LinkedIn carousels allow users to showcase visual content in a slideshow format on their profile. This can be an effective way to display media, albums, presentations, case studies, and more to your connections in an eye-catching and engaging way. But creating a LinkedIn carousel requires having a premium Business or Sales Navigator account and meeting certain criteria. So while any user can view carousels, not everyone can create them.
What is a LinkedIn Carousel?
A LinkedIn carousel is a slideshow that cycles through up to 10 pieces of visual content. It autoplays and scrolls horizontally when viewed on your profile. Carousels are displayed prominently at the top of your profile under your cover photo and headline.
They allow you to showcase things like:
- Photos
- Videos
- Presentations
- Documents
- Portfolios
- Infographics
- Reports
- Case studies
Each slide can include an individual image, video, PDF, or link along with a caption. When connections visit your profile, the carousel images and captions will rotate through automatically so they can view the full gallery.
Carousels are a way to quickly and visually showcase your work directly on your LinkedIn profile. They allow you to display rich media content without connections having to leave LinkedIn to view it.
Benefits of Using a LinkedIn Carousel
There are several key benefits to using a LinkedIn carousel on your profile:
- Increased engagement – Carousels catch the eye and help drive profile views and engagement. The dynamic scrolling visuals make people more likely to stop and interact with your content.
- Expanded portfolio – A carousel allows you to display up to 10 pieces of content. This is valuable real estate to showcase your work.
- Tells a story – The multiple slides let you represent a narrative arc or journey. You can use the carousel to walk viewers through a case study, project phases, event, and more.
- Less clicking – Connections can consume a lot of rich content without having to click away from your profile. This creates a seamless experience.
- Mobile friendly – Carousels display beautifully on mobile devices and adapt to screen sizes. This makes them easily consumable on the go.
- Metrics – You can view analytics on carousel views and engagement to gauge which content resonates most.
Overall, carousels help you showcase your best work in an engaging, visual manner that keeps people on your profile.
LinkedIn Carousel Requirements
While LinkedIn carousels provide great exposure, they are considered a premium feature. Because of this, LinkedIn enforces requirements around who can create and display carousels:
- You must have a Business Plus, Sales Navigator Pro, Recruiter Lite, or Premium Job Seeker paid account. Free or basic LinkedIn accounts do not have carousel access.
- Your profile must be set to “public” visibility. Carousels are a tool to showcase work to your network, so they will not display on private profiles.
- You must have at least 50 connections in your network. Again, the purpose is public display, so LinkedIn wants you to have an established audience to view the carousel.
- Your account must be in good standing and adhere to LinkedIn’s terms of service.
- Each individual carousel image/video must also meet LinkedIn’s media requirements around size, aspect ratio, file type, etc.
As long as you meet the above criteria, you can enable the LinkedIn carousel feature from your account settings and begin creating carousels for your profile.
How to Create a LinkedIn Carousel
If you meet the requirements outlined above, here are the steps to create your LinkedIn carousel:
- Login to your LinkedIn account from the desktop site (carousels can only be created and managed from the desktop, not mobile).
- Go to your profile and click “Add profile section” from the top menu bar.
- Select the “Media” tab and choose the “Carousel” option.
- You can now begin uploading your images, videos, PDFs, and links. Add a caption to each.
- Arrange your slides in the desired order. You can upload up to 10.
- Once you have added all your slides and captions, click “Save” to publish your carousel.
You can return to your carousel at any time to make edits, add or remove slides, rearrange the order, or change the captions. Remember, each individual piece of media will need to adhere to LinkedIn’s file size and type restrictions.
Tips for an Effective LinkedIn Carousel
To make the most of your LinkedIn carousel, keep these tips in mind:
- Choose eye-catching visuals with bright colors and crisp images.
- Keep captions short, clear, and compelling. Use them to tell a story.
- Prioritize your strongest work samples and portfolios.
- Use relevant hashtags and @mentions in captions to increase discovery.
- Link out to external websites or gated content to drive traffic.
- Rotate new slides in regularly to give followers fresh content.
- Ensure a cohesive look, feel, theme across the slides.
- Minimize slides with dense text – visuals should take focus.
- Utilize the carousel analytics to see which slides perform best.
- Mobile optimize images for crisp display on all devices.
Ideal Use Cases for LinkedIn Carousels
LinkedIn carousels are versatile and can highlight a wide range of content. Some of the most popular use cases include:
- Company milestones – Commemorate major events, product launches, office openings, etc. with a timeline carousel.
- Conference recap – Share highlights from an industry conference, using slides of speakers, booths, and sessions.
- eBooks / whitepapers – Promote your latest published guides by featuring the cover art and link to download.
- Case studies – Walk through your most impressive client success stories with project images and summaries.
- Portfolio projects – Showcase your work with website screenshots, product photos, app demo videos and more.
- Thought leadership – Display slides from recent presentations and link to view the full deck.
- Company culture – Give a look into company life with fun shots from team events, offsites, and milestones.
- Certifications – Share badges and images from newly earned certifications in your field.
These are just some examples of leveraging LinkedIn’s carousel feature to highlight your brand, work, products, culture and more in an engaging visual format.
Alternatives for LinkedIn Users Without Carousel Access
If you don’t have a premium LinkedIn account, there are a couple alternative options to mimic some of the carousel functionality:
- Showcase Pages – With a free account you can create a Company Page or Showcase Page. These include sections for an image gallery where you can add visual content.
- Articles – When writing longform posts on LinkedIn, you can break up the text with relevant images, videos, presentations and more.
- Link multimedia in your profile summary – Although not as robust, you can describe work samples in your summary and hyperlink out to them.
However, these options don’t provide the same seamless scrolling showcase or visual prominence that true LinkedIn carousels offer. But they can still help display media to your connections in some capacity.
Conclusion
LinkedIn carousels provide a dynamic way to showcase visual content directly within your LinkedIn profile. However, they are considered an exclusive premium feature. To leverage LinkedIn carousels, you must have a paid Business Plus, Sales Navigator Pro, Recruiter, or Job Seeker account with 50+ connections and public profile visibility.
Carousels let you display up to 10 visual slides that automatically rotate through, catching the eye and engaging visitors to your profile. Used strategically, they enable you to highlight company culture, portfolio projects, thought leadership content, certifications, case studies, conference recaps, and much more.
So while any LinkedIn user can view carousels, creating them is currently limited to members with premium access who meet LinkedIn’s eligibility rules. But alternatives like Showcase Pages and article image galleries can provide some visual content options for free accounts as well.
Can I create a LinkedIn carousel on mobile?
No, LinkedIn carousels can only be created and managed from the LinkedIn desktop site, not the mobile app. However, carousels are designed to display responsively across devices.
Do carousels work on the LinkedIn mobile app?
Yes, carousels created on desktop are fully visible and function normally in LinkedIn’s iOS and Android apps. The slides auto-rotate and are easily viewed on mobile.
Can I see who viewed my LinkedIn carousel?
LinkedIn Analytics provide insights into total carousel impressions and views for each individual slide. However, you cannot see the specific identities of who viewed your carousel.
How often should I update my LinkedIn carousel?
It’s best to refresh your carousel every few months by adding new slides, switching up the content, and removing outdated slides. Keep things fresh and engaging for visitors.
Can I create a carousel on LinkedIn without paying?
Unfortunately no. A premium Business Plus, Sales Navigator Pro, Recruiter, or Job Seeker paid account is required for LinkedIn carousel access.