I always like to think of Facebook as your salon's business card. It tends to get a bad rap compared to Instagram, because engagement and reach are decreasing, and Instagram has that instant-gratification factor. But I think that Facebook is just widely misunderstood.

Apart from the fact that Facebook's new algorithm favours personal over business stories (which is a blog post for another day), people need to understand that the power of your salon's FB page is that it shows everything about your salon to newcomers, all at a glance.

In fact, if people are Googling your business, which they often will, Facebook will be the preferred place for them to learn about you, rather than Instagram. They go on there to see your reviews, your videos, and yes, even your cover photo.

When you think about it, your cover photo is prime piece of social media real estate. It’s the first thing people see when they visit your Facebook page from Google or from your personal Facebook profile. It’s large, and it’s the perfect place to brand yourself and promote new offers and get people to take action.

But usually, salons just upload a picture of a client before and after, or the inside of their salon, and call it a day.

I'm here to tell you that your cover photo can be brilliant, unique, and yes, even inspiring!

In this blog post we're going to look at 15 examples of amazing Facebook cover photos from salons around the world, and how they’re taking advantage of this prime location.

15 ideas for your next cover photo, from salons around the world

1) Use your cover photo as a space to express your brand colours

I'm such a big believer in how consistent colours will help to express and solidify your salon's brand online (I even wrote an ebook about it!)

Once you've chosen your colour palette, you'll want to keep using it anywhere possible, and this includes on social media.

Just look at how Voodou and Foderà have inserted their colours in a subtle but professional way into their cover photos. Hat tip to them!

2) Use text to make it an informative billboard

Whether you want to promote a new storefront opening, new hours, or an upcoming sale, your cover photo is prime real estate space to get the word out.

Drybar consistently uses their cover photo to tell their clients about new openings, and people go crazy when they do!

3) Profile your staff with a professional photo

Lisa Dihn has done an amazing job of tying her hair studio to her personal brand. And she's not afraid to pepper her social media with pictures of herself and the staff she's obviously very proud of.

Don't forget that your clients not only want to see pictures of your work, but you as people. If you've got some professional pictures of your staff, how about profiling them in your next cover photo, like Lisa does?

4) Spotlight on an interesting feature of your salon location

Instead of just the standard wide-angle shot of your storefront, how about focussing on a cool little nook or interesting piece of your salon?

People love to get lost in the details, and they go a huge way in showing your uniqueness. Check out how Glam Salon shows off their wall of stardom, and Unfade goes for a gritty photo of their brick wall with animal skulls (I know they're not for everyone, but they obviously know their niche well!)

5) Speak to your clients' desire for what you have to offer

One of the most basic elements of marketing is to speak to what your clients want, instead of what you want to sell them. Do your clients want to know what kind of "vivids" hair service you offer? Not exactly. They're more interested to know what effect they'll get, that you understand them, and that you speak their "style language".

That's exactly what these cover photos from Rockalily and KaRu do. They know who exactly what their target market is attracted to, and they call it out.

6) Instead of a cover photo, make a bold cover video

It's been more than a year since Facebook introduced videos for your cover photo, but so few people are using them! Videos are such a cool way to add visual interest and fun branding to your Facebook page.

Look at the mesmerizing video that Bang salon made for their Facebook page here. Amazing!

7) Or make a video walkthrough of your salon

I love how Black Orchid opted out of the traditional cover photo of their location, and made a simple but powerful video walkthrough. They focus on the small details and give you a real 360 degree feeling for what their salon is like. See the video here.

8) Highlight some of your best-selling products with a quirky photo

If you've got some cool, photogenic retail products that you'd love to promote, try taking a fun picture and sharing it as your cover photo.

You could fashion multiple products into a flat lay, show the product in use, or just take an artistic and creative closeup shot, like Lush Spa does.

9) Make a collage of photos that express everything about you at once

When you've got lots of amazing photos of your location, what do you do? How about combine them into one collage that shows off different parts of your business!

Put pictures of your interior with an exterior shot, closeups of your products with wide angle shots. Mix and combine to show off the best parts of your salon at a glance.

10) Try a creative take on your logo

Your logo is often the part of your business that people recognize most instantly, without even thinking. If you've been developing a strong brand, and want to make your logo stand out even more, try doing a creative take on it in your cover photo

You could draw a sketch of it on paper and take a picture, you could recreate your logo using salon materials, or find another fun way like Ryli Blue Salon have done.

11) Or take a photo of a logo variation in your salon

Another cool logo idea is to share a moody photo of your logo within your salon. Pastille Beauty Bar has such a cute aesthetic, and their cover photo matches their profile picture with pastel colours and an echo of their logo.

12) Mix photos with graphics for a bold effect

If you've ever used Canva before, you know that's it's super easy to put images, text, and graphics together for an effect that's beautiful and professional. I love how Silvia Galvan Image Studio have create a cover photo thats sleek, modern, and speaks to the salon's visual brand.

13) Promote your other social channels

It's a smart idea to cross-promote your social media channels, as well as your website, on your Facebook page. People want to be connected to the businesses they love wherever they hang out.

To get a cover photo like this, find a high quality picture (preferably one you took yourself) that has blank space to the right or left where you can put text on a solid coloured background. Use Canva to point to your website and other social channels, like Studio W does.

14) Shout out your mission statement or slogan

Do you have a personal mantra? Or maybe your salon has a mission statement or slogan? Cover photos are the perfect place to call out these powerful statements in a beautiful way.

I really like how Muse has kept their colour scheme consistent with a simple grey and white graphic of their mantra.

15) Call out awards that you've won

Awards are a huge part of social proof, and they should be promoted whenever possible. When you won your first award, you might have thought you exhausted the list of places to tell people about it (email, Instagram, Facebook, on your website...) but you probably missed a spot! Giving people yet another reason to trust and

In conclusion

I hope this blog post has inspired you to look beyond the boring and traditional Facebook cover photo that comes standard for most salons. There are so many ways to this piece of prime social media "real estate" to make an impression, share the most important details of your business, and reinforce your brand.

One more thing before I go.

Don't forget that your cover photo looks different on mobile and desktop! It should look good from both places, so make sure everything fits on screens both big and small. I made a couple of templates that should help you with sizing in my blog post here. Enjoy!