How To Create a Facebook Cover Video in Premiere Pro

Premiere Pro 07/12/2018 3 min read

If you want to grow as a video content creator, you must put your work out into public view. One of the best ways you can do this is through social media on Facebook. Today, the Facebook cover videos feature is accessible to more and more users and can be an excellent way to showcase your portfolio. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to create a Facebook cover video using Premiere Pro to make your page really stand out! 

How to Create a Facebook Cover Video

Step 1: Setup Your Sequence Settings

To set up your video to work specifically as a Facebook cover video, you will need to set up your sequence correctly ahead of time. And this all starts in Premiere Pro.

Upload the footage you want to use into Premiere Pro and set up a custom sequence by going to File > New > Sequence. Under Settings, select Custom from the Editing Mode drop-down menu. This setting will allow you to fine-tune things, such as the Timebase and Frame Size. The minimum suggested frame size requirement from Facebook is 820 x 312 pixels, but the recommended size is 820 x 462. Make sure the other settings look good, then hit Save

Step 2: Edit Your Footage

Now, you can start building your timeline. When working with your new sequence, your clips will likely look zoomed in as your sequence settings are set to be smaller. To solve this, right-click on your clip in your timeline and select Set to Frame Size. You should be able to see the full image now. 

An additional requirement to keep in mind is that Facebook cover videos must be between 20-90 seconds in length in order to successfully upload and be played. Be sure to include enough footage to land somewhere in that time-length requirement. If you’re not able to compile a video of that length, you can duplicate all the footage you have on your timeline and loop your clips. 

Step 3: Export Your Video from Premiere Pro

Now that your video is ready to export, go to File > Export > Media or use the shortcut key Ctrl (or Command) + M.  When exporting your Facebook cover video you can select a variety of different options, but we suggest using H.264 as your format. This is because it has great online compression.

Regardless of what you choose, make sure that your selection doesn’t change your frame size. If it does, you can manually change it back to Facebook’s recommended size.  

Step 4: Upload Your Cover Video to Facebook

Now that your video is exported, go to your Facebook profile and sign in. On your profile cover, there should be a camera icon. Select it and click Upload Photo / Video. Find the video you just exported and select it.

It will take a moment to upload and then it will begin to play so you can see it as it will look on your profile. This will also give you the opportunity to resize and position it to make sure it properly displays the elements that you want.

Once you’re ready, click next, and you’ll be able to select a thumbnail from different points in the video. You’ll also be able to select whether you would like the video to loop with a toggle icon in the bottom left corner of the cover video. Once you’re satisfied, click Publish and your video will be up on your profile!


Congratulations! You’ve set up your cover to showcase your best work! We hope you found this tutorial on updating your Premiere Pro cover video to Facebook helpful and are ready to leverage your new skills.