A New Zealand company lost 20,000 followers and their Facebook Fan page recently, all because they broke a cardinal rule attached to the Timeline Cover Photo function on the site.
The Cover Photo, generally 851 pixels wide by 315 pixels high, has its own set of rules which you agreed to when you created your page or switched over to Timeline. While the lively debate across the internet questions what is appropriate and how far one can stretch the rules, business page owners and admins might want to take another look at the “terms and conditions” agreed to when the page was created. Here they are, straight from the Facebook Help Center.
Cover images must be at least 399 pixels wide and may not contain:
- Price or purchase information, such as “40% off” or “Download it at our website.”
- Contact information, such as web address, email, mailing address or other information intended for your Page’s “About” section.
- References to user interface elements, such as Like or Share, or any other Facebook site features.
- Calls to action, such as “Get it now” or “Tell your friends.”
All cover images are public, which means anyone visiting your Page will be able to see the image you choose. Covers must not be false, deceptive or misleading, and must not infringe on third parties’ intellectual property. You may not encourage or incentivize people to upload your cover image to their personal timelines.
Apparently, Facebook is not kidding about this, and has already pulled the plug on a number of businesses across the planet. Will yours be next?
What do you think about these rules? How does your Cover Photo fare against the rules? How far are you willing to bend the rule