When creating a post on LinkedIn, it can be very useful to test it out first before publicly sharing it with your network. LinkedIn provides a couple different options that allow you to preview your posts before publishing them for all to see.
Why Test LinkedIn Posts Before Posting
Here are some of the key reasons you may want to test out your LinkedIn posts before posting them publicly:
- Catch typos, grammar issues, or other errors – Proofreading your own writing is hard. Testing your post first allows you or others to catch any mistakes before your network sees them.
- Check formatting – LinkedIn’s text editor can sometimes format things differently than you might expect. Testing first lets you make sure headings, lists, and other formatting look the way you want.
- Get feedback from others – Letting colleagues, managers, or even a test audience preview your post first enables you to get feedback and improve the content before posting.
- Verify it’s compelling & relevant – Use the preview to make sure your post will pique your audience’s interest and is relevant to them.
- Avoid posting something you regret – We’ve all hastily posted something online we later regret. Testing allows you to pause and double check your content before formally sharing.
Taking the extra step to preview LinkedIn posts helps ensure your content looks polished, professional, and tailored for your audience when you share it wider.
How to Preview Your LinkedIn Post Before Posting
LinkedIn provides a couple straightforward ways to test out your post before it goes live. Here are instructions on how to preview a LinkedIn post both on desktop and mobile:
Preview LinkedIn Post on Desktop
- Draft your post in LinkedIn’s text editor as you normally would.
- Click the “Preview” icon in the bottom right corner (it looks like an eye).
- A preview window will pop up showing what your post will look like.
- Scroll through your post and review the content, formatting, images, etc.
- Close the preview window when finished reviewing.
- If desired, make any edits to your post based on the preview.
- When ready, click “Post” to share your content publicly.
Preview LinkedIn Post on Mobile
- Tap the “Write a post” button from LinkedIn’s homepage.
- Draft your post in the mobile editor as you normally would.
- Tap the eye icon in the bottom left corner to launch the preview.
- Swipe through your post and review the content, formatting, images, etc.
- Close the preview when done by tapping the “X” in the top left.
- Make any desired edits to your post based on the preview.
- Finally, tap “Post” when ready to publish your content.
As you can see, it only takes a couple quick taps to preview a post on both desktop and mobile before sharing it wider on LinkedIn.
Other Ways to Get Feedback Before Posting
In addition to LinkedIn’s built-in post preview, there are a couple other options to get feedback on your content before posting:
Copy text into a Word doc
You can copy and paste your text into a Word doc to see how it looks formatted off of LinkedIn. This also allows others to review the doc and provide feedback easily.
Send a screenshot to colleagues
Take a screenshot of the LinkedIn post preview and text or email it to trusted colleagues. Ask them to review the content and provide constructive feedback.
Post in a LinkedIn Group first
Post your content initially in a relevant LinkedIn Group to get feedback from a smaller audience before sharing to your entire network.
Use third-party Social Media Tools
Tools like Buffer and Hootsuite allow you to schedule LinkedIn posts in advance. Their post composers mimic LinkedIn’s formatting so you can preview before scheduling the post to go live.
Key Things to Check in Your LinkedIn Post Preview
When reviewing your post preview, here are some of the most important things to check before hitting post:
- Spelling and grammar – Catch typos that spell check missed.
- Formatting – Make sure headings, lists, paragraphs, etc. are styled properly.
- Links – Test that hyperlinks work correctly.
- Images – Confirm images appear crisp and are sized appropriately.
- Hashtags – Ensure hashtags you’re using make sense in context.
- Length – Check that your post length is appropriate and scannable.
- Message – Verify the key messages come across clearly.
- Call-to-Action – If included, test that your CTA stands out.
Conclusion
Previewing LinkedIn posts is a simple way to improve the quality of your content. Take advantage of LinkedIn’s built-in post preview feature or employ other feedback tactics before formally publishing your posts. The small time investment is worth preventing mistakes and creating stellar content that properly represents your brand and engages your audience.