Canva x LinkedIn: How Your Personal Brand Shines on the Business Platform

1. What is Canva?
2. What is Canva Pro?
3. 5 ways to use Canva for LinkedIn
4. Fazit 

About 80 % of the information processed in the brain from the environment is of a visual nature. This number once again proves the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words". And it also proves why visual design is such a crucial factor for success in social media marketing – even on the business platform LinkedIn.

What is Canva?

With the graphic design platform Canva anyone can become a professional designer. You could say this is the "Photoshop for dummies". After just a few quick steps, a free account for one person is set up and you can start creating your first designs. From birthday cards, stickers, presentations, logos, flyers, resumes, websites, print products to social media posts for every imaginable platform (TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, YouTube...) – it really has everything included. The platform is super intuitive, user-friendly and offers many design templates. Also for LinkedIn.

What is Canva Pro?

"Canva Pro" is the paid version for one user. With €11.99/month or €109.99/year, the Premium version unlocks more design tools, templates, elements, and AI features. I would recommend trying out the free version first, and if you encounter limitations, consider whether an investment in Canva Pro is worth it for you.

Information about the Prices of Canva Pro, features of each price package, as well as user reviews with price references can be found on OMR Reviews.

Source: Canva

5 ways to use Canva for LinkedIn

Part of your Personal Branding Strategy includes your image language and your style of communication. Because a visual (photo, collage, graphic, statistic, meme, etc.) takes up more space in the LinkedIn feed than a single line of text. The visual acts as a so-called "Scroll Stopper". The image catches our attention, the headline teases the content of the post, and we then decide to click on "See more...". But not only for the Content Creation Canva can support you design-wise, but also for the design of your LinkedIn profile. Always remember: Your LinkedIn profile is your digital business card.

1. LinkedIn Profile Banner

Every well-kept LinkedIn profile includes a LinkedIn banner. This is the large area at the top of your profile. Use this space strategically to showcase your expertise, your company, your topics, events or even open positions. To create the banner in Canva, search for "LinkedIn background photo".

• Format People's profile: 1584 x 396 pixels
• Format Company profile: 1128 x 396 pixels

Now, you can get inspired by the Canva templates and on LinkedIn. I have compiled six different variants for a banner here:

Source: LinkedIn

It's important that you individualize the template and adapt it to you. Change the colors, the font, the arrangement and especially the text on the banner. Share your banner with another person and get feedback on the design. Is the banner understandable? What impression does it leave on the viewer? The goal of the banner is to convince others of your account within seconds and to give an overview of your topics.

If you want to create a banner freely completely independent of the template, you can simply get started and insert colors, elements, pictures or fonts. Here are a few helpfulkeywords for searching in the "Elements": Keyword: set:nAE8m0VGq0Q (dashed arrows)

Keyword: set:nAFG-FmkS80 (business elements)

Keyword: shapeless (round and creative shapes)

Keyword: distorted typography (extraordinary
Lettering)

Source: CanvaDo you want to integrate a

QR code in your banner

? This is also very easy with Canva:1. Go to "Apps"

on the left.2. Search for "QR code"

.3. Enter the corresponding URL

.4. Have the QR code generated

and add it to the banner.Source: CanvaIs your banner ready? Now you can download it as a

PNG with double the number of pixels

and finally upload it to your profile on LinkedIn. Make sure there is sufficient distance to the profile photo and check the banner for desktop as well as smartphone compatibility.2. LinkedIn profile photoA profile picture on LinkedIn is essential. It gives your profile a face and creates

recognition value

in the feed. Because your profile picture is always displayed next to your name there.When uploading to LinkedIn, your profile photo can be easily cropped. I recommend that you zoom as close as possible to the face and don't use a full-body picture

or a holiday photo with sunglasses. Choose a friendly and well-groomed photo.If you don't have a professional photo of yourself or don't have the right set-up at home, there is a very helpful function in Canva: "Remove background"

. This premium feature is by far the most used function in my everyday work.1. Simply a picture

in Canva upload.2. Select photo

.3. Under "Edit photo"

click on "Remove background".4. Insert a background

in any color, matching the profile banner.Source: Canva3. LinkedIn Post: GraphicYour profile is now set up. Now it's time for the content. In addition to text posts or postings with photos, there are many other formats: Graphics, statistics, memes, PDF sliders, videos

– all of this can also be created with Canva.

How you can get creative now:

1. Choose an appropriate format for your visual (1080x1080 px or 1080x1600 px).

2. Search for a corresponding

keyword among the templates and let yourself be inspired (example: Sustainability).3. Add

forms, font, colors, elements or also diagrams

and create your own visual.4. Duplicate the respective page and test different variants

.Are you satisfied with your result? Here as well I advise you to discuss your visual with friends and to obtain feedback about the graphic. Is the visual understandable? Is it attractively designed?I am a big fan of graphics in the form of diagrams, especially when comparing things. In addition to usual diagram types like bar or circle diagrams, you can also represent a lot of things using elements like people or trees. Here is an example:

Source: Canva

To get a feeling for what else is possible, take a look at these three further visuals, which were created with Canva:

Source: LinkedIn

4. LinkedIn Post: PDF SliderAs already mentioned, PDF sliders are a further content format

that radiates expertise especially and serves for deepening a topic. They are particularly useful when a topic is so complex that it would be very incomprehensible and hard to consume without visualization.

How to create a

PDF slider in Canva:1. Choose an appropriate

format for your PDF slider (1080x1080 px or 1080x1600 px).2. Add

forms, fonts, photos, colors, elements or also diagrams

and create your own PDF slider.3. Download the entire file (all pages) as a PDF document.4. Now you can upload the whole thing as a

"Document" on LinkedIn.What you should be aware of when creating:

1. Think first and foremost about whether the PDF slider is really the best choice for the topic of your post.

2. Aim for

3 to 15 pages for your concept.3. Your PDF slider should follow a storyline – set yourself a frame, tell a story or list facts (Example: 5 Myths about Content Creation).

4. Each page should be similar in design (have the same background, the same font, use the same image language).

5. Build visual triggers (arrows, numbers) on each page.

Search in your LinkedIn feed for PDF sliders, to get inspiration and concrete ideas for implementation

.Source: CanvaFor the pros among you, the creation of a

"Seamless" PDF slider is certainly exciting. The aim here is to connect the individual pages organically through various elements, so that the users want even more to scroll through the individual pages. I have explained in detail how to implement this technically in Canva in one of my Canva Hacks Videos.

5. LinkedIn Post: Picture

You now have a photo and want to add further elements. Here's how it works:1. Upload the photo to Canva.2. Click on "Replace background"

with a left click.

Source: CanvaNow you have two options: add elements and/or add text. For text, you can span it in an arc or provide it with a background for instance.Source: Canva

Here I have put together a few

additional examples for you:Source: Canva

Play around and start to think about your content creation from a

"Visual-First" approach

. This means: Think first about what the visual looks like before writing the post text. Because at the end of the day, it's always the visuals that stick in the mind.

Conclusion 

For me, there's no way around Canva Pro. I use this online tool multiple times a day and cannot live without it. Anyone who moves on social media online should, in my opinion, familiarize themselves with the tool. The next step is to discover your own handwriting in design beyond the templates and set yourself apart creatively in the LinkedIn feed with your graphics.

Quelle: Canva

Teste dich aus und beginne, deine Content-Erstellung mit einem „Visual-First“-Ansatz zu denken. Das bedeutet: Überlege dir zuerst, wie das Visual aussieht, bevor du den Postingtext verfasst. Denn am Ende des Tages sind es immer die Visuals, die im Kopf bleiben.

Fazit 

Für mich führt kein Weg an Canva Pro vorbei. Ich nutze das Online-Tool jeden Tag mehrfach und kann nicht mehr ohne. Jeder, der sich online auf Social Media bewegt, sollte sich meiner Meinung nach mit dem Tool vertraut machen. Der nächste Schritt besteht darin, abseits der Vorlagen seine eigene Handschrift im Design zu entdecken und sich im LinkedIn-Feed mit seinen Grafiken kreativ abzuheben.