Just when you thought you had the creative updated for all of your social platforms, something new pops up. Twitter’s introduction this week of cover photos is a perfect example. It’s very similar to Facebook’s Cover Photo which allows you to upload a large personal picture to your profile. However, the difference between Twitter’s Header Photo and Facebook’s Cover Photo is that Twitter has a text overlay as well as an insert of the user’s main profile picture.
The text has your handle, name, profile description, location and website URL. If you want to update your own Twitter profile with the new cover photo, it’s very easy. Simply:
- Click on the gear icon at the top right your page
- Click on “Settings.”
- Click on “Design”
- Scroll down until you find “Header”. This is where you’ll be able to upload a picture (Note: The minimum dimensions of your new header are 1252×626 pixels).
Header Photos are also available on mobile devices once you update your Twitter app — it looks sleek!
Twitter’s roll-out of cover photos should come to you as no surprise, as social media has shifted to what I call “the visual era.” The businesses that flourish in today’s digital age are the ones that show, not tell. The influx of new social platforms that revolve around photography can be directly correlated to this rising trend. Take for instance, Pinterest and Instagram — two of the fastest growing social platforms in the world. Facebook is no dummy; they paid big bucks to purchase Instagram for a reason.
Now that search engines rank content based on things such as social conversations and sharing, not just websites alone, it’s crucial for businesses to hop on the visual bandwagon. I would definitely set some time aside to update your Twitter Cover Photo as soon as you can — all the cool kids are doing it.