Build Your Website: Social Media Images for LinkedIn

NOTE: This post, “Social Media Images for LinkedIn”, introduces LinkedIn’s requirements for images needed in setting up your account and the images and videos you plan to use in posts on this site.

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The post’s intention is to provide this information about fields and provide image examples of what the various post types look like to help you in preparing the images and text you’ll need.

Be sure to maintain consistency (and your branding) by using the same colors, banner, headshot, and fonts from other social media sites to make you/your business recognizable.

To repeat, you ideally start with an image as large as you can make it, usually 1,080 px wide by χχ px high.

LinkedIn will adjust your image to suit their guidelines, so be sure to pre-adjust your image to the correct dimensions to ensure your composition isn’t compromised by automatic cropping, stretching, or compressing.

This will ensure clarity. Keep this file as your original. Make duplicates of it for every different size you’ll need. I like to label my images with its purpose and the social media name, e.g., profLI or liProf meaning profile picture for LinkedIn or coverLI meaning cover photo for LinkedIn.

Develop your own preference and then be consistent to reduce confusion!

NOTE: Any post content on LinkedIn must comply with their LinkedIn Professional Community Policies, Privacy Policy, User Agreement, and Service Terms.

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Quick Navigation
Social Media Posts	In this post	Found in “Intro to Social Media”
Intro Facebook Instagram Pinterest Snapchat TikTok X YouTube	LinkedIn Resources for LinkedIn Social Media Images	Online Imaging Options Imaging Definitions

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Exploring More . . .

You may want to also look at more possibilities in “Images on Your Website” and “Understanding Licensing” or have some fun on the homepage Building Your Author Website.

For more on websites, check out: “First Steps for a Website“, “Outline Your Website“, “Anatomy of a Web Page“, “Pages on the Front End of Your Website“, “Pages Behind the Scenes of Your Website“, “More Specific Disclosures for Your Website“, and “Navigation For Your Website“.

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Build Your Author Website is . . .

. . . an opportunity to do a bit more with your author’s website or blog and have some fun with it as well as getting a look at building it from the ground up with a comprehensive listing of the pages you’ll need . . . all while learning something about HTML (hypertext markup language) and CSS (cascading style sheets) — the easy way, lol.

If you found this post on “Social Media Images for LinkedIn” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.

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LinkedIn Social Media Images
Part of Web Building: Behind the Scenes
Definition: Any image you use on your social media site, including banners. This LinkedIn post covers setting up your account with specs for Profile and Company Pages and the basics for Articles, Audio, and Video. (The Acquired Page informs your followers that you have been acquired by someone else.) A paid Premium LinkedIn account includes pages such as LinkedIn Life, Career Pages, posting a job, etc. All these pages will generally require different dimensions, ratios, and file sizes. Include photo credits. See the entry in “Images on Your Website” for examples of crediting creators. NOTE: LinkedIn and others use a variety of terms to discuss the same thing. I’ve tried to include the various also-known-ases, so if you can’t find the term you’re looking for, try a search of this post. POST CONTENTS: LinkedIn Account Set-up Profile Page Profile Cover Profile Photo Biography Company Pages Logo Affiliate Page Showcase Page Post Images Article Cover Banner Image In-Text Article Image Beneath Blog Post Featured Image Audio Video NOTE: Teal blocks represent your images. NOTE: It is NOT standard, but this post uses a comma to separate specs with more than three numbers, e.g., 1080 is 1,080. The purpose is to aid tired eyes in registering the number. Source: Free vs Premium
LinkedIn Account Set-up
When setting yourself up on LinkedIn, you’ll need assorted professional images that reflect you. Profile Page Company Pages Post Images
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LinkedIn Profile Page	Definition: A page about a real person that describes your career history and education, and includes other information that you would like to share with employers, recruiters, and other professional connections. It also includes a photo of you.
Return to top or post contents	The purpose of a LinkedIn profile is to create a positive first impression. Keep in mind that a LinkedIn Profile is different from a LinkedIn Page: A Profile ONLY represents you while Page represents your organization If you do create a Page, you can add your Profile as an admin to the Page Profile Cover Profile Photo Biography
	Differences between a LinkedIn Profile and a LinkedIn Page Check out these examples of a profile page You can get a template, as long as you give out your email address Canva has some useful templates
LinkedIn Profile Cover	Definition: The banner part of your LinkedIn Profile (page); it’s a way of branding you. Grab a viewer’s attention with an intriguing header graphic that visually and instantly communicates your passions and strengths.
Return to top or post contents	Ideally, you’ll choose a unique image — keep in mind the style of your field. Is it conservative or more flexible? This will affect how people (employers, connections, clients, etc.) perceive you. For ideas to narrow down your cover photo: What would represent your field or book Use a photo of your workspace Choose an abstract image Consider including a quote that reflects you The cover image should clearly reflect your brand colors, logo, and overall aesthetic, instantly making your profile recognizable. Keep in mind that the bottom left corner of your image will be obscured by your profile photo so keep the important parts of the image, your logo, and any text to the center or right. CAUTION: Check out the danger zones when designing your banner. A.k.a. background image, background photo, banner, cover, cover photo, header graphic, header picture, profile, profile cover photo
	Size (w x h) 1,584 x 396 px Optimal: 1,920 x 1,080 px Cover photos are cropped differently on mobile and desktop. Make sure to view your profile on both kinds of display before finalizing. Aspect Ratio 4:1 File Size Up to 8 MB File Format Best to save as JPG or PNG Do not use a GIF Source: Islam, Copperman
	Top 17 LinkedIn Cover Photo Ideas for Any Profession 6 LinkedIn Cover Photo Ideas for Your Brand LinkedIn Banner Templates More Banner Templates
LinkedIn Profile Photo	Definition: An actual picture of you — a headshot only — (your headshot will be cropped into a circle with a white border) that is on the left bottom of the Profile Page.
Return to top or post contents	As LinkedIn is a business-oriented site, keep in mind that you: Should use a high-quality/high res business-like picture of yourself looking straight at the camera Do not have other people in your photo Do use a background but keep it simple with no or few distractions Do not use a casual OR vacation photo Do use a picture that feels authentic Do not use a computer-generated, avatar, or generic image A.k.a. headshot
	Image Size Min.: 400 x 400 px Max: 7,680 x 4,320 px Aspect Ratio 1:1 16:9 File Size Up to 8 MB (future-proof by uploading as large an image size as you can) File Format Best to save as JPG, PNG
	10 LinkedIn Profile Picture Tips To Get You Noticed 9 Tips for Better LinkedIn Profile Photos
LinkedIn Biography	Definition: LinkedIn refers to it as the About section, the summary, or your LinkedIn Profile. This summary is the text box at the top of your LinkedIn Profile with a sort of maximum of 2,600 characters. It’s where you give an overview of your professional life.
Return to top or post contents	Examples can be found at: Kate Reilly and Jen Dewar’s 14 LinkedIn Profile Summaries That We Love (And How to Boost Your Own) Aja Frost’s 17 Best LinkedIn Summary & Bio Examples [+ How to Write Your Own] with templates Austin Belcak’s How to Write a Crazy Effective LinkedIn Summary [10+ Examples & Tips
LinkedIn Company Pages
Definition: Represents and builds your organization’s brand on LinkedIn where anyone with a profile on LinkedIn can learn about your organization’s business, brand, products and services, and job opportunities. You must have a LinkedIn profile to create a Page, and you can’t convert a profile into a Page. Anyone affiliated with the organization can be designated as an admin, including yourself. A Page is for a business (you and your book, your art, your products, your services) and is different from a Profile, which is for an individual. Building a Page is free, although you can choose to upgrade to Premium. Logo Affiliate Page Showcase Page Source: Differences
LinkedIn Logo	Definition: A visual brand for your company that is uploaded as the profile picture on your Company LinkedIn Page.
Return to top or post contents	You can only include your company logo IF you set up a company page which requires that you have a website and an email address to your website domain. LinkedIn will include your logo on your profile and the profile of anyone who works for or with you and your business. Logo will be displayed on light and dark backgrounds, so test your logo against both. A transparent logo will be shown on a white background. Check out Kaemmerer‘s post if you run into problems getting your logo to show on your profile.
	Image Size 300 x 300 px Sm. Logo: 60 x 60 px Aspect Ratio 1:1 File Size Limited to 5 MB File Format Best to save as PNG or JPG Source: Kaemmerer
Affiliate Page	Definition: Represents all organizations and employees officially under the primary business as well as any Pages associated with your brand — it is NOT a marketing page.
Return to top or post contents	You must request the Affiliate Page from LinkedIn whose support team will then handle it. Associated pages can include your author site, your books/series, Goodreads Author Profile, Amazon Author page, social media accounts, etc. Source: Adam; Shaun; Affiliated
Showcase Page	Definition: Spotlights individual brands, business units, and initiatives. IF you have a Business Page, Showcase is a subcategory under Affiliated Page.
Return to top or post contents	Your company will be limited to 10 Showcase pages. If you need more than 10 pages: Consider broader categories, a.k.a. pillars, sections, topics, etc. If your company targets specific countries or regions, geo-target your organic posts from your main Page. You also should assign admin access and limit that access to subject-matter experts only who can consistently post quality content to your new Showcase Page audience.
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LinkedIn Images
Definition: Images and/or video used on LinkedIn for your post or article. NOTE: LinkedIn posts and articles are different from each other. Posts are ephemeral and quickly gone from the lists. An article sticks around. Sizes on LinkedIn change, so you may want to check in with LinkedIn. Be aware that you must pay careful attention to the words used to be sure you’re looking at the right sizes. Article Cover (a banner image is the same) In-Text Article Image Image Beneath Blog Post Featured Image Audio Video
LinkedIn Article Cover Image	Definition: The main picture for a specific blog post at the start of your article and above the fold.
Return to top or post contents	Using a specific cover image is optional; the default will be selected from your article to use as the thumbnail. The image will always be centered. The image can be in a full-width layout or a boxed layout. The cover will also be a thumbnail for your article throughout LinkedIn. A default article cover will use an image in your article, which will also appear as a thumbnail. Use the full URL and NOT the embed code. You can customize your image by adding a logo or watermark, or by using the editor to add a filter. You can even change the cover image of an article after it’s been published. A.k.a. article banner, article header image, banner, banner image
	Image Size 744 x 400 px Recommended: 1,584 x 396 px Use only the center 560 x 282 px for text or the key information, to allow for any cropping across devices. Source: Thomas; Lowes Aspect Ratio 1.86:1 4:1 Resolution Range Standard: 72 ppi Max.: 96 ppi File Size < 8 MB Max.: 10 MB File Format Best to save as static GIF, JPEG, JPG, PNG, WEBP
	Check out Bernard Marr’s article, “How To Get Started With Your AI Journey“, to see an example of Marr’s banner image and an image within the post. David Reid’s article, “Outnumbered By Females“, has an example of an article banner.
LinkedIn Banner Image	See Cover image; Article cover
LinkedIn In-Text Article Image	Definition: Images that appear in your article as well as media (image, video, slides, links or snippets) at the start of each section, at a minimum the introduction, body, and conclusion.
Return to top or post contents	NOTE: To write an article, you have to specifically click on the “Write an article” icon. These images may be underneath a paragraph of text or to the side. The image will be larger than the image beneath the blog post.
	Single image Multi-image Image Size 1,080 x 1,080 px 1,920 x 1,080 px Aspect Ratio 1:1 1.91:1 Resolution Range Standard: 72 ppi Max.: 96 ppi File Size 5 MB File Format Best to save as JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIFF, WEBP Ideal is JPG format, with RGB color Blog post, a.k.a., custom image Image Size 1,200 x 627 px Min. width: +200 px Aspect Ratio 1.91:1 Resolution Range Standard: 72 ppi Max.: 96 ppi File Size Best: no more than 5 MB Max: 15 MB If uploading a PNG, keep the file size below 1 MB. PNG files larger than 1 MB may appear pixelated.
	Check out the examples of How to Write Great LinkedIn Articles (With Examples) Check out Bernard Marr’s article, “How To Get Started With Your AI Journey“, to see an example of Marr’s banner image and an image within the post. For a variety of social media site designs (or to buy a collection), check out the Social Media Kit A.k.a. article image
LinkedIn Image Beneath Blog Post	Definition: An image that appears at the very bottom of the blog post.
Return to top or post contents	A great place to position an image of your book. The image will be smaller than the image in an article. Source: Clay
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	30 Post Ideas & Examples for LinkedIn
LinkedIn Featured Image	Definition: Uses a thumbnail image from whatever work samples you’re most proud of and want to showcase on the Feature area, e.g., you can feature posts that you’ve authored, articles you’ve published on LinkedIn, and even external media like images, documents, and links.
Return to top or post contents	Featured is different from Activity, in that you choose what to show in Featured whereas Activity shows all your activity for the past 45 days. Source: Featured
	Image Size 1,200 x 644 px Aspect Ratio 1.91:1 Resolution Range Standard: 72 ppi Max.: 96 ppi File Size Up to 5 MB File Format Best to save as GIF, JPEG, JPG, PNG, WEBP
LinkedIn Audio	Sound is mostly in a video recording, however there are Audio Events (to host an Audio Event, you must have 150 followers and/or connections; anyone can attend), sound settings, audio calls, and voice messages.
Return to top or post contents	File Format AAC, MP3, MP2, Vorbis, ADPCM Convert MP3 into MP4 with a static image prior to uploading the file
LinkedIn Video	Allows your audience to get to know you/your products.
	Be sure to: Pre-record a video on your phone or desktop, so you can edit, include subtitles, apply filters, etc. Content should serve a purpose and help build your professional brand online In investing your time, be sure you’ll get a return on your investment of time Source: Yeung; Prominence
	Image Size 256 x 144 px 4,096 x 2,304 px Aspect Ratio 1:2.4 2.4:1 Resolution Range Best: 1,080 p (1,920 x 1,080 p) Note: 1080 p is usually known as Full HD resolution. Video Duration Min.: 3 sec Max.: 15 min when uploading from desktop and 10 min when uploading from the LinkedIn mobile app Frame Rates 10–60 fps Bit Rates Video: 192 Kbps–30 Mbps Audio: 128 Kbps Key Frame 10–60 fps Recommended: 30 fps File Size Min.: 75 KB Max.: 5 GB File Format MP4, MOV, AVI, WEBM, MKV, WMV, VC1, MPEG, MPEG2, MPEG1VIDEO, DVVIDEO, TSCC2 Audio Sample Rate 48 kHz Video Captions Recommended

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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which website issues are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix the . . . and we’ll all benefit!

Satisfy your curiosity about other Working Your Website posts in its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Word Confusions, and Writing Ideas and Resources.

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Resources for LinkedIn Social Media Images

Some of these links may be affiliate links, and I will earn a small percentage, if you should buy it. It does not affect the price you pay.

Adam, Mic. “LinkedIn Company Page, Affiliate Page or Showcase Page . . .” LinkedIn. 21 Dec 2019. Accessed 18 Dec 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-company-page-affiliate-showcase-mic-adam/>. Article.

“Affiliated LinkedIn Pages.” LinkedIn. Last updated 2023. Accessed 18 Dec 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a545807>. Article.

Bull, Hayley. “GIF vs Boomerangs.” iShoot Photobooth. 18 Jan 2019. Accessed 10 Nov 2024. <https://ishootphotobooth.com.au/2019/01/what-are-gifs-and-boomerangs/>. Article.

Clay, Sarah. “A Fully Comprehensive LinkedIn Size Guide for Images and Video.” LinkedIn. 24 June 2021. Accessed 5 Apr 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fully-comprehensive-linkedin-size-guide-images-video-sarah-clay/>.

Copperman, Amy. “10 Customizable LinkedIn Cover Photos That Could Give You the Edge.” Adobe Express. 28 Sept 2020. Accessed 4 Apr 2024. <https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/10-customizable-linkedin-cover-photos-that-could-give-you-the-edge>.

Dial, Minter. “Write a Great Bio.” MINTER DIAL: Brand strategy and digital transformation. 3 Sept 2014. Accessed 5 April 2019. <http://minterdial.com/2014/09/write-a-great-bio/>

“Difference Between Free LinkedIn and Premium LinkedIn Accounts.” LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed 18 Dec 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a545596>. Article.

“Differences Between a LinkedIn Profile and a LinkedIn Page.” LinkedIn. Last updated 13 Dec 2024. Accessed 18 Dec 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a6204405>. Article.

“Featured Section on Your Profile FAQs.” LinkedIn. Last updated May 2024. Accessed 28 June 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a552452/featured-section-on-your-profile-faqs>.

Islam, Md Moshahedul. “Why You Should Use Cover Photo in Your LinkedIn Profile.” LinkedIn. 22 Oct 2020. Accessed 15 Apr 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-you-should-use-cover-photo-your-linkedin-profile-moshahedul-islam/>.

Kaemmerer, Carol. “How Can Entrepreneurs Get Their Logo on LinkedIn?” LinkedIn. 12 Dec 2022. Accessed 13 June 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-can-entrepreneurs-get-logo-linkedin-carol-kaemmerer/>.

Lowes, Peter. “The Ultimate LinkedIn Post Type Guide.” LinkedIn. 2 May 2020. Accessed 1 Nov 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ ultimate-linkedin-post-type-guide-peter-lowes>. Article.

Nizzoli, Giada. “Using Images in Blog Posts: Complete Guide for Businesses.” Crafty Copy. n.d. Accessed 25 June 2024. <https://craftycopy.co.uk/blog/guide-on-how-to-use-images-in-blog-posts>.

Nyst, Annabelle. “Social Media Image Size Guide For All Platforms in 2024.” Search Engine Journal. 19 Sept 2024. Accessed 10 Nov 2024. <https://www.searchenginejournal.com/social-media-image-sizes/488891/>. Article.

Olafson, Karin and Tony Tran. “Social Media Image Sizes for All Networks [December 2024].” Blog. Hootsuite. 3 Dec 2024. Accessed 6 Dec 2024. <https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-image-sizes-guide/>. Article.

Omoth, Tyler. “How to Write a Good LinkedIn Headline (with examples).” TopResume. Updated 1 Apr 2021. Accessed 25 June 2024. <https://www.topresume.com/career-advice/linkedin-headlines>.

Prominence Global. “Why You Should Be Using Video Content on LinkedIn.” LinkedIn. 26 Mar 2023. Accessed 3 Nov 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-you-should-using-video-content-linkedin-prominenceglobal/>. Article.

Shaun. “LinkedIn Company and Showcase Page: Best Practices, Examples and Guide for 2024.” The B2B House. n.d. Accessed 18 Dec 2024. <https://www.theb2bhouse.com/linkedin-company-page-best-practices/>. Article.

Thomas, Julie. “LinkedIn Image Size Guide 2024.” LinkedIn. 5 Mar 2024. Accessed 18 Dec 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-image-size-guide-julie-thomas-tftwc/>. Article.

“Using the Life Tab or What We Do Tab of LinkedIn Career Pages.” LinkedIn. n.d. Accessed 5 Apr 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a552282/using-the-life-tab-or-what-we-do-tab-of-linkedin-career-pages?lang=en>.

Yeung, Selina. “Posting Videos on LinkedIn – What to do Before, During, and After.” LinkedIn. 26 Jan 2023. Accessed 3 Nov 2024. <https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ultimate-guide-posting-videos-linkedin-what-do-before-salina-yeung/>. Article.

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Pinterest Photo Credits

Our Logo is courtesy of LinkedIn.

Revised as of 13 Jan 2025
By: Kathy Davie