LinkedIn is one of the most popular social media platforms used by professionals and businesses to network, build their brand, and share content. With over 810 million users worldwide, LinkedIn provides a great opportunity to reach a large audience. However, like most social platforms, LinkedIn imposes some limits on the type and amount of content you can share. One common question people have is whether there is a word count limit on LinkedIn posts.
The Short Answer
Yes, there is a word count limit for most types of posts on LinkedIn. The maximum word count allowed depends on the specific type of post you want to share. Here is a quick overview of the word limits:
– Regular LinkedIn posts: 700 words
– Long-form posts: 10,000 words
– LinkedIn articles: 30,000 characters including spaces
– Sponsored content: 150 words
– LinkedIn slideshare presentations: 5000 words
– Comments: 300 words
So in summary, regular posts have a 700 word limit, but you can go up to 10,000 words for long-form posts and 30,000 characters for articles. Comments are capped at 300 words.
Maximum Word Count for Regular LinkedIn Posts
The standard word limit for regular LinkedIn posts is 700 words. If you try to publish a post that exceeds 700 words, LinkedIn will display an error message asking you to shorten your post. This 700 word limit applies to all regular posts, including text, images, videos, and links that you share directly on LinkedIn.
This limit ensures your connections can quickly digest your posts without having to read an extremely long content piece. The 700 word cap is sufficient for most regular updates, news sharing, and short thought leadership posts. However, if you want to publish much longer content, you can utilize long-form posts or LinkedIn articles.
Long-form Posts Allow Up to 10,000 Words
In December 2020, LinkedIn rolled out support for long-form posts, allowing members to publish content up to 10,000 words long. This was done to provide a native LinkedIn option for sharing more in-depth content.
Long-form posts support text, images, embedded media, and most formatting options. The key advantage of long-form posts is that they appear natively in the LinkedIn feed, whereas LinkedIn articles appear on their own separate pages. Long-form posts are ideal for guides, detailed thought leadership content, whitepapers, and other types of long-form writing.
With a 10,000 word length, you have lots of flexibility in the type of content you can create. However, it’s still important to ensure your posts are concise andeasy for your connections to digest.
LinkedIn Articles Allow 30,000 Characters
In addition to long-form posts, LinkedIn also supports even longer content through LinkedIn Publisher articles. LinkedIn articles have a maximum length of 30,000 characters including spaces.
Articles appear as standalone pages on LinkedIn, rather than directly in the LinkedIn feed. You can publish articles under your own LinkedIn account or under a LinkedIn Company Page.
With 30,000 characters, you have the flexibility to publish extremely detailed guides, ebooks, thought leadership content, and other long-form pieces. LinkedIn articles also support a wide range of rich formatting options, including headers, text styling, tables, and more.
One downside is that articles may not be seen by as many people directly in their feed. However, you can increase visibility by sharing snippets and links to your articles using regular LinkedIn posts.
Sponsored Content Capped at 150 Words
When using LinkedIn’s advertising options to sponsor content, there is a strict 150 word limit. Sponsored content appears in the LinkedIn feed as promoted posts.
Keep in mind the 150 word limit is for the overall post, including the headline, image caption, and call-to-action combined. This limit ensures your promoted posts are concise and impactful. Often, brands use the 150 words for a compelling headline and image alone to capture attention, before driving traffic to longer content off LinkedIn.
SlideShare Presentations Can Be 5,000 Words
LinkedIn SlideShare is a popular feature that allows you to publish presentations, infographics, documents, and videos. When uploading a presentation to SlideShare through LinkedIn, there is a limit of 5,000 words. This provides reasonable flexibility for creating detailed and informative slide decks to share on LinkedIn.
Keep in mind the 5,000 word limit applies to the content on the slides only, not any additional description text you add when publishing the SlideShare. However, it’s still smart to keep the description concise as well.
Comment Word Limits
When commenting on other people’s LinkedIn posts, there is a 300 word limit per comment. This allows you to share thoughtful insights and responses, while still keeping the comment focused.
Attempting to add comments over 300 words will result in an error asking you to reduce the length. The 300 word maximum applies to all comment types, including posts, articles, and videos.
Tips to Abide by LinkedIn Word Limits
Here are some tips to ensure your LinkedIn posts and articles adhere to the maximum word counts:
– Use an online word counter to validate you don’t exceed the limits
– Break long posts into multiple shorter posts if needed
– Ensure your writing is focused and concise throughout
– Leverage formatting like bullet points and numbered lists to condense content
– Upload SlideShare presentations as separate assets to allow more words
– Shorten any excessive comments to 300 words
– Proofread thoroughly to identify any redundant or wordy sections
– Remove any unnecessary content that doesn’t support your core message
Expect Future Changes to Word Limits
It’s important to note that LinkedIn’s post word limits are subject to change over time. For example, the increase from 400 to 700 words for regular posts in 2020 gave members more flexibility.
As LinkedIn continues enhancing its platform, we may see expanded word counts for different content types. However, the current limits provide a good guide for optimizing your LinkedIn posts in 2023 and beyond.
Always check LinkedIn’s help documentation for the latest updates on maximum post lengths. If in doubt, brevity is best to improve engagement.
Conclusion
LinkedIn does impose word limits on various types of posts and content, but provides reasonable flexibility. The key limits to remember are:
– Regular posts: 700 words
– Long-form posts: 10,000 words
– Articles: 30,000 characters
– Sponsored posts: 150 words
– SlideShare presentations: 5,000 words
– Comments: 300 words
Carefully structuring your content to fit within these word counts – while still being succinct and engaging – will allow you to maximize the impact of your LinkedIn content. With the variety of options available, you can share anything from brief updates to in-depth guides effectively on LinkedIn.