How To Make a Great LinkedIn Background Image
As LinkedIn’s member base grows it’s getting harder - and also more important - to create a profile that stands out and gets attention. There’s one way to do this that’s being overlooked by vast numbers of the platform’s users.
As you probably know, LinkedIn automatically provides you with a generic background banner image at the top of your profile page. This doesn’t look too bad, but it does absolutely nothing to support or enhance your professional brand.
So this is a huge opportunity to create a stronger visual presence than your competitors.
LinkedIn background images need to meet certain technical specifications to work correctly. We’ll get to those in a moment but first, bear in mind that this is incredibly valuable ‘real estate’ as it’s the first thing a visitor to your page will see. Use it for maximum brand impact.
I’ve seen plenty of LinkedIn background images that have awesome visual impact and show off the photographer or designer’s creativity but do nothing for the profile owner’s brand.
Think carefully about the image you choose and make sure it conveys a clear, concise brand message that aligns with your headline. You can use individual keywords or even a full sentence, richly populated with those keywords.
On my own profile I occasionally change the text within the banner image to highlight or promote something I am doing in my business like forthcoming live and online events.
Here’s a recent example.
Even when I do this, though, the main image remains the same so that I have a consistent key message that underpins everything I do on LinkedIn.
Now to the more technical stuff.
You can be as creative as you like with the design in terms of your brand colours, type of image, text fonts and internal layout.
But there are specific pixel limits that your image will need to fit into for it to upload and display correctly. So bear these in mind as you work on your image or if you’ve engaged a designer make sure that they are aware of the specs.
You don’t want to waste all the good work creating a great image with high brand impact only to find it doesn’t work on LinkedIn.
The circle that holds your headshot is fixed, so the background image needs to accommodate this to make sure that no important parts of the image are buried behind your photo.
The specifications are:
Recommended by LinkedIn
To show you how this looks I’ve created a template to guide you.
Once you’re happy with your brand new background image, upload it and check to see it fits properly and no words are tucked in behind your headshot.
And remember, LinkedIn profiles display very differently on mobile devices versus a laptop or desktop computer. So double check how it looks on a mobile device.
A great background image, good headshot and keyword-rich headline are the fundamentals that draw your visitors in to read more on your page.
If you need a hand with any of this there are several ways my business Prominence Global can help. You may even notice that the background on our company page is the same as the one on my personal profile.
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Thanks for the tips & the wonderful reminder Prominence Global. Great to know.
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2yThanks for the tip Prominence Global. Getting the right background image is crucial in attracting more leads to your profile.
Co-Founder at Boost Your Super
2yI've been really busy lately and haven't taken the time to look at my profile in detail. It's great to be reminded I need to refresh it.... with a bit more thought on branding.
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2yProminence Global Thank you for this reminder! Its about the need to create a good first impression about the brand. Great tips!
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2yWhile your profile photo should be professional and conservative, your background photo is a way to show off your brand and your personality. When used correctly, your LinkedIn cover photo can help new connections get a sense of your personal brand and get to know you a little bit better. Thanks Prominence Global!