Facebook is doing what it does best, changing the game. Starting January 15th, 2013 there will be some new restrictions on Facebook pages. And from what Facebook is saying they will be enforced. The biggest impact will be the cover images on pages. The rules are changing a bit, and from what I’ve seen around Facebook, most of us are not ready for it.
A quick break down of the new rules for cover images
- No more than 20% of the image can be text (that includes any words in your logo)
- No words encouraging likes, calls, emails, or shares.
- No contact information like email address, website address, or phone number
For all of the new rules (not just about cover images) get it straight from Facebook here.
Now you may be asking yourself, what is the point of making sure I comply? I mean what is Facebook really going to do. Well best case they delete the cover image that doesn’t follow the rules. Worst case though they are going to delete your whole page. I know most of us use Facebook quite a bit and have invested a lot of time in growing our community there, so to lose everything over something preventable seems silly. My suggestion is to review the new policy now and make those changes before January 15th.
Also here are a few ideas for those who have no idea what to do with this change.
- Have a background image (maybe similar to your website) and just include your logo.
- Have a background image (maybe similar to your website) and include only your tagline and a logo that does not include your business name.
- Feature some photos of you working, or of your products.
- Feature some photos of your store front, restaurant front, or office.
Once again if you need any help getting ready for these changes give us a call or email at Hit the Mic Marketing and we can help you get ready for January 15th!
Stacey Harris is owner of Hit the Mic Marketing. After launching a successful general virtual assistant business in 2011 she found her true passion was helping rock star entrepreneurs share their message with a big audience.
Stacey loves working with high energy passionate business owners who are ready to take their business to the next level by really solidifying their online presence. She has a huge passion for music, social media, and entrepreneurship.
Thank you so much for this update.
You rock keeping us compliant with FB.
Luz
Thanks so much for the post! At first when I saw the new less than 20% rule I was freaking out! So, I just now changed my banner on my page to follow all the new rules. I was surprised when I measured & calculated that it’s less than 5% of the space. You can get an idea of how big by looking at my banner on Facebook (/myauntruby) Turns out 20 % is quite a bit. Thanks again, great post!
Thanks for explaining about the 20% text rule, it will help us very much for designing the cover photos according to the new policy. If you need new latest cover photos as per the facebook’s new policy you can visit http://www.smashingcovers.com .
Facebook nowadays is like a habit of everyone though it’s one of the biggest trending site all over the world. Facebook helps you connect more easier to your friends, relatives or even love ones. More people are now using facebook as part of thier everyday life because they can post everything whatever they wanted to. As time goes by facebook is always on it’s innovation and now we can customize our Facebook Cover Photo. I find it more lovely here because the desings are unique and it’s one of a kind.