Create a Facebook profile photo that is the perfect size
The Facebook profile photo displays on pages as a 160×160 pixel image and sits at 23 pixels from the left and 210 pixels from the top of the page (on top of the cover image). Facebook recommends a profile image upload that is at least 180×180 because it will automatically be cropped around the edges to 160×160. Any image smaller than 160×160 will automatically be stretched to fit the space, and will look blurry – not a good thing! Best practice is to create a large square logo – something like 640×640 pixels (or as big as you want, really). It will automatically be scaled down to 160×160, look nice and crisp, and anyone who clicks on your profile pic will see the large image in all its glory.
In late 2012, some users found that their Facebook profile pics were appearing mysteriously cropped, even if they had been uploaded at the recommended size. If it looks like this has been the case with yours, there is a simple fix. Hover over your profile image and click the pencil icon. From the drop-down menu that appears, choose ‘Edit Thumbnail’ and then check the ‘Scale to Fit’ box. Voila!
Free Facebook cover and profile photo template to optimize for desktop and mobile
The cover photo you design for desktop viewers will not look the same on the default Facebook Page view for mobile devices because, in the Facebook mobile app, profile photos take center stage. While the cover photo is still visible, the profile photo sits right on top of it, spanning nearly the whole height of the cover photo from top to bottom, and obscuring over a quarter of the width of its width from the left-hand side. To make the profile photo and your Page name (which also sits on top of the cover photo) stand out, all cover photos are given a shadowy gradient overlay as they lurk in the background. Only when your cover photo is tapped on by a viewer will it display in full and without its shadowy overlay.
To make creating your dream cover photo – optimized for desktop and mobile – as easy as possible, I have made a free template for use with Adobe Photoshop or GIMP. Once you have download the template (which is in a.psd format), follow the instructions within it to insert your design, then save the file as a.png ready for upload to Facebook. Grab your free template via the link in the Free Social Media Templates chapter of this book.
Create images to fit Facebook custom tabs
Edit your Facebook page’s custom tab images (click pencil icon over tab when all tabs are showing -> Edit Settings) with pics that are 117×74 pixels in dimension, to unify and enhance branding on your Facebook page. Edit the tab name with a call to action, such as’ Contact Us’ or Special Offers’ too.
Customize the order of Facebook page tabs
Change the order of your Facebook page’s custom tabs to make the most important ones appear first and above the tabs ‘fold’ – ie the four tabs that display before a user has to click on the arrow icon to display the ones that are hidden by default . To do this, click the pencil icon over a tab (when all are displayed) and choose ‘Swap position with’ to begin switching the order to suit your needs. Note: the Photos tab cannot be moved, but all others, including the tab that displays how many ‘Likes’ your page has accrued, are fair game.
Create new Facebook page custom tabs with static HTML
Use the Static HTML iframe application to build new tabs on your Facebook Page (simply search for and install it from Facebook’s search bar). It’s easy to use and great for promoting other products and services, or encouraging people to sign up to your e-mail list. If the basic HTML required by the app is beyond your knowledge, check out services such as Pagemodo that will allow you to create a Welcome landing page easily for free. As an example, I used the Static HTML app to build a ‘Welcome’ tab, which encourages users to ‘like’ my page for free social media video tutorial updates, and gives information about my book, with a clickable link to purchase it at Amazon.
Create a landing page alternative to ‘bait’ Facebook likes
The pre-Timeline Facebook landing pages were great for encouraging non-fans to like your page, as you were able to send potential fans direct to a persuasive tab of your choice. Now they’re gone and everyone lands on the main Page view by default, but there is still a sneaky workaround. Build a ‘landing page’ in a custom tab using the Static HTML iframe app, and direct customers to that tab instead of your main Facebook URL. To find the URL of any custom tab, make sure all tabs are displayed by clicking the arrow pointing downwards, then hover over the tab you want to link to and choose ‘Link to this tab’ after clicking the pencil icon. The URL you see will be long and complicated, but if you buy a new domain
(eg yourcompanyonfacebook.com and set up a re-direct to it, this simplified address is the one you can use to direct potential fans to your custom tab.
Add a follow button to your personal profile
If you are the lone figurehead of your company and happy to share your personal profile with customers, but don’t want them all to be added as friends, consider adding a Follow (previously ‘Subscribe’) button to your profile via https://facebook.com/about/follow. Anyone who chooses to follow will become a follower and see all posts you set as Public in their news feeds.
Change your personal profile ‘Work’ section to your business page
If people search for your business on Facebook and come across your personal profile, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible for them to find your business page too. Click on the ‘Update Info’ button at the top of your profile and search for your Facebook Page in the ‘Where have you worked?’ box. Make sure to choose the page when it appears in the drop-down menu.
Note: If you don’t see your Page appearing when you type its name into the box, try typing its username instead, ie the bit that comes after the ‘Facebook page’ of the Page’s address. For example, I would type ‘Tota11y’ as my Facebook URL is https://www.facebook.com/krowdspeak
When people add their work details but don’t link it properly to their business page by selecting it from the drop-down menu, an odd “Community Page” URL is created with that same name and has a suitcase icon. If this is the case with you presently, click Edit in the About section of your profile, delete the Community Page (click the X), then add in the correct Facebook Page using the process described above.