LinkedIn’s carousel format allows you to create visually engaging posts that stand out in the LinkedIn feed. A carousel post contains multiple slides that users can horizontally swipe or click through. Each slide can contain images, videos, text, links, etc. Carousel posts are effective for showcasing products, services, events, employee highlights, infographics, and more.
Why use carousel format on LinkedIn?
There are several key benefits of using the carousel format on LinkedIn:
- Higher engagement – Carousels garner 2-3x more engagement than regular photo or video posts on LinkedIn.
- Tell a story – The multi-slide format allows you to tell a deeper, more layered brand story.
- Showcase more content – You can feature multiple products, services, images, videos, infographics, quotes etc. in one post.
- Cleaner feed – Carousels take up less feed space than multiple individual posts would.
- Mobile-friendly – The swipe functionality is ideal for mobile, which accounts for over 90% of LinkedIn usage.
- Brand building – Carousels allow brands to showcase their identity, personality and work in a visually compelling way.
- Lead generation – Call-to-action buttons can drive traffic to your website or landing pages.
Best practices for LinkedIn carousel posts
Follow these tips to create high-quality, impactful carousels for LinkedIn:
- Keep it short – Each slide should contain no more than 100 words of text for optimal scannability.
- High quality visuals – Use eye-catching, high-resolution photos and graphics.
- Consistent branding – Maintain a consistent design with logos, color scheme, fonts, etc. on each slide.
- Relevant content – Align the content tightly with your target audience’s interests.
- Clear CTA – Include a strong call-to-action to drive engagement and clicks.
- Limit slides – Ideal carousel length is 4-5 slides. More than that overwhelms viewers.
- Utilize captions – Craft descriptive captions to provide context for images and videos.
- Link to landing pages – Send traffic to relevant landing pages or blog posts.
Carousel post examples
Here are some creative examples of companies effectively leveraging the carousel format on LinkedIn:
Employee highlights
This carousel from Dell highlights top employees and company culture. It humanizes the brand and shows they value their people.
Event promotion
Adobe uses the carousel format to promote their Adobe Summit event. The visuals grab attention while conveying key event details.
Product launch
Microsoft announced a new product release with a carousel post. They showcase the product benefits across each slide.
Infographic
This infographic carousel breaks downimportant data into easily digestible slides. The visuals aid retention.
Behind-the-scenes
Giving a “behind-the-scenes” look via a carousel enables brands to share their culture and craft.
Steps to create a LinkedIn carousel post
Follow these steps to create a carousel in LinkedIn’s post editor:
- Click “Write an article” in the LinkedIn post editor.
- Click the “+” icon to add a new slide.
- Customize each slide with images, videos, text, captions, etc.
- Use the arrow buttons to rearrange the slide order as needed.
- Ensure each slide accurately represents your brand and aligns to your goals.
- Preview how the full carousel looks using the right/left arrows.
- Input a compelling main headline and description.
- Insert relevant hashtags and @mentions.
- Click “Share” to publish your carousel to your connections!
Optimizing carousel posts for mobile
Since most LinkedIn usage stems from mobile devices, it’s crucial to optimize carousel posts for mobile viewing:
- Use bold, high-contrast fonts that are readable on small screens.
- Avoid overly complex graphics that get illegible when condensed.
- Input concise text that won’t require heavy scrolling on mobile.
- Leverage video sparingly as it can be difficult to view on mobile.
- Insert clickable CTAs for easy access on mobile screens.
- Preview the post across different mobile devices before publishing.
- Position key messages and calls-to-action early in the carousel.
Measuring carousel post performance
Analyze carousel engagement and effectiveness by monitoring these key metrics:
- Impressions – Number of times the post was displayed in feeds.
- Clicks – Total clicks on the post, image links, or embedded URLs.
- Engagement rate – Percentage of impressions that resulted in some type of engagement.
- Video views – Number of times an embedded video was viewed for at least 3 seconds.
- Slide completion rate – Percentage of viewers who swiped through the entire carousel.
- Social sharing – Instances of audiences sharing the post with their own networks.
- Leads/sales – Conversion metrics if you included lead gen CTAs.
Compare performance to previous regular posts to gauge the impact of the carousel format.
Tools to create LinkedIn carousel posts
Here are some useful tools to design stunning LinkedIn carousel posts:
Tool | Key Features |
---|---|
Canva | Drag-and-drop design, professional templates, photo editor, brand kits, image resizing |
Adobe Spark | Animated videos and graphics, custom branding, integrated image search |
Snappa | Library of fonts, illustrations, and icons; collaborators; image editing |
Clipchamp | Video creation and editing, stock media library, templates, animations, effects |
Pablo by Buffer | Instant image and video optimization for social media |
These DIY design tools make it simple for even non-designers to make stunning visuals for LinkedIn carousel posts in minutes.
Conclusion
The carousel post format enables brands to deliver content in a dynamic, engaging manner on LinkedIn. By following best practices around visuals, copy, CTAs, and optimization for mobile, marketers can produce carousels that captivate their target audience and deliver meaningful results. Inserting strong calls-to-action into carousel posts provides an excellent opportunity to generate high-quality leads from LinkedIn. As LinkedIn usage continues to grow, leveraging the carousel format gives brands a leg up in communicating their messages in a cluttered social media landscape.