10 LinkedIn Background Photo Ideas To Make Your Profile Stand Out
As one of the most popular social media sites, LinkedIn is one of the most used platforms on the internet. With more than 650 million users across 200 countries, it’s one of few websites that have a global influence.
Although there is a growing number of social media platforms, there’s no denying that LinkedIn is in a league of its own. It’s a hub for anyone who wants to explore career opportunities or hone their professional profile. With over half a billion users, you’ll want to make sure that you stand out from the crowd.
In a bid to gain a competitive edge, many users spend time crafting their personal biographies and work experience. But these aren’t the only elements that will attract peoples’ attention.
It’s your picture and background header that will have the most influence on someone’s decision to click on your profile.
With your professional profile and online visibility dependent on the LinkedIn images you use, it’s important to get them right. Selecting the right photographs, pictures, or graphics can help you convey critical details about your personality, outlook, and interests. What’s more is that the images you use on your LinkedIn profile can generate interest from other users and recruiters, which means you’ll get increasing clicks, connections, and direct messages.
If you want to create a LinkedIn bio that encourages users to click on your page, take a look at these top 10 LinkedIn background photo ideas:
1. Complement your client’s goals
Choosing a background that aligns with your clients’ objectives is a savvy way to appeal to your target market. Research shows that users subconsciously ask themselves, “what’s in it for me?”, before clicking on content. If your background image clearly complements the user’s own interests, they’re more likely to click on your profile.
Although this type of imagery will increase your profile views, the type of traffic you’re generating is even more important than the volume. When your background imagery appeals to prospective clients or other professionals within your industry, you’re making a valuable addition to your network.
With an appealing background image, you can set up measurable results and a fiscal return.
2. An overriding cause
If your career is promoting a particular cause, goal, or mission, choosing a related image as your background can be an effective way to create interest. Perhaps you work for an ethical brand that is committed to reducing the amount of plastic in the ocean? If so, an image of Eco-friendly activity or the rolling waves can reflect your career goals.
Your background doesn’t need to be closely related to your current job title, so you can be as creative as you want to be. You can select a more colorful or artistic image that catches the user’s eye as opposed to sticking rigidly to corporate images.
3. Your team and colleagues
An image that shows you working amongst your colleagues highlights your collaborative skills and the impact you have on a team environment. Indeed, the fact you’ve selected this type of photograph shows that you place considerable emphasis on shared achievement, as opposed to solitary success.
Future employers and recruiters actively seek out team players and people who work well with others. Many people value this trait above extensive professional experience or outstanding academic achievement. By showcasing a candid team photo, you can tap into what potential employers or recruiters are looking for and subconsciously open the door to new opportunities.
If you’re concerned about privacy, you don’t need to disclose your identity, even if you use a picture of your real-life colleagues. Providing they agree to appear in the image, some careful angles and cropping will create a fantastic image without revealing any identifiable information. Alternatively, you can choose a stock photo or image that conveys the same message, without featuring your actual teammates.
4. Your company’s USP
Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP) is what makes your brand stand out from the crowd and beat the competition. Naturally, people within your industry are going to be interested in what you’re offering, which makes this a highly clickable image.
If you don’t want to include an image of your actual product or service, choose something that’s closely related. If you work for a transport firm, for example, select a photograph of a gleaming truck barreling down the open road or a plane soaring through the sky.
When you choose something that relates to your company’s USP, you’re showing loyalty to your employer – a coveted trait. Alongside it, you’re emphasizing your commitment to your chosen career and sector.
5. You at work
If you feel comfortable using your own picture online, it really can offer great rewards. A picture of you allows you to convey your personal brand more effectively, which is really what social media is all about. In addition, it adds authenticity to your profile, makes you appear more open to online networking, and makes your face more recognizable to other people in your industry.
Choosing a photograph that shows you at work immediately puts you into context for future employers, which increases the number of incoming opportunities you receive.
Furthermore, you can choose professional images that highlight your most notable successes and achievements. If you were a speaker at a major industry conference, for example, you may want to choose a photograph of you giving your presentation in a packed auditorium.
6. Landscapes and Landmarks
If you work in one geographical location or your job role concerns a particular area, a landscape could be the ideal background image for LinkedIn. It establishes your professional base and captures a sense of the network you’ve nurtured in the area.
Additionally, choosing a landscape or landmark of a place you’re fond is a hint of your personal interests, whether it’s immediately apparent or not.
Using a professional image that incorporates some of your personality without giving too much away strikes a good balance for the style of the site and your intended audience.
7. Tools and Materials
If your job role or career requires the use of specific tools or equipment, your background photo is a place to showcase your familiarity and expertise. The materials you use every day are integral to your role, so they’re ideally suited to your professional imagery on LinkedIn.
Furthermore, the tools people use at work vary dramatically. There’s a broad choice when it comes to how you choose to capture the materials you use. A photographer may select imagery of a camera, lighting screen, or a model, for example. Alternatively, a supply chain manager may capture production lines or the latest logistics GPS devices.
8. Abstract Imagery and Color Blocks
If you’re still unsure what type of background image you want to use on LinkedIn, choose an interim picture while you’re making your decision. Leaving the default image in place won’t enhance your online presence and could even harm it. Images are extremely important on social media, so take a few seconds to choose something abstract or simply opt for a color block.
Once your background image is no longer the default stock picture, your profile will stand out amongst a sea of others. Even if your abstract picture or solid color doesn’t relate specifically to your career, it still grabs the user’s eye and makes them linger on your content for a little longer. As they’re more likely to take a closer look at your bio, even using a standard stock image can increase the clicks you get and the connections you make.
9. Your workspace
Your workspace says a lot about you, so it can be a useful way to convey your personality and professionalism on LinkedIn. It relates directly to your job role and gives users an impression of what you do, even if they haven’t read your job title yet.
Although some working environments clearly identify the type of work you do, others may be fairly vague. Millions of people sit at a desk in an office, for example, but this doesn’t mean they all have the same job role. However, there are minor tweaks you can make to ensure the image is more relevant to your specific profession.
10. Architecture and Structures
Choosing a background image that includes your physical workplace can be an effective way to convey your career choices and professional success. Although this is most effective if you work in a notable building or at a well-known landmark, there are still privacy concerns you may need to address.
If your work location is public knowledge and accessible on your profile, you may not have any qualms about including a picture of your physical workplace on your background image. However, if you would rather not publish this information online, choose a photograph of a building or structure that conveys the same type of imagery. This will allow you to portray that same message while keeping your work location private.
Creative photographs of architecture and structures can be inherently professional. An image of a skyscraper or state-of-the-art office tower brings images of high-powered executives or directors, for example. If you work in academia, a college campus, library building, or research institute can be options for your background. With a range of possibilities to explore, you can find effective imagery of architecture and structures to suit any job role or profession.
Selecting the Best LinkedIn Background Photo
Now that you know how important it is to have a suitable profile picture and background image on LinkedIn, all that’s left is for you to choose a style that’s right for you.
With endless choices of LinkedIn Backgrounds, you can find the perfect image in seconds. Above all, choose one that will show your best side! Being true and honest with your skills will reflect back on the users no matter what background photo you choose to convey it.