Whether you think Facebook is the greatest thing since sliced bread or stay away from social media at all costs, it’s the best way to get the word out for just about anything.
With over 2.9 billion global users, the platform helps your announcements reach a large audience in ways other networks can’t.
Despite how much Facebook has grown, it still has a knack for empowering users to highlight humanizing life and work moments. Because there are greater expectations for standing out on Facebook now, there are new rules for using it to let your friends and fans know about your next big thing.
In this article, we’ll break down:
- Why creating a Facebook announcement works.
- What to include in a Facebook announcement.
- Where and how to make a Facebook post.
- What kind of media to use for your post.
- How to create a Facebook announcement in PicMonkey.
Let’s get started.
Why Creating a Facebook Announcement Works
Facebook is arguably the unofficial Swiss Army Knife of social media. The platform is versatile with its display of visuals and text. And, its users rely on it for different reasons:
Personal
Facebook’s applications for personal use put it on the map as a social sensation. Since then, it’s been a place you break your life news and keep in touch with old friends, relatives, and colleagues.
Facebook is where you want to announce weddings, engagements, pregnancies, births, gender reveals, and moves.
Business
Businesses use Facebook to communicate directly with customers and followers in a casual, but goal-oriented fashion. On top of driving digital engagement, they plug in product promos and public relations updates.
Facebook’s mass audience is filled with users of all ages and backgrounds, making it a go-to marketing channel for businesses that want to catapult from a rising startup into a bona-fide market and category leader.
What to Include in a Facebook Announcement
When creating a Facebook announcement, there are three things to consider:
1. Milestones
What’s the occasion for your announcement? Feel free to tell a background story for this milestone. Then explain what huge impact this moment will have when you share your news with the world.
2. Details
Like any other news story that breaks, your Facebook announcement should answer basic questions like these:
- What happened? Or, what’s going to happen?
- If announcing an event, are you hosting? Someone else?
- When and where will it take place? For how long?
- Do invitees need to RSVP?
- What guidelines or expectations are in place for hosts and attendees?
- How do you officially join the experience?
- What precautions do you need to take?
3. Media Use
Your target audience could scroll mindlessly past your Facebook announcement if it lacks a media asset. Gray silhouette cover photos can send the wrong message and make you appear inactive.
When you attach media to your Facebook announcement, it confirms how serious you are about your update.
You won’t need a million-dollar camera to get quality visuals. But, include a graphic, photo, or video in your announcement to make it pop.
Where and How to Make a Facebook Post
How you make your Facebook announcement depends on how targeted an audience your message has.
Facebook Timeline & Page Posts
If you want as many people as possible to become aware of your news, share your announcement on your timeline or post on a page.
Group Posts
Planning to send your announcement to a select number of people for the recurring day-to-day matter? You can form a group instead! Just make sure to invite members before publishing your announcement.
If you prefer to downplay the word about your announcement outside the group, you’re welcome to mark your group as private.
Event Posts
Event posts are a solid go-to if you want to create a unified digital space for a one-time occasion. Don’t worry, you can invite Facebook users you’re not friends with!
What Kind of Media to Use for Your Post
Facebook expects you to meet their criteria when you add media assets to your announcement.
Facebook Event Cover Photo
Created an event page? Facebook recommends uploading a 1200 x 628 px (1.91:1 ratio) image as your event cover photo.
Facebook Group Cover Photo
Started a Facebook group? The platform recommends your group cover photo is 1640 x 856 px (1.91:1 ratio). Mobile users in your group will see it appear in 640 x 360 px. Fellow group members using desktop will view the cover photo in 820 x 312 px.
Facebook Profile Cover Photo
Cover photo guidelines briefly adjust when uploading one to your profile. It’s best to choose a JPG that’s 851 x 315 px (2.7:1 ratio) that’s less than 100 kilobytes so it loads faster on other pages.
Your friends using Facebook on their phones will come across your profile cover photo in 820 x 312 px. For the rest of your network landing on your profile from a desktop, it’ll show up in 640 x 360 px.
Facebook Photo Post
Posting a photo? A 1230 x 600 px image (1.91:1 ratio) is what Facebook prefers when it comes to photo size for posts in these general audience sections. Plus, the smallest file size you can share is 600 x 315 px.
Facebook Video Post
A few unique distinctions matter most when you publish a video on Facebook. Not only are users recommended to opt for a video that’s 1280 x 720 px (16:9 ratio)—they specifically request you upload an MP4 or MOV.
Unlike with other content forms circulating on Facebook, videos on Facebook are rendered to a 2:3 aspect ratio so they fit on mobile screen displays.
Need more sizes? Check out our Facebook image size guide.
How to Create a Facebook Announcement in PicMonkey
We get it: Creating a Facebook announcement without the right tools is scary to do 100% on your own! One minute you might have a home-run idea that you try putting down on paper. Then, you find yourself stuck in a guessing game as to whether or not you need to resize, reformat, or abandon your project altogether. Before you know it, you’re not sure if Facebook will accept the masterpiece you worked hard on.
The good news? It’s easy to create your Facebook announcement with one of PicMonkey’s templates:
- In PicMonkey, click Create new > Templates. Search “Facebook announcement” in the Templates sidebar. Select your favorite template to preview it in the Editor.
- If you don’t see any templates you like in the results, try a more specific search like “Facebook event cover,” and more templates will appear.
- Click Photos and Video > Add photo or video. Search and select stock images and videos, or upload your own.
- Customize further with graphics, effects, colors, and more.
- Click Download on the top toolbar to export your masterpiece as a JPG or PNG.
Want to start from scratch? Just click Create New > Blank Canvas. Select from the Facebook templates listed, or type your own dimensions into the dimension boxes in the top-right corner of the blank canvas screen.
Now, since you’ve made it this far, it’s only right we send you off with one last pro tip for the road: The biggest mistake anyone can commit when making an announcement on Facebook is to not nail down their audience early.
Decide on this first, then everything that comes after will be easier. Good luck!
Cover image via Huza Studio.
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