Up until March of 2013 the guidelines governing a cover photo on Facebook were very limiting when it came to using them for marketing. They did not allow text to cover more than 20% of the image, and the text that was there couldn’t be a direct call to action or other marketing message. Things like, “50% Off Today Only” or “Sign Up Today” were not allowed, which meant marketers had to turn to other strategies in an attempt to convert visitors to their page.
In March of 2013 Facebook took the first step in easing these restrictions by removing the restriction on direct calls to action and other marketing phrases. This was a good first step, but the limit of 20% text on an image remained which made it difficult for many companies to use the bold text which they hoped would get them the best results.
Facebook just recently updated their terms of service again, this time removing the 20% rule so brands can now advertise on their cover photos in virtually any way they would like. Businesses can now use this valuable online real estate to help move people from simply visitors to their Facebook page to actual customers, or at least people on their email lists. This will definitely be seen as a beneficial move by most marketers.
While it is now permissible to fill up the entire cover photo with marketing text, that doesn’t mean it is a good idea. Marketers should still focus on getting a good balance of an image and text to get the best results. It is un-doubtable that some companies will go too far in adding text to their cover photos, which will actually drive potential customers away. With proper planning, however, this could be a big benefit to many brands that are now able to directly market to visitors in a much more visible way.
