Creating a custom branded Facebook page is an integral part of Facebook marketing. It allows you reinforce your brand and make your page more appealing to visitors.

On March 30, 2012, all Facebook Pages were converted to the new timeline layout. From a design perspective, one of the key features of the new interface is the introduction of a standard size cover photo or header image at the top of all Facebook pages.

If you have not uploaded your cover photo till now, your page will look dull in comparison to other businesses that already use branded Facebook pages with customised cover photos that reflect their brand.

In my experience, introduction of the cover photo has made it much easier to custom brand your Facebook page. Creating visually appealing pages is a great way to get your businesses noticed on the Internet.

Previously, one had to use a range of different techniques, apps or plugins to create a unique custom branded page. A lot of these methods can still be used. However, introduction of the new timeline interface has made it possible to custom brand your Facebook page is a few easy steps.

All you have to do now to create a visually appealing Facebook page is to upload your profile icon and a unique cover photo of a fixed size.

Facebook Rules for Cover Photos:

Cover Photos are not intended to be used purely as advertising banners.

Before you start to custom brand your Facebook page using a cover photo, there are a few things you need to consider to conform to Facebook’s terms. These rules are aimed at maintaining quality and prevent spam or excessive advertising.

What you cannot include:

According to Facebook’s rules for Pages, a cover photo may not do the following:

• Your image must be primarily an image (not all text)
• Should not include price
• Should not include promotions or sales such as“50% off” or “Save £20″
• Should not directly encourage users to obtain a products e.g. “Download it now”, “Get our free offer”
• Should not Include contact information e.g. phone, email, URL, address
• Should not directly encourage users to engage e.g. “Like” or “Share” our page below
• Should not include call to action e.g. “Buy Now”, “Click here”, “Sign-up to our list”

As you can see from the above guidelines, cover photos are not designed to be used as an advertising banner, but as a design tool to make your page more appealing. While you can incorporate your branding, you should limit direct promotions.

What you can include:

Although Facebook terms prevent you from listing your contact information, call to action, sales, or price, you are allowed to use the following information in your cover photo:

• Company slogan that describes what your business does
• Phrases, adages or quotes
• Names of people in your photo
• Images credits or  copyrights
• Other attention grabbing words

Correct dimensions of your cover photo:

Cover photos are 851 pixels wide and 315 pixels in height. If you upload an image that’s smaller than these dimensions, it will get stretched to this larger size, which will result in loss of clarity.

The profile icon cut-out is 180 pixels by 180pixels which is usually scaled to 160px by 160px.  It is placed 24 pixels from the left edge of the cover photo.

How to Create a Custom Branded Facebook Page – Step by Step

Below we take a look at step by step instructions on how to custom brand your Facebook page using your cover photo and profile icon.

Step One: Log-in to your Facebook account. Before you can update and customise your page, you will need to use Facebook as the page you wish to update. This can be done using the “Switch user” feature.

Click on the arrow next to the “Home” tab on the top right corner of the screen. All pages you own or have admin rights to will be listed here. Choose the page you wish to update (assuming that you have already created the page before). You will be redirected to the chosen page.

See image below.

Step 2: If you haven’t already added a profile picture for this page, you can do it now by clicking on “Choose your profile image” button on left of the page. This is separate to the profile picture of your personal profile. The profile image or icon is a small image of approximately 180px by 180px.  This is typically your logo. Remember, we discussed above that your profile icon will be displayed as an inset above the bottom left corner of your cover photo.

Step 3: If you have not uploaded a cover page as yet, the option to do so will be clearly visible at the top of the page.

See image below.

The final result:

Once you have added your cover photo and profile to your Facebook page, the finished results will look something like the example below.

As you can see, it is possible to achieve a great looking branded Facebook page by simply creating and uploading your profile icon and cover image.

This is just one example. The possibilities are endless. If you want to be more creating, take a look at the design tip below:

Design Tip:

In Facebook’s new layout, the cover photo is stretched across the top and the profile photo is placed on the bottom left corner as an inset.  If you want to be creative, you can coordinate your profile photo inset to compliment the cover photo and maximise the visual impact.  Captain Morgan’s example above is a perfect example of this.

Conclusion:

Custom branding your Facebook page is essential to reinforce your brand and get your page noticed. With the introduction of cover photo, it has become even easier to custom brand your page. There is really no excuse to delay this any further. Simply uploading a suitable profile icon and a cover photo is sufficient to achieve this.