Facebook has added loads of new features over the last few months, some of which are pretty cool.
For example, they are testing a feature that will allow you to “snooze” a certain word. Like, for example, if you are taping the World Cup and you don’t want to know who won, you can tell your FB to silence all mentions of the World Cup. If you’re me, you prefer to see as little Trump in your newsfeed as possible… this feature will also make that happen for you.
They are also testing a new feature that tracks how much time you spend on Facebook, with the view to encourage you to (believe it or not) spend less time there.
They have also updated options for the Facebook cover image.
You can now have a carousel Facebook cover image; you can upload a bunch of photos, and people can scroll through them the same way that you would see on a blog’s header.
You can also create a video for your cover image, which is a pretty cool feature.
Your video should be:
- 820 x 312 pixels
- between 20 and 90 seconds
- be understandable without sound
To access both of these new features, just log in to your Facebook page, and click on the “change cover” button in the upper left-hand corner. It will give you the option to upload a carousel of photos or a video.
Here are some tips for creating a great Facebook cover video:
- This is not the place to interview someone. The video will default to playing without sound, so having someone speak on camera is not ideal. You could “close caption” the video, but that’s a lot of work. Better to tell a story in pictures if possible.
- Feel free to put music under your video, so people can turn the sound on if they like. But ideally, tell your story in captions and sexy photos/video.
- Also feel free to repurpose content you have already shot, but make sure you resize it according to Facebook’s specifications.
Some tools you can use to make your Facebook cover video:
- I used something called Wave. It’s a cool tool that has a specific feature for creating a Facebook cover video. Just upload your photos & videos, add titles, music, transitions… it’s pretty cool. The only thing is, if you don’t pay for the premium service, your video will be watermarked. You can see mine here.
- Kapwing
- MakerMoon
- Biteable
- Adobe Spark Video (love this tool!!)
- And here’s how to do it using iMovie.
Additional reading:
How to Set up a Creative Facebook Cover Video
7 Creative Facebook Cover Videos To Inspire You