When you share a link on LinkedIn, it will automatically pull an image from that page to display as a thumbnail preview. However, you can customize which image it uses by following these steps:
Using LinkedIn’s Default Image Selection
LinkedIn will automatically select what it thinks is the best image on the page you are sharing to use as the thumbnail preview. Here are some tips for improving the default selection:
- Make sure the page has a featured image, hero image, or other prominent visual that represents the content well. This is typically what LinkedIn will select.
- Avoid having too many small images or icons on the page, as LinkedIn may grab one of those instead.
- If sharing an article, ensure the featured image is set on the article itself, not just the website homepage.
- Check what the preview image looks like when you share the link. If it’s not ideal, tweaking the images on the target page may improve it.
LinkedIn’s algorithm will automatically scan the page and try to pick out the best image. So optimizing the images directly on that page is the best way to influence the default selection.
Manually Selecting an Image
If you want to specify exactly which image to use, you can manually select it when sharing the link:
- Click the “Share an article, photo, video or idea” box at the top of your LinkedIn feed.
- Paste in the link you want to share.
- After pasting the link, click the “Change thumbnail” icon that appears below it. It looks like a small landscape image.
- In the pop-up, navigate to and select the specific image you want to use.
- You can upload an image located on your computer, or enter the URL of an image hosted online. Make sure you have rights to use the image.
- Click “Apply” and the chosen image will appear as the thumbnail preview.
- Finish sharing the post as normal. The selected image will now display with the link.
Doing this will override LinkedIn’s default image parser and let you specify exactly which visual you want associated with the shared link.
Tips for Picking Thumbnail Images
When selecting a custom thumbnail image, keep these tips in mind:
- Choose an image that is relevant to the content being shared. Don’t just pick a random logo or graphic.
- The image should be high resolution and look good at small sizes. Low quality images will appear fuzzy or pixelated.
- Square images work better than horizontal rectangles. LinkedIn thumbnail sizes are closer to square.
- A close-up picture works better than a wide shot. Details and faces tend to be more eye-catching.
- Text-heavy images don’t make good thumbnails. The text will be illegible at small sizes.
- Visually simple and uncluttered images make the post stand out more in people’s feeds.
Picking an appropriate, high-quality thumbnail image can increase engagement on your LinkedIn posts and links. It’s worth taking the time to manually select one if the default preview isn’t ideal.
Alternative: Use LinkedIn’s Text Update Box
If you want to share a link on LinkedIn without any thumbnail preview image, you can use the “Share an article, photo, video or idea” text update box instead.
To do this:
- Click the text box that says “Share an article, photo, video or idea…” at the top of your LinkedIn feed.
- Type your text update as normal, including the link you want to share.
- The link will appear inline as hypertext, without any thumbnail preview.
- You can include some descriptive text and commentary along with the link.
- Post the update as normal. The link will display in the feed without a thumbnail preview.
This is good if you want to share a link in a text update but don’t want an image, or if you want people to click through to see a relevant image on the page itself. The downside is it may get less visual attention than a post with an eye-catching thumbnail.
Troubleshooting Issues
Here are some common issues people run into when trying to set a custom thumbnail, along with troubleshooting tips:
LinkedIn keeps selecting the wrong default image
- Triple check that you have an appropriate featured image set on the target page.
- Simplify the page by removing excessive icons, ads, widgets, etc. that may confuse LinkedIn’s image parser.
- Try adding metadata like Open Graph tags to specify the main image.
- Manually select the thumbnail as a workaround if improving the source page doesn’t help.
My selected image doesn’t change after saving
- Double check that you clicked “Apply” after selecting the image in the thumbnail popup.
- Try re-uploading or re-entering the image URL, the file may have been invalid.
- Verify the image is hosted at an accessible, public-facing URL. Restricted images won’t work.
- Try a different image file in a common format like JPG, PNG or GIF. Unsupported formats may fail.
The thumbnail preview is blurry or low resolution
- Ensure the source image is high resolution – at least 600×600 pixels is recommended.
- Avoid thumbnail images that are landscape/widescreen dimensions, as LinkedIn crops them to square.
- If sharing an existing link, see if you can replace the image source with a higher res version.
- Always pick images with the highest resolution and image quality available. Preview how they look displayed small before confirming.
The preview image takes a long time to change
- LinkedIn may take some time to process and generate thumbnail previews from a newly entered image.
- Try waiting 10-15 minutes then check again to see if it updated. Caching delays are common.
- If it’s still not updating, try re-uploading the image or sanity check the file/URL.
The custom thumbnail reverts back after posting
- This usually happens if LinkedIn can’t process the user-provided image file/URL for some reason.
- Double check the syntax of any image URLs you entered. They must be complete and valid.
- Verify the image file chosen is not corrupted, invalid or in an unsupported format.
- Try re-uploading the desired image then posting again. Test the URL in a browser first.
With trial and error, you should be able to identify and fix any issues getting your custom thumbnails working properly on LinkedIn.
Conclusion
Setting a custom thumbnail image for your LinkedIn link shares is easy – simply use the “Change thumbnail” option after pasting in a link to specify which image you want. Be sure to pick a relevant, high-quality image to make your posts stand out. With the right thumbnail image, you can catch more eyes and increase engagement on your LinkedIn content.