Your veterinary hospital’s Facebook cover photo is that BIG picture that spans across the top of your FB page. When people land on your Facebook for the first time, your cover photo greets them. In a matter of seconds, it tells them what you’re all about.
The “Side of Building” Facebook Cover: A Big Mistake
If your Facebook cover says so much, why are the majority of veterinary hospitals using the side of their building as their cover photo? Is being a building what your animal clinic is all about? That’s not going to attract new clients through your doors. (Although that cover photo might prove that you do – in fact – have doors.)
It’s ok if you’re using your veterinary hospital’s building as your cover photo. This article is about how you can get a GREAT new cover photo.
Plus, here’s the first image I ever used as my vet clinic’s cover:
Ew. Building side. Why? But hey – at least you know I’ve even made this social media mistake. Also you can see that I’m always trying to get dogs on year-round heartworm. Points for that.
The Facebook Cover Your Vet Hospital Should Have
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Veterinary hospitals are blessed with the best social media content a business could ask for. We. See. Adorable. Pets.
Using the AMAZING graphic design website, Canva.com, here are the great Facebook covers some members of the Snout School Community have easily created for their practices:
Pet photo contest cover | Airport Pet Emergency Clinic | Blountville, TN
Happy holidays from the LVH family | Litchfield Veterinary Hospital | Litchfield, CT
Cuddly Little Christmas cover | Waverly Veterinary Clinic | Waverly, IA
None of these creative practices have a graphics designer on hand, they’re just using Canva.com and REAL photos to create Facebook covers that show off their personality.
I find these kinds of veterinary Facebook covers immensely more engaging, especially for potential clients, than the side of the building.
Using Canva.com to Create A Veterinary Facebook Cover Photo
If you’re convinced that these Facebook covers look a lot better than your building picture, here are the steps you need to take to create your own.
1) Head to Canva.com and create a FREE account.
2) From the Canva homepage, select the Facebook Cover template. Yup – there’s a perfectly-sized template for you to use.
3) Start customizing! On the left-hand side of your screen, you’ll see where you can start adding personal touches. For example, pick a background color by clicking the “Background” tab on the left.
4) Add patient photos! You are able to easily upload your clinic’s own patient pics to Canva by clicking the “Uploads” tab on the left. Then you click the green “Upload your images” button, and choose the files you’d like to add.
5) Add the photos, text & graphics you want! Click the “Search” button on the left. You’ll be able to select banners to put text in, or frames to put your patient’s photos in! You can always go back to the “Uploads” tab to find those patient photos and drag them into the image.
In the “Search” section, there are all sorts of goodies. Shapes, icons, seasonal decor and more!
6) Design & save your new Facebook cover photo. Keep adding everything you want from the Uploads, Search & Text section until you have what you want.
Then you can save by clicking the “Download” button at the top, and selecting that you want to download this cover as an image.
7) Upload your new cover photo to Facebook! Your cover should have saved in your “My Downloads’ or “Downloads” file on your computer. Find it, and upload it to your veterinary hospital’s Facebook page.
You do this by hovering over the camera icon on the left of your cover photo on Facebook. Click it, and select “Upload photo” from the menu.
And just like that…
Your veterinary hospital has a Facebook cover photo that says, “WE ACTUALLY SEE PATIENTS!” It doesn’t say, “WE HAVE A BUILDING!”
A cover photo full of your patients shows your current clients how much you value them, plus it makes new clients want to be part of your community.
Questions about any of this Canva stuff? You can feel free to contact me, or join me for a FREE webinar on 12/29/14 full of PROVEN ways to get more veterinary clients.