Facebook for Loan Officers: 5 Cover Image Tricks to Drive Leads

One of the most overlooked things about Facebook for loan officers is the cover photo. Yes, that photo at the top of your business page that acts as a background image for your brand. It’s so important, especially because of the impact it has on your news feed presence. Not to mention that when you post a photo to your Facebook page, compared to anything else, it gets 53% more likes, 104% more comments, and 84% more click-through. Meaning that the more often you change your cover image, the more engagement your Facebook post and page will get.

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Also, last year, Facebook relaxed the rules they originally had in place for cover images. Previously, you couldn’t have pricing or contact info in the image, and any sort of calls-to-action were a big no-no. All that’s changed and most everything is fair game in terms of text, calls-to-action, etc. From Facebook, their official language around cover photos states:

All covers are public. This means that anyone who visits your Page will be able to see your cover. Covers can’t be deceptive, misleading, or infringe on anyone else’s copyright. You may not encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines.

Long story short, Facebook is getting quite saturated and by staying active in a huge ecosystem like Facebook, you’ll be able to stay more visible in the news feed, thus giving you and your business lots of exposure. The cover image is something that a lot of loan originators have never even thought about and it can be a great way to build attention and drive traffic for your Facebook Business Page and business. Let’s take a look now at 5 ideas that you can try with your own Facebook page.

1: Promote Your Facebook App

A lot of you have custom Facebook applications installed on your pages. Given that a lot of people who have liked your page typically don’t return to your page (unless prompted), those apps are getting significantly under utilized. Here’s a quick example I put together to show you what I mean using the OutboundEngine Facebook Applications.

2: Showcase Your Latest Newsletter

The loan originators we serve here at OutboundEngine get a new newsletter written for them twice a month. That same newsletter is emailed to their database and shared across their social networks. The graphic design work we do is a great image to use as a cover photo. And as a bonus, in the description of the photo, you can link to the full version of your newsletter too. Remember, photos get an 84% greater click-through rate on Facebook too.

3: Local Events & Charities

Maybe you take part in local events or charities in your community. What a better way to spread the word than to update your cover image to be a mini-promotion for the event. Just like the newsletter idea, you can add in a description to the photo too with links to that website for signup information.

4: Promote a Listing

A lot of your business comes from real estate agents and I know that you probably have your favorites too. Posting tons of new listings on Facebook is not a way to make friends, but if you get creative with it, you might be able to help out your agent friends. Take a photo from a new listing and make that your new cover image. Something that looks like it could be just a pretty background. Then in the description of the photo, add in the link to the listing and even tag the agent too. It’s a great way to build traffic for the both of you.

5: Panoramic Photos of Things in Town

Whether you’re on iOS or Android, they both have built in panoramic photo options. Remember that people like to like photos, especially if they’re high quality and are of something interesting. Out for a walk at night at catch a beautiful sunset? Take a photo of it and make that your cover image. At the dog park on a sunny day? Capture the moment! Life is happening around you and there are literally thousands of things you could photograph throughout the day that would make for amazing cover photos.

At the end of the day, the whole point of having a cover image is to let your Facebook audience see your business with a little bit more clarity and context. Not everyone re-visits a Facebook page after liking it either, so whatever you can do to make sure you keep appearing in their news feeds will most certainly help you stay top-of-mind.