Facebook’s Cover Photo is basically a billboard for your cause that runs completely across the width of your browser. Some of our DonorDrive Social Fundraising software customers have been using their Cover Photos with great effect, so we assembled some tips learned.

1. Use photos that benefit from the extra width. This beautiful landscape shot of the mountains makes great use of this wide space. It’s also well-branded to Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s mission of preserving, promoting and enhancing the historic and scenic roadway.

2. Show who you help. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals used this panorama of kids to show exactly who donations go to.

3. Show some excitement. Climate Ride’s Cover Photo downright oozes exuberance. As an event that involves some serious athletics, this image is a great draw for riders looking for a new challenge.

4. Show some emotion. The Restavek Freedom Foundation works to end child slavery in Haiti and used this gripping close-up of a child’s face for a subtle, but very emotional plea.

5. Be creative with montages. The wide format of your Cover Photo makes it ideal for montages. But you have to be careful to keep them from looking like an indiscernible jumble of images. Autism Speaks Canada used white dotted frames to separate the photos in this montage and make each clearly noticeable.

6. Promote your event. Best Friends Animal Society uses their Cover Photo like a billboard to promote their events across the country. This puts their campaigns front and center when someone visits their Facebook page.

7. Change your Cover Photo regularly. Walk From Obesity changes theirs often and used it to promote this contest for their new T-shirt design. A good rule of thumb is: if you’re promoting it elsewhere, you should be promoting it on your Cover Photo too.

Facebook’s Cover Photo that sits at the top of your Page has quickly become a powerful marketing and branding tool for non-profits. How important are Facebook Pages? In addition to putting you directly in front of your core supporters, Pages are indexed by Google and Bing and can be the first contact someone has with your cause.

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