Your business Facebook Fan Page cover photo is the largest section of real estate on your Facebook page, and greets potential fans when they visit your page. It’s also what they’ll see when they hover over a link to your FB page from a shared, liked, or commented post.

That’s why it’s so important to put serious time & effort into creating a stunning cover photo. Creating a stunning cover photo is essential to your business, so putting in serious time and effort is a must. You want to make a fantastic first impression, right?

A common practice on Facebook that I see is many businesses just putting their website address on a plain background. C’mon, you can do better than that.

Not only is this a missed opportunity, but it doesn’t tell people anything about your page, your product or your business.

So what can you do instead?

Here are 10 creative ways to use your Facebook cover photo.

1. Build and grow your email list.

With new call to actions available on the fan pages, you can use the cover image to highlight an offer or content, a free eBook or other type of incentive. Then point visitors to your email sign up forms, or back to your blog where they can also subscribe.

Here’s a great example from Entrepreneurs Academy:

2. Explain the benefits of your service.

Does your product service save customers money, time, headaches, etc.? Highlight this on your cover photo, and make it easy to follow. Potential visitors may view your cover photo through a friends link or post, and having your core benefits right there for them to see is a great way to attract customers who have a need for your service.

We like the way that Tabsite has used theirs:

3. Promote a Contest

Contests are a great way to bring more visitors to your page, so use your cover photo to reach more possible contest entrants. You can also showcase previous winners from other contests that you have held. Just make sure to follow the Facebook guidelines for contests, found here.

4. Show off your fans or clients.

If your business markets to other businesses, use your cover photo to show off their recent achievements, or even case studies of their progress. If you’re working directly with consumers, you could also include them (with their permission) in your cover photos, like Walmart does around major holidays like Halloween?

Oreo has also done a great job of this, as shown here:

5. Introduce your team

Showing photos, names and info on team members in your cover photo is a fantastic way to bring visitors into your company culture. Make a collage of your team members having fun in the office, or even in their free time. A great team photo is great as well, showing people exactly who they can expect to work with when contacting your company.

Stine Yard + Lawn does a great job with this on their Facebook page.

Related: 4 Local Brands That Are Killing It On Facebook.

6. Support a cause or non-profit movement

If you support a particular cause or non-profit organization; and you should; then show that to your fans. Getting behind whatever cause that you believe in and support not only shows fans more about your business, but also lends a hand to that cause or charity. At Aginto, we work closely with the Tiny Hands Foundation in Sarasota, and actively volunteer at the Salvation Army in Manatee County.

Here’s an example of a company supporting Breast Cancer Awareness:

7. Announce an Upcoming Event

Holding a conference, webinar or networking event is nothing without attendees. So use your cover photo to announce and promote an upcoming event that you’re planning. Salesforce has always done a great job of this, and even goes one step further by showcasing the speakers who will be at the event.

8. Show off your customer reviews

What do people have to say about your product or service? The great thing about Facebook reviews is that they correspond to an actual person, that visitors can see with their own eyes. Include some of your Facebook reviews in your cover photo, and show visitors what you’re all about. It will entice them to view the rest of your reviews, which they can also find on your Fan Page. Hey – That’s more interaction too.

9. Promote a fan-only sale or discount

Launching a fan only discount not only attracts visitors, but more fans and more buyers to your store or website. Create a promo code on your eCommerce website and provide it to fans only, so that visitors on your page are encouraged to hit that ‘Like’ button. You can do this with a retail store location as well by providing fans with emails featuring the promo code that they can use a coupons or access to your sale.

10. Brand yourself and establish authority.

If you’re the authority in your field, or you want to be, then using your Facebook cover photo is a great place to start telling people. Show where you’ve been published or have spoken publicly, or share where people can learn more about you. If you commonly write for a blog or magazine, don’t forget to show visitors where they can find that information.

As you can see, there are a lot of awesome ways to use your Facebook cover photo. Make sure that you update your Facebook cover photo every once in a while to keep it fresh & interesting. Whatever direction you decide to go, remember to always stay in line with your company’s voice.

If you’re looking for a head start on designing your Facebook cover photo, download our 5 free Facebook cover templates. They’re already pre-sized to fit your fan page cover.

Topics: Social Media Marketing