20 Ideas for Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn Cover Images

Most popular social media platforms now offer the ability for users to upload cover images. These images are often larger than regular profile pictures so they can help you show off important information about your business.

If you don’t know where to start when it comes to creating a cover image, take a look at the following 20 examples.

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Ideas for Cover Images

Product Photos

If your business offers physical products for sale, the best thing to do with your cover image could be to show off those products for the world to see. Handmade accessories line Dainty Bloom chose a few select images to show off on its Facebook page.

Staff Photos

Don’t sell a tangible product or don’t want to display them in your cover photo? Consider showing off your workplace culture like this LinkedIn cover photo from Threadless.

Customer Photos

A good way to show your engagement with customers could be to include them on your social media accounts. Showing off happy customers like Aloha Beach and Surf Summer Camp can help give visitors an idea about the experience they could expect from your company.

Workplace Photos

If you want to focus more on what you do, consider showcasing a scene from your office or workspace like this cover photo from Zimana Analytics. This can be especially useful for B2B businesses or companies that don’t necessarily sell tangible products to consumers.

Event Photos

Events can be a great place to get all of your employees, members, or even customers together. And they can sometimes show off a more interesting scene than what might appear at your workplace on a daily basis. Clif Bar used this type of image to show off a large group in its Twitter cover image.

Weekly Showcase

Cover photos can be easily changed and updated regularly. Embrace Pet Insurance updates its cover image to show off a rotating “pet of the week” photo. But this concept could be easily translated to a variety of different business types.

Photos of Members

If your business is one that includes a network or members like the Young Entrepreneur Council, you could show them off in a photo collage like the one pictured above.

Simple Chart

Biz2Credit’s LinkedIn cover image shows a very simple infographic that tells a bit about what the company does.

Awards

Miles Technologies uses its cover image to show off an award the company received recently. These accolades can be easily included in the corner of a cover image to let followers know about your important accomplishments.

Social Media Links

Many companies have a presence on multiple social media channels. So, why not include a link or two in your cover photo section? That way customers can find you around the web. The Bassline Group used this method to share its Twitter handle and blog on Facebook.

Themes

If your brand has a particular theme, then stick with it and build upon it when the opportunity presents itself. Joel Libava is also known as The Franchise King and, as we all know – every king has his castle.

Upcoming Events

You could also use your cover photo to supply information about upcoming events like this one from Infusionsoft.

Elevator Pitch

Some visitors don’t take the time to really read about businesses on social media. So if it isn’t immediately obvious what your company does by the name and profile photo, consider using the cover photo to supply a very short explanation of your company. Here’s a great example from The Rise to the Top.

Current Happenings

Aside from events, there could be other happenings your company can promote in its cover images. Include information about current promotions or even an upcoming business anniversary like The Bozzuto Group did here.

Hashtags

Hashtags can be used on many different platforms to help people connect on different topics. So if your business has a dedicated hashtag like SmallBizChat, consider including it right in your cover image. That way people know they can use it to connect with you elsewhere.

Speaking Engagements

If you’re a solopreneur like a business coach, consultant, or blogger, cover images of customers or products might not necessarily apply to you. But you could include an image from a speaking engagement or similar event, like this one of Geno Prussakov from AM Navigator. It’s another way to let people see you at work.

Profile Photo Integration

There are also some people who find creative ways to integrate their profile picture into their cover image. This one from Andertoons uses a thought bubble to integrate both images together and show off more of the artists work.

Word Cloud

You want people who visit your social media pages to learn more about your businesses. But you don’t necessarily want to include paragraphs of explanation. Instead, consider using a word cloud like this one from Rieva Lesonsky of GrowBiz Media. It can show off some of the most important ideas, concepts or keywords associated with your brand.

Storefront

Local businesses could benefit from using a simple photo of their storefront so people can more easily find them and make a connection. Back Porch Soap Co. uses this type of photo on its Facebook page.

Call to action

What do you want people to do when they visit your page? Make it very clear to them with a call to action right on your cover photo. If you want them to click the like button, consider a small arrow pointing to it. Or use this method from social media expert Mari Smith. She included a button on her cover image and then a link to her current promotion in the photo’s caption.

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