Even small businesses with limited resources will turn to a designer to help with their website, email templates and banner ads. After all, it’s worth investing in great visuals that can attract the attention of potential new customers.

While many companies see the value in having a Facebook presence — attracting new customers and building a community —  many don’t think about investing in the quality of the visuals on their Facebook pages.

Why should you up your visual game on Facebook? Consider these facts:

• Some predict that your Facebook page will get more traffic than your website in 5 years
• Those who ‘Like’ your company Facebook page are more likely to purchase and recommend your products
• Facebook posts with photos and images are more widely shared than average posts

By raising the quality of your cover art and wall posts on Facebook, you will increase the chances that your posts will be shared and be seen by people who are not yet familiar with your company.

The good news is that it does not take a large budget or a full-time designer to start creating visuals that make your page pop.

Here are 5 steps on how to create Facebook visuals that will delight your community and attract new fans:

1. Get buy-in and support
Don’t go it alone. Let your leadership know why you want to put some design time into your Facebook page. Your designers and team will be more willing to help out if they understand the strategy. Need more rationale to build up your Facebook presence? Attend our webinar on November 8 to learn why Facebook is a channel to invest in.

2. Create a list of assets
Make a list of Facebook design assets needed regularly. Build these into your process and make them part of your everyday marketing planning.

• Cover art, size 851 x 315 pixels, copy needed
• Wall posts, size 403 x 403 pixels
• Brand icon 180 x 180 pixels
• Tab icons 111 x 74 pixels

Make sure to check out these great examples for inspiration.

3. Hire or assign a part-time designer
Ask them to:

• Design 3-4 cover images you can rotate (for quotes, stats, photography)
• Create Photoshop templates that you can refresh and reuse
• Share or create a style guide that you can follow. Pick out a few colors that you want to represent your company and infuse them throughout the art on your page. 

This banner is based on an easy to repurpose Photoshop template

4. Train your team
Invest time to learn basic design skills so you can handle small design needs on your own:

• Find somebody on your team who is good at taking photos. Photos can turn into amazing wall posts that give an inside peek into your company and events
• Learn Photoshop and take things in your own hands to turn a standard image or photo into a masterpiece
• Learn and follow best practices for wall posts like using warm colors like orange and red, and people shots.

These pictures were taken by members of our US and UK marketing teams

5. Gather ideas
Keep a running list of Facebook post ideas. Plan ahead to think about how you company can participate in big holidays (themed imagery) or show off product features, customers, or simple inspiration. Sometimes all it takes is a camera and an idea!

Track how your images perform and see what works....and always keep Facebook in mind when something special is going on with your business. It’s a great way to reach new customers!

To learn more about how small businesses can use Facebook to their advantage, watch this webinar: