In addition to the cohort of existing tools, Facebook is now testing another nifty new feature that’ll enable page administrators to make their pages more interactive for its followers. The static cover image, which was given a prominence is a redesign earlier last year, is now being replaced by cover videos.
This fresh development was first spotted by Vlad Calus on Planable.tech, who spotted the cover video feature when he visited the official Facebook page for Netflix original series Narcos, which is based on true events of drug lord Pablo Escobar’s life. Then, he tweeted a demo video of how the cover looked on business pages on Facebook’s desktop website. The ability to insert video profile pictures has already been available on Facebook’s mobile app for quite some time now.
Absolutely WOW! @Geoffdx @gcsimos have you seen that?! Video Cover on Facebook already on! cc @PlanableApp pic.twitter.com/FdIwRovdCc
— Vlad Calus (@vladcalus) April 25, 2017
In a statement sent to AdWeek a couple ago, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed the cover video tests. But, the feature now seems to be steadily rolling out to more Page owners across the globe. The roll out is restricted on the basis of geography as initially it was spotted in Western regions and Australia. And it is now rolling out in Asia. The spokesperson described the need for this new experience as under:
We’re always looking for ways to help businesses create more engaging experiences and drive more rich experiences for their audiences. To do this, we’re testing the ability for pages to upload a cover video as the page cover.
While we’re waiting for this nifty feature to widely roll out to every Facebook Page owner, you can start prepping your videos to replace the cover photo. The screenshot attached above provides us with complete info on the video format. The same mentions that the cover video can range between 20-90 seconds and should be at least 820 x 312 pixels.
The cover videos are steadily making way to new geographies and should be available for you in the coming weeks. It is officially rolling out in India as the social media giant has announced its partnership with Salman Khan-starrer Bollywood movie ‘Tubelight’ to upload cover video to their Page. This will enable visitors (or fans) to interact with their Page differently, thus, creating another realm of digital interaction between them and the audience.
