Having a professional presence on LinkedIn is crucial for building your personal brand and getting your company noticed. With over 850 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform and an important tool for establishing credibility, attracting new business, and networking with other professionals in your field.
One way to enhance your company’s LinkedIn presence is by adding a custom banner image. LinkedIn banner photos appear at the top of your company’s profile page and are a quick way to make your brand stand out and communicate your company’s story. But should you use a company banner photo? Here are some pros and cons to consider.
Pros of Using a LinkedIn Banner Photo
Some key benefits of using a LinkedIn banner image include:
- Increased brand awareness – A banner photo gives your brand visual presence and helps people associate your logo and imagery with your company name.
- Storytelling – You can use the image to communicate your company mission, values, culture, products, services, etc. The banner tells a story and gives your brand personality.
- Professionalism – A customized banner looks more authentic and professional than the default LinkedIn background.
- Visual marketing – Banners images are eye-catching and can draw people to your company page organically.
- Consistency – The banner ensures your brand has a consistent look across platforms like your website, social media, marketing materials, etc.
Cons of Using a LinkedIn Banner
There are also a few potential drawbacks to consider when using a LinkedIn banner:
- Limitations – Banner size and aspect ratio are restricted, limiting your design options.
- Missed opportunity – If your banner is poorly designed it can hurt rather than help your brand image.
- More work – Designing a custom banner takes time, effort, and often costs money.
- Distraction – Some argue banners are just visual clutter and distract from your content.
- Accessibility issues – Busy or text-heavy banners may not be accessible for users with visual impairments.
Best Practices for LinkedIn Company Banners
If you do choose to use a LinkedIn banner, here are some best practices to follow:
- Keep it simple – Avoid cluttered designs and go for a clean, uncluttered look.
- Use high-quality images – Banners look best with professional photography and graphics.
- Highlight your brand – Include logos, slogans, or other brand identifiers.
- Convey your mission – Communicate what your company does and what makes it unique.
- Use minimal text – Include only short slogans or taglines sparingly.
- Grab attention – Use contrast, color, and focal points strategically.
- Align with other marketing – Your banner should match your brand style across websites, ads, etc.
- Check image requirements – LinkedIn banners have specific size (1584×396 pixels) and aspect ratio requirements.
- Test it out – Preview your banner on both desktop and mobile to ensure it looks good.
- Change it up – Consider refreshing your banner seasonally or with company milestones.
Banner Design Tips and Ideas
Looking for LinkedIn banner inspiration? Here are some creative ways companies are customizing their banner photos:
- Highlight products or services – Showcase products, locations, projects etc. For example, an architecture firm displaying building models.
- Feature employees – Help customers connect by showing real staff photos instead of stock images.
- Convey company culture – Let your banner reflect your values through imagery like team events, office spaces, or diversity.
- Use motivational quotes – Short inspirational sayings can capture attention while conveying passion and work ethic.
- Tell a story – Use illustrations or conceptual imagery to communicate your company journey and vision.
- Incorporate nature – Natural backdrops subtly communicate trustworthiness, sustainability, or growth.
- Localize content – Customize banners for local branches with region-specific imagery.
- Leverage holidays – Festive seasonal banners show personality and connection with audiences.
- Make it interactive – Animated or video banners stand out, just keep file size low.
Examples of Eye-Catching LinkedIn Company Banners
Here are examples of brands using LinkedIn banners effectively:
Company | Banner Description |
---|---|
Spotify | Music streaming waves matching brand colors with logo |
Slack | Office illustration highlighting remote work and flexibility |
Airbnb | Global community feel with map and suitcase illustration |
Amazon | Packages concept with brand slogan reinforcement |
NASA | Space imagery aligning with brand purpose and expertise |
Should You Use Video or Animated Banners?
Video and animated banners can help your company stand out in the LinkedIn feed. However, they also have disadvantages:
Potential Benefits
- Increased engagement – Moving banners garner more clicks and reactions.
- Brand storytelling – Video lets you showcase company personality and work.
- Attention-grabbing – Animated banners make your content hard to ignore.
Potential Drawbacks
- Higher cost – Video and animation requires more specialized skills and tools.
- Technical limits – Banners have constrained aspect ratio, file size, format etc.
- Annoyance risk – Some find moving banners distracting if overdone.
- Accessibility barriers – Motion can make it hard for some users to absorb information.
Best Practices
If using animated banners, best practices include:
- Keep it short – Stick to very short looping videos under 10 seconds.
- Stay subtle – Use minimal motion like simple graphic animations.
- Mobile first – Optimize motion for small screens over desktop.
- File size matters – Compress files as much as possible to keep size low.
- Match brand – Animation style should fit your company personality and industry.
- Test extensively – Preview motion on different devices and connections.
Should You Create Multiple LinkedIn Banners?
While one high-quality banner is sufficient, some companies design multiple versions to showcase different messages, products/services, locations, campaigns, events, or holidays. Potential benefits of multiple banners include:
- Expanded messaging – You can reinforce different brand attributes.
- Tailored targeting – Different banners may appeal to different audiences.
- Localized content – Unique banners for regional offices or branches.
- Seasonal interest – Banners tied to holidays, events, or campaigns.
- Reduced monotony – Rotating banners adds variety to your presence.
The downsides to consider with multiple banners are:
- Increased costs – Designing multiple banners requires more time and resources.
- Potential confusion – Switching banners frequently could weaken brand consistency.
- More management – You’ll need a plan for organizing, scheduling and updating banners.
Best practices for using multiple banners include:
- Maintain brand consistency – Ensure banners complement each other aesthetically.
- Limit banner numbers – Start with just 2-3 banners and gradually expand as needed.
- Schedule intelligently – Promote new banners when engagement is likely to be high.
- Test performance – Use analytics to identify your best-performing banners.
- Set a rotation – Don’t change banners too frequently to avoid confusing followers.
Should You Test Different LinkedIn Banner Variations?
Testing different banner options is a smart way to identify what resonates most with your target audiences. Potential approaches to testing LinkedIn banners include:
A/B Testing
- Try 2 banner variations for a set time period, then evaluate performance.
- Best for testing isolated variables like different images, colors, or text.
Multivariate Testing
- Test multiple banner versions simultaneously.
- Lets you test combinations of changes like image, slogan, colors etc.
Targeting Specific Audiences
- Create banners tailored to certain roles, locations, or demographics.
- See which variations generate more engagement from target segments.
Potential benefits of testing different banner options:
- Identify highest-converting designs.
- Reduce guesswork on what engages your audience.
- Try out new ideas cost-effectively.
- Continuously optimize performance.
How to Measure Your LinkedIn Banner Performance
To determine if your LinkedIn banners are effective, monitor metrics like:
Impressions
- How many times your banner was displayed to users.
- Indicates brand visibility and reach.
Clicks
- How often people click your banner to visit your LinkedIn page or external site.
- Measures ability to motivate action.
Follows
- Any increase in company page followers after publishing a new banner.
- Shows if your banner is attracting your target audience.
Shares or Comments
- How often your new banner is shared or commented on by followers.
- Indicates you created interest and sparked reactions.
A/B Testing Results
- If testing variations, the metrics above reveal which perform better.
- Identify benchmarks for engagement to try and beat.
Conclusion
Ultimately, a customized banner can be a valuable investment in building brand familiarity and making a strong visual impact on LinkedIn. However, static banners may be preferable for some brands based on costs, design capabilities, and objectives.
If using a banner, apply best practices and track performance data over time. Well-designed banners not only look more professional, but can significantly boost discoverability and engagement. But poor or distracting banners can undermine your intended brand image. Test variations to continuously optimize based on what resonates with your audiences.
Your LinkedIn presence plays a crucial role in perception of your company among the platform’s hundreds of millions of users. So leverage banner image space thoughtfully as part of your holistic strategy to build relationships and highlight your brand, products, culture, and purpose.