I once knew someone that believed there were no good cover songs until I pointed out the Jimi Hendrix version of All Along the Watchtower, and then they changed their tune. Much like the video at the top of our article here, Facebook has changed the game and made covers that are better than the original, testing out video cover images for pages.

Below is a screenshot of the page for the Netflix show, Narcos, one of the few examples of a working video cover:

If you visit their page you’ll see that row of money moving across the screen in a loop. So, what’s the big deal? Couldn’t Facebook have just finally given people what they’ve been asking for and allowed gifs on the platform? In this case yes, but there is so much more that can be done.

Let’s stick with the Netflix theme and take a look at the cover photo for Daredevil. Now imagine this battle scene as a video instead of a still image, and you start to see how video cover images would improve the user experience and draw people to the Facebook page. Now I know what you’re thinking, you’re right that would be cool, and would make me go to the page, but I don’t have Daredevil, Elektra, and The Punisher battling ninjas so how can video covers help me?

At the very least it will capture a visitor’s attention. Think about scrolling through your own newsfeed and seeing a video that auto plays. You may not end up watching for very long, but you’re more likely to stop or scroll back up for something with movement than a still image. The larger benefit is provided by Facebook in their specifications for the video covers:

It allows you to tell people more than you ever could with a still image. Remember the Narcos cover? There is a volume control in the bottom right. So, the new covers are not just there to look good, but can also provide audio information. Think about being a business with a sales event going on. You can make a still image and try to jam a whole bunch of text in, or you could have a video explaining the specials going on with video of what’s on sale. Or, you can make an introductory video for your business. The possibilities are endless.

As the old television saying goes, you’ll have to check your local listings to see if video covers are available. Even within our office the availability of this feature was different. On one computer we had the option on 3 or 4 pages to add video and on another we didn’t. This is all while using the same browser.

Need help putting together a video cover? Let us know. Until then, see you for the next episode.