm sure they end up telling all of their friends to go to Verizon's page and check it out. Win-win.
The Laywers one is really interesting too because it hooks people's interest and keeps them on their page reading more and more content.
Great stuff as always.
Sailesh MG 8:18 AM on April 06, 2012
Loved the sharing of ideas... nicely chosen examples. I felt Jive cover could avoid cutting off the 'J'
Designed one myself for a small business:
http://www.facebook.com/beautyoasiscenter
comments are welcome
Janet 10:42 AM on April 06, 2012
I love Sharpie's, photoshelter! It's easier when you are widely known, but if you aren't it's trying to show quickly what your business is selling.
This isn't as creative as the above, but if someone could suggest a more creative way to go, but also give the message of what we do that would be great! https://www.facebook.com/furnitureconceptscontactfurniture
Internet Specialist Mark 11:30 AM on April 06, 2012
As like other commenters above, I really like the Sharpie one. Actually I'd suggest having a Sharpie on the table beside the cups to really enforce the connection? Just my opinion.
Regardless, these examples definitely got me inspired to really work on our cover photos much more.
One example of us trying:
http://www.facebook.com/DykstraFlowers
Looking forward to seeing more. Definitely inspiring :)
Regards
Brad 11:35 AM on April 06, 2012
I struggled for weeks to come up with mine, so this is merely a placeholder until I an do something better:
Http://www.facebook.com/bradthesoundguy
RumShopRyan 12:03 PM on April 06, 2012
Would love to add ours to your list. We're proud of it! http://Facebook.com/RumShopRyan
Cheers!
Fabien Soudiere 2:28 PM on April 06, 2012
That's great and inspiring. Check our facebook cover too, it's illustrated...Zo! Creative on Facebook
surulita 4:05 AM on April 07, 2012
Check this out. A brilliant use by a creativity trainer.
https://www.facebook.com/CreativePunito
Brew 8:38 AM on April 07, 2012
We decided on a plan just one day before the rollout: highlight members of our community. Make it about them, and not us.
Facebook.com/MeetMeme
web design studio 3:36 AM on April 09, 2012
Nice examples of Facebook page covers.. Thanks for sharing with us. Check out our Facebook fan page cover here:
https://www.facebook.com/thecreativePUNDITS
Nate Nordstrom 9:23 AM on April 10, 2012
I'm a little biased, but here's my digital media consulting company page: https://www.facebook.com/BrandHoot
James F Towne 9:25 AM on April 10, 2012
http://www.facebook.com/JFTPhotos
Laura Donovan 10:21 AM on April 10, 2012
http://www.facebook.com/thewordpro
http://www.facebook.com/laura.donovan1
Melissa 10:28 AM on April 10, 2012
at the risk of sounding self promoting - I am a little proud of this banner: https://www.facebook.com/MontanaSilversmiths ... I know the avatar doesn't blend with the banner, but the way we have the shadow man (what we call our logo) cropped shows up so nicely in news feeds.
Andrea 10:31 AM on April 10, 2012
These are some really great examples! Here are two of my company's pages that I revamped:
http://fb.me/InfoComm
http://fb.me/InfoCommShow
Suna Gurol 10:48 AM on April 10, 2012
Of course I'm biased, but I am also adding our non-profit to the list. I used LiveStrong as our inspiration as well as to realize that FAcebook now allows us to express our branding.
http://www.facebook.com/HutchinsonCenter
Mike Stuart 11:10 AM on April 10, 2012
Very cool examples thanks for sharing!
Here's ours for Stu Stu Studio:
http://www.facebook.com/justsaytheword
Kathy Adkins 11:30 AM on April 10, 2012
Wow, there are so many great ones shown here BUT my problem is How do I create them? I have ideas, but don't have the tools or knowledge to create them. I've spoken with so many people in the same situation. Most of us are small businesses with limited funds & computer skills...where do WE go for help in getting our TL Cover done?
Kelly Ward 11:55 AM on April 10, 2012
These are great examples! My two favorites you included are Sharpie and PhotoShelter.
Here's what I did with mine:
https://www.facebook.com/digitalkward
and here's one I did for a client of mine:
https://www.facebook.com/waynesjerky
Kelly Ward 12:01 PM on April 10, 2012
@Kathy I wrote two how-to articles on how to create a timeline cover. You can find them on my blog here:
http://www.digitalkonline.com/blog
(See the 2 most recent blog posts.)
The blog article titled "How to Create a Cover Image for the Facebook Page Timeline Design" is the simpler method of the two articles. And it includes a Photoshop template you can download. Feel free to contact me if you have questions!
Maggie Pajak 12:07 PM on April 10, 2012
We had some fun creating our Facebook cover photo by highlighting our staff:
http://www.facebook.com/PublishingBusiness
Maggie Pajak 12:32 PM on April 10, 2012
BTW ... I'm the one in the straight jacket ;)
http://www.facebook.com/PublishingBusiness
Kathy Adkins 12:34 PM on April 10, 2012
Kelly, Thanks so much for the information. It might be helpful, but I think I need something that will allow me to drag & drop images on to the cover. In talking with other small business owners, we want our covers to be fairly creative with images of different product lines but trying to accomplish this without graphics knowledge has been a real challenge. I think most of us are looking for a program that will allow us to get images of our products or services on our cover. Do you know of any software that might help us?
Chriss Mikhael 10:42 AM on April 11, 2012
Hey There
I created my own cover check it out on my business fb page .. would appreciate a like aswell ;)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Custom-Uniforms/201723526504746
Adam Lowe 10:47 AM on April 11, 2012
I love that Sharpie cover. Big. Here are mine:
http://www.facebook.com/alophotoco
http://www.facebook.com/Photografunk
Kelly Ward 11:01 AM on April 11, 2012
@Kathy, I can't think of any program that would allow you to drag-and-drop images to create a Facebook Cover Image. Your best bet would probably be to use a graphics program or outsource the work if you don't feel comfy doing it yourself. Creating a simple cover image should be fairly inexpensive. Feel free to contact me directly if you need help or have questions.
Kathy Adkins 11:31 AM on April 11, 2012
Kelly, Thanks so much for the reply. I haven't found a program either & Photoshop is making me crazy..LOL. I may just do as you said & outsource the creation as it is just taking too much time trying to figure all of this out. If you know or hear of someone that can do a good job of this without breaking the bank, please let me know. Thanks again for all the information. Have a great day!
Kelly Ward 11:35 AM on April 11, 2012
Kathy, I'd be happy to help you out with that - and at a very reasonable price, too. I'll send you an email. You can also contact me through this link: http://www.digitalkonline.com/contact/
Pupppmaster 9:18 AM on April 12, 2012
You like Facebook profile covers without watermarks? www.profilelift.com for you :)