Being able to preview your LinkedIn posts before publishing them live can be extremely useful. A preview allows you to catch any errors, finesse the wording, and ensure the post looks exactly as intended – all before your network ever sees it. So how can you preview LinkedIn posts before posting them?
Using LinkedIn’s Preview Feature
The good news is that LinkedIn does have a built-in post preview feature. When you are drafting a new post in the LinkedIn post editor, there is a “Preview” button at the bottom of the screen. Clicking this will open a pop-up window showing you exactly how your unfinished post will look once published.
Things to note about LinkedIn’s preview:
- It is dynamic – as you continue editing, you can click the preview again to see your newest changes
- You can preview text, images, links, hashtags, etc. to see how they will appear
- The preview reflects your current privacy setting (public, connections only, etc.)
- You cannot preview natively uploaded videos
- You cannot preview posts scheduled for the future
Overall, LinkedIn’s preview feature lets you quickly check your work and make iterative improvements to the post before sharing it. It’s a handy tool all LinkedIn users should take advantage of.
Previewing Outside of LinkedIn
In some cases, you may want to preview a LinkedIn post outside of LinkedIn itself. Reasons could include:
- Ability to save and re-use post drafts externally
- More versatility in editing post drafts
- Collaborating with others on post drafts
- Structuring posts ahead of time for re-use
There are a few good options for previewing LinkedIn posts externally:
Google Docs
Google Docs can be used to draft LinkedIn posts with proper text formatting. You can see how things like bullet points, links, and line breaks will look. To preview:
- Draft the post in Google Docs
- Go to File > Print > Save as PDF
- View the PDF to preview formatting
Microsoft Word
Similar to Google Docs, Microsoft Word will maintain any text formatting like bold, italic, lists, etc. To preview:
- Draft the post in Word
- Go to File > Print > Print to PDF
- View the PDF to preview formatting
Online Tools
There are also dedicated online post preview tools you can use:
- LinkedIn Text Formatter – Previews text formatting only
- LinkedIn Post Previewer – Previews text, images, links, etc.
These tools essentially show you what your finished LinkedIn post will look like before posting it live.
Best Practices for Previewing
To make the most of LinkedIn’s post preview features, keep these tips in mind:
- Preview early and often – don’t just preview once at the end
- Check on both desktop and mobile to ensure consistency
- Have someone else preview your post to catch issues you may have missed
- Triple check things like links, names, titles, etc. in the preview
- Use the preview to perfect formatting like line and paragraph breaks
Previewing is so quick and easy, there’s really no reason not to do it. A little bit of diligence in previewing your posts can prevent embarrassing mistakes and optimize your LinkedIn content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I preview a scheduled post?
Unfortunately, LinkedIn does not allow you to preview posts that are already scheduled. You can only preview posts that have not yet been shared.
Can I preview on mobile?
Yes, the preview feature works both on LinkedIn’s mobile app and website. Simply tap the preview icon to view your post on mobile before publishing.
Do my connections see the preview?
No, the post preview is only visible to you. Your connections will only see the published post live on your profile or their feed.
What limitations are there?
A few things you cannot preview include: native videos, images/docs uploaded from computer, @mentions, post analytics, viewing as other members, and viewing on company pages.
Can I collaborate on previews?
LinkedIn doesn’t allow collaborative editing. But you can use external tools like Google Docs to work on previews together.
Conclusion
Previewing LinkedIn posts is a simple way to improve the quality and effectiveness of your content. By previewing, you can refine your posts to make sure they are error-free and optimized for your audience. The next time you share an update, remember to click that “Preview” button first!
Preview Option | Platform | Text Format | Images/Video | Links | Collaborate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
LinkedIn Native Preview | LinkedIn website and app | Yes | Images only | Yes | No |
Google Docs | Google Docs | Yes | No | Links only | Yes |
Microsoft Word | Microsoft Word | Yes | No | Links only | Yes |
Online Preview Tools | Websites | Most | Most | Most | No |