Facebook’s Relaxes Cover Photo Rules

As my loyal fans read on Tuesday, Facebook has been busy changing things up on the biggest social network out there. But some of the changes that didn’t get the recognition it deserved were the changes made to the cover photo.

Up until this month, users had many restrictions when it came to the most dominant image on your page. Some of those restrictions included:

• Images with more than 20% text
• Price or purchase information, such as “40% off”
• Contact information such as a website address, email, mailing address, or information that should go in your Page’s “About” section
• References to Facebook features or actions, such as “Like” or “Share” or an arrow pointing from the cover photo to any of these features
• Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends”

Now, all but one of these rules magically disappeared fromthe Facebook manifesto. The only restriction that remains is the first one; no cover photo may contain over 20% text.

Let’s ignore the fact that Facebook failed to announce these changes (rumors are they went into effect as early as March 6) and discuss what it means or does not mean for marketers.

Facebook is listening to the people who help drive up that stock price. Marketers know the ads platform is anything but perfect, yet many of us still spend the dough. Add in that fact that Facebook is almost always changing the Edgerank algorithm and you have some pretty pissed off consumers waiting to spend some cash.

Throwing us a bone, Facebook decided to give up the most dominant visual on every personal and professional Facebook page. This gives marketers more power and leeway to sell their brand. But should we use it?

I will say it now and say it again; Facebook is not a platform for selling, ANYTHING. It is a platform for cultivating and enhancing your relationships with your fans. Look at any brand page and the posts, images and videos that get the most action are the ones that have very little to do with the brand itself. The posts that get the most engagement are those involving actions that are encouraging and entertaining after sharing it with your friends. It’s the visual masterpieces that we all like to show off. It’s the videos that have people think “WTF was that person thinking.” It’s the poll questions we all can’t wait to shout at the top of the mountain. It’s the stuff brands don’t really care about, but do to show that they care about their Facebook fans.

Next week, I am going to prove this point even further as I look at one of the most popular organic Facebook posts in WOMMA history, but in the meantime, readers of this blog should realize that despite removing these restrictions on Facebook cover photos, marketers should change NOTHING. Do not sell to your Facebook fans. The most effective calls to actions are still useless if you are showing them to an uninterested audience. Chances are, your Facebook fans don’t really care about your product or service. They only follow you for the next deal or the next great Gangnam style video they can share.

Despite the removal of these Facebook cover photo rule, do not change your Facebook marketing strategy.