Oh, That Facebook Cover Art!

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Current cover art for my personal profile, taken 2/23 

Gotta admit, I was rather frazzled when I switched to Facebook's Timeline for my personal profile. To keep things simple, I took a large photo of a sunset and slapped it  up on the top of the page. So what if it didn't fit; I wriggled it around a little and it was pretty decent.


But it's a different game entirely with pages. Why? Because one photo just won't cut it in order to properly represent what the page is all about. I'll use Groovy Reflections, one of my pages, as an example. 

Since there are six team members, I felt it should be a group effort with one photo from each of them representing what Groovy Reflections is all about. The brand logo would also be part of it, bringing the number of photos to seven. Furthermore, I wanted to add all our names to the artwork, since we are so behind the scenes. It's an opportunity to get our names out there to the fans; not enough fans make their way over to the website, where they'd find bios for each team member.

First cover for Groovy Reflections

And how I struggled with getting that artwork to fit, just like I struggled with the multi-photo cover for this Facebook page. A quick search would have revealed several sources stating that the dimensions should be 850 wide by 315 in height. That's pixels we're talking about!

Upon discovering the official dimensions, the task just became easier! 

And, here's a few more guidelines about cover art:

• No selling! Don't tell us about the latest deals here.

• It's meant to be visual so have fun with it. 

• Should be representative of your product or service.

• No pleas to people to let others know about your page.

• Don't include anything about asking them to share or like the page. 

• No URLs, emails or any info that leads them to another way to contact you.

If you're creating your own cover art and don't use Photoshop or another graphic software, try using PowerPoint. Later versions have plenty of tools for creating visual splendor. As a rough measure, the art should be about half of the size of a slide (see pic below). 

Approx size of cover art when using PowerPoint

If you're a veteran at putting together a slide show for all those important presentations, this is not all that difficult to do. 

You may want to change your Facebook cover art often, maybe every two weeks or every month so that the fans get into the habit of stopping by to see what's new. This is easy if you are a product-oriented company, since you can highlight various products, however, with a service, you may want to:

• Use seasonal photos

• Photos of things that hold interest for you but help define the brand and who you are

• Include your logo

• Have a photo of you or your team included

• Include a photo of your office or the building

• If you're a local business, photos of places around town

The possibilities are endless! Be creative, remember that the size is 830 X 315, and use a rainbow of color! Enjoy this tune by the Rolling Stones: Click here. 

Cindy Lou Who, Go Back to Whoville...You're Too Early!

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The Grinch was shown on TV a couple of days ago; a friend on Facebook posted that fact. I played Cindy Lou Who wearing my own pink and green bathrobe in the third grade production of that enduring tale, but upon hearing that Whoville happenings had already descended on us put a damper on my fond memory.

On Halloween, I stopped at Target to buy candy for Trick or Treaters. One side of the aisle was haphazard with bags of candy scattered around by past shoppers scrambling for their favorites. The other side was being stocked with everything red and green, from yummy candies to seasonal coffees. The sharp contrast wreaked havoc on my psyche and took an ounce of fun out of Halloween for me, particularly when I had to ask a Target employee to move the large cart heaped with soon to be shelved holiday delights just so I could get through the aisle.

In the supermarket, I heard a Christmas song was playing. It was a catchy one, and I started to bob a bit and mouth the words. Then I realized it was a holiday song and …November 2^nd. My initial reaction quickly ceased, replaced by bewilderment.

My local hardware store, OSH, just sent an email with 20% off holiday décor online. I stopped by there yesterday to buy a few things and the Christmas shop was in full bloom at the front of the store, resembling a store within a store with lighted arches over the aisles. How festive!

Bah humbug.

Hey all you marketers; I’d really like to enjoy Thanksgiving. Will you please take a step back and allow me to be THANKFUL before I have to start thinking about a jolly man in a red suit?

Seriously.

I know marketing is important; uh, I do it for a living too. Consumers need to be aware of you and learn what your brand is about and what it can do for them. No issues with that! What I don’t like (and I’m sure many of you agree with me) is the shoving down the throat syndrome; pressuring us all to gulp rather than sip.

October through December represents BIG bucks for the retailers peaking with “I dare you to find a parking space” Black Friday. While I welcome the frivolous “gotta get a gift” spending since it contributes to the lousy U.S. economy, I wonder if we’ve lost touch with what the end of year holidays are all about. It’s not about buying gifts for people!

I’m not against the tradition of gift giving. And now, I have to admit there are alternative ways to participate in my share of holiday giving. No, I don’t regift nor am I a crafter. I DO peruse the sales of course, but I’ve found that shopping at garage sales, resale shops and vintage stores results in unique, one-of-a-kind items that can usually can be bought for a song. I’m not talking about 1984 shoulder padded blazers here, but focusing on items more ornamental in nature that suit the recipient’s décor, a gently used collectible book, or something more practical…would you believe I know someone that collects old waffle irons?

In other words, I frequent those sellers who have little or no marketing! I’m still spreading the wealth, right?

The point is that through the magic of marketing, we continue to drift away and lose sight of what the end of the year is all about. Personally, I will do my best to avoid anything associated with red and green until after Thanksgiving. Bring on the turkey and all the trimmings!