Been told by the marketing department that you need a LinkedIn profile picture? Check out our list of Do’s and Don’ts and remember: Smile for the camera!

Choosing a LinkedIn Profile Picture

People do business with people and so a clear, natural looking photo of yourself is a must. Try to avoid a shot of yourself at last year’s Christmas party and focus more on a professional photo (try to minimise the 80’s corporate feel though … you know the one!).

Make sure your photo is a decent quality - no-one wants to strain themselves trying to figure out if that grainy photo is a picture of you and, lets be honest, a poor quality photo doesn’t give the best impression to prospective clients, after all LinkedIn is a professional networking site, so be professional.

Brand affiliation is a key element of marketing but be cautious when it comes to using brand logos as your profile picture or as part of your profile picture. As it stands, LinkedIn comment in their Profile Photo Guidelines (annoying, you have to be logged in to LinkedIn to view this post) that they may remove your profile picture if it “is not your likeness or a headshot photo” - best then to save the company logo for the Company Page.

This said, if you have a brand logo that can be used as part of the background then add it. However, bear in mind:

• The addition of a ‘heavy’ logo in the background can add brand consistency but detract from the person in the shot
• A logo may not fit easily into the background, causing the image to become larger than it needs to be, again causing the attention to detract from the person
• The logo may be too long and end up being cut off in places.

Think you have a perfect LinkedIn Profile Picture? Check the following list:

• Are you clearly visible in the picture?
• Is the photo decent quality and well lit?
• Is the photo appropriate for your industry? (think to yourself: Would you hire a person for a job if their photo looked inappropriate?)
• Is your brand logo clearly visible without losing quality, brand awareness and size?
• Was the photo taken in an appropriate environment? Most of us enjoy a drink at the weekend but that doesn’t mean your clients want to see a picture from down your local.

Remember: people do business with people so be sure to upload a profile picture to your LinkedIn account.