Best Practices: The Importance of Facebook Profile Images
Room 214 recently did a major overhaul of all of the Travel Channel’s Facebook pages. We added a poll app, Youtube functionality, a live Twitter stream, and all sorts of great new tools. However, there was one area that we could still improve upon.
After taking a look at the profile images on all seven of the Travel Channel Facebook pages, I realized that there was a way for us to improve the look and feel of our pages. Take a look at a few of the profile images that were displayed at the time:
There were a few issues with each profile image:
- The formatting was inconsistent.
- The use of Travel Channel’s logo and brand style was inconsistent.
- There was room for the images to look cleaner and more official.
Why is the profile image so important?
A profile image is the most used part of any Facebook page. It is the biggest and most noticeable design element when a fan is viewing your page, and it is also appears in the news stream of every one of your fans. If you have an active fan-base on Facebook (like Travel Channel has), there are tens-of-thousands of fans who see this image everyday.
See how I improved our profile images after the break:
Your profile image can send unintended messages (negative and positive) about your brand. When you are exposing yourself to thousands of people in social media everyday, it is important present yourself in the best way possible (In other words: look official).
I took it upon myself to create a new design and I kept a few goals in mind along the way:
- Create consistent messaging and formatting.
- Be consistent with the use of Travel Channel’s brand styling.
- Improve the overall look and feel of the images.
Here is the final result:
In the new design, each profile image uses the Travel Channel logo and brand styling in the exact same way. they help to reduce confusion on the user’s part since the new formatting places the same information in the same place on every image. Overall, the new design is also more sleek and much easier on the eyes.
The old profile images may have been sending an unintended negative message about Travel Channel. Now, every time a fan visits one of the pages it looks and feels like an official representation of the Travel Channel brand.
What did we learn in the process?
Every move you make in social media sends both intended and unintended messages to your audience. This applies just as much to the design of your profile as it does to the content you post on your profile.
Social media users have been in the communities longer than you, and they can point out a faker or a new-comer quite easily. You have to prove to this audience that you understand the medium.
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