Content Writer at SocialBee
Did you know that LinkedIn profiles with cover photos are 36 times more likely to be viewed than profiles without them? Your cover photo is the first thing that catches the eye of potential clients and partners, so it has to make a powerful statement and integrate with your overall LinkedIn marketing strategy.
However, with over 950 million members worldwide, making your profile truly stand out from the crowd can be tough. In this article, we’ll share 12 captivating LinkedIn cover photo ideas that will get people interested in what you have to say and make your profile impossible to ignore.
If you’re ready to make a lasting first impression and attract the attention your brand deserves, keep reading as we help you unlock your true LinkedIn potential!
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Short Summary
- A LinkedIn cover photo is the banner image at the top of your profile. Your background photo, along with your LinkedIn profile picture, are among the first things people see when they visit your page, so make sure to acknowledge both of their importance.
- While your profile image is usually strictly professional, the banner photo gives you the chance to showcase more of your personality.
- Starting a new job or getting a new job title, launching a new business, or receiving a promotion or an award for your work are all great opportunities for you to change your cover image on LinkedIn.
- Some mistakes to avoid when creating a LinkedIn background photo are using low-quality photos, having a cluttered or distracting background, being unprofessional, and choosing the wrong format.
Table of Contents
- What Is a LinkedIn Cover Photo, and Why Is It Important?
- 12 LinkedIn Background Photo Ideas for Entrepreneurs & Brands (with Examples)
- A. How to Showcase Your Brand Using LinkedIn Covers
- B. How to Showcase Your Expertise Using LinkedIn Covers
- C. How to Tell Your Brand Story Using LinkedIn Covers
- D. How to Connect with Your Audience Using LinkedIn Covers
- LinkedIn Cover Photo FAQ
- Change Your LinkedIn Cover & Make Your Profile Stand Out!
What Is a LinkedIn Cover Photo, and Why Is It Important?
A LinkedIn cover photo is a large background photo that appears at the top of your profile, behind your profile picture. Think of it as a digital storefront that introduces you and your brand to the LinkedIn community.
You may be wondering why you should invest time, energy, and sometimes money in a cover photo for your LinkedIn profile.
Here’s the thing: your cover photo, alongside your LinkedIn profile photo, are the first things users notice when they visit your profile, so you must acknowledge both of their importance. While your profile picture is usually strictly professional, the banner image gives you the chance to showcase more of your personality.
And here’s the kicker: plenty of users don’t bother switching their default LinkedIn cover photo. This gives you an extra chance to catch your profile visitors’ attention and stand out from the crowd.
If you’re still using LinkedIn’s default image, or if it’s been a while since you’ve last replaced your background photo, you may need a refresher on how to do it.
These are the steps to change your LinkedIn cover photo:
- Go to your LinkedIn profile.
- Click on the Edit icon (pencil icon) next to your cover photo.
- Select the Change button from the Add Background Photo page.
- Tap the Upload Photo option to choose a new photo from your device.
- Crop and position your photo as desired.
- Click the Save button.
Your new cover photo will be uploaded and displayed on your profile immediately.
12 LinkedIn Background Photo Ideas for Entrepreneurs & Brands (with Examples)
Not all LinkedIn cover photos are created equal, and this is why you should tailor your approach to suit your business profile.
Here are some great tips and ideas for your LinkedIn cover photos:
- Use your brand colors and logos
- Feature your products or services
- Highlight your brand’s mission, vision, or values
- Share a customer testimonial
- Show yourself presenting or speaking at an event
- Highlight your work: projects, products & services
- Highlight your awards or accolades
- Share your brand or entrepreneurial journey
- Pick a vivid & heartfelt background photo
- Use a photo of yourself smiling and approachable
- Feature a photo of yourself with your team or customers
- Use a photo that shows your personality and values
A. How to Showcase Your Brand Using LinkedIn Covers
Whether you’re a small business owner, freelancer, or a professional looking to enhance your personal brand, you should create a captivating and informative LinkedIn Cover that effectively shows the world what you’re all about.
Here’s how to showcase your brand using LinkedIn covers:
- Use your brand colors and logos
- Feature your products or services
- Highlight your brand’s mission, vision, or values
- Share a customer testimonial
1. Use Your Brand Colors and Logo
Creating a cohesive visual identity enables users to instantly recognize your brand, so avoid using boring stock photos and try incorporating your signature colors and logo into the cover photo instead. It always helps to use your logo for branding social media pages, especially LinkedIn. Take HubSpot‘s LinkedIn cover photo, for example:
Did you know that you don’t need impressive design skills to achieve the same effect? A great tool for this is Canva since it provides great flexibility in terms of customization and an impressive library of stock images — but feel free to use your own photos as well.
The best part is that it integrates with SocialBee, so you don’t have to switch between multiple tabs and disrupt your creative process. Instead, you can use it straight from our app.
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2. Feature Your Products or Services
If you have standout products or services, featuring them in your cover photo can be an effective way to display your brand.
For example, if you are a fashion brand, you can exhibit your latest collection. If you are a software company, you can showcase your software in action. Here’s how ILIA Beauty displays their products in their cover image:
Their LinkedIn cover photo features the wide range of products they offer clients, which instantly communicates their expertise and experience in the beauty space.
3. Highlight Your Brand’s Mission, Vision, or Values
Highlighting your mission, vision, or values in your cover photo allows potential clients or partners to understand what your brand is all about and what sets you apart from competitors. Whole Foods Market does a fantastic job of this:
Their LinkedIn cover photo features a collage that aligns with their mission of supporting worker welfare, communities, and environmental stewardship. This visual representation can ensure that users perceive them as more than an ordinary brand, but rather as a company that makes a real difference in the world.
4. Share a Customer Testimonial
Including a customer testimonial in your LinkedIn header image can also be a powerful way to showcase your brand’s credibility and success. This can be a short quote or a visual representation of a positive experience shared by one of your customers.
B. How to Showcase Your Expertise Using LinkedIn Covers
Since LinkedIn is a professional platform, it offers a wide range of industry-specific groups where users can identify and connect with experts who are actively engaged in specific industries.
To showcase your expertise through your LinkedIn cover, you can:
- Show yourself presenting or speaking at an event
- Highlight your work: projects, products & services
- Highlight your awards or accolades
5. Show Yourself Presenting or Speaking at an Event
If you frequently present or speak at industry events, featuring a photo of yourself facing an audience in your LinkedIn cover photo can help showcase your expertise and establish credibility in your field. Here is how best-selling author Tony Robbins does this:
In this example, you can see the professionalism and confidence Tony exudes, thus making his LinkedIn audience perceive him as an authority figure.
6. Highlight Your Work: Projects, Products & Services
Another way to showcase your expertise is to highlight any significant work in your LinkedIn cover image.
For instance, if you are a UX designer, showcase screenshots of websites you’ve designed. If you’re a photographer, include some of your best shots. This is also photographer Cheryl Clegg’s case:
This visual representation of your work can help potential clients or partners get a glimpse into your portfolio.
7. Highlight Your Awards or Accolades
If you have earned any certifications, received industry recognition, or have other similar achievements, featuring them in your LinkedIn banner image can help establish your expertise and trustworthiness.
Here is how big brands like Amazon incorporate this strategy:
You don’t need to have millions of followers to do this, though. For instance, if you are a healthcare professional, featuring logos of the organizations you are affiliated with or any awards you’ve received can instantly communicate your credibility and strong connections with your field.
C. How to Tell Your Brand Story Using LinkedIn Covers
LinkedIn is saturated with competitors and industry experts. Sharing your brand story helps differentiate you from others by creating an emotional connection with your audience, forging a deeper level of engagement.
To tell your brand story using LinkedIn covers, you can:
- Share your brand or entrepreneurial journey
- Pick a vivid & heartfelt background photo
8. Share Your Brand or Entrepreneurial Journey
Sharing your journey through your LinkedIn cover photo is a great way to showcase milestones you’ve achieved, challenges you’ve overcome, or the story behind how your brand came to be.
If you’re struggling to find the right formula for this approach, let SocialBee’s AI generator do it for you, for free. Get customized prompts that inspire your next LinkedIn banner photo in a matter of seconds, directly on our platform.
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If you are a startup founder, for example, you can feature a timeline of your journey, starting from the early days of ideation to the present day. This form of visual storytelling can demonstrate your expertise and provide credibility to your brand.
9. Pick a Vivid & Heartfelt Background Photo
Choosing a vivid and heartfelt photo that aligns with your brand values or represents the impact you have on your clients’ lives can instantly grab the attention of users and evoke emotions.
For instance, if you are a social impact organization, select a photo demonstrating the positive change you are creating in the world. Check out American Red Cross’s banner photo for some inspiration:
This powerful image showcases how they distribute resources and volunteer work to help out people in areas affected by natural disasters, which instills a sense of urgency and prompts users to support their mission.
D. How to Connect with Your Audience Using LinkedIn Covers
To connect with your audience using LinkedIn covers, you can:
- Use a photo of yourself smiling and approachable
- Feature a photo of yourself with your team or customers
- Use a photo that shows your personality and values
10. Use a Photo of Yourself Smiling and Approachable
Your LinkedIn background banner should also reflect your personality and make you approachable to your audience. Here is how Keynote speaker Joseph Kopser lets his personality shine through, but without overdoing it:
When users see a smiling face, they are more likely to connect and engage with you. It also helps humanize your brand and allows users to connect with the real person behind the profile.
11. Feature a Photo of Yourself with Your Team or Customers
If you want to showcase the collaborative nature of your brand or the positive relationships you have with customers, using a photo of yourself with your team or clients as a LinkedIn cover photo can be a great idea.
This proves that you value teamwork and collaboration, and adds a personal touch to your brand. Here is an example from Willis & Associates Family Dentistry’s profile:
This strategy helps users understand that they would be joining a supportive community when they engage with your brand.
12. Use a Photo that Shows Your Personal Brand and Values
Finally, choose a LinkedIn cover photo that reflects your personal brand and values. This can be a photo that showcases your motto, hobbies, interests, or even your sense of humor.
Here is how Sidekick’s founder Nikolas Konstantin integrates his personal brand statement into his cover banner:
By showing valuable parts of your personality, you ensure that your audience relates to you personally, which ultimately helps to differentiate your brand from others in the same industry.
LinkedIn Cover Photo FAQ
Change Your LinkedIn Cover & Make Your Profile Stand Out!
LinkedIn is a wonderful opportunity for entrepreneurs and businesses to increase their reach and visibility, network with the right people, and kick-start new collaborations that can contribute to their growth and success.
In this article, we explored LinkedIn background photo examples and ideas to help users like yourself stand out from the crowd and make a unique, lasting first impression on the platform.
If you’re looking to elevate your LinkedIn presence to attract new clients, partners, and employers, let SocialBee help you harness its power with its all-in-one social media management tool. Start your 14-day free SocialBee trial today!
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