Uploading your Power BI dashboard to LinkedIn can be a great way to showcase your data visualization and analytics skills to your professional network. However, LinkedIn doesn’t have built-in support for uploading Power BI dashboards. In this article, we’ll walk through a few different options for sharing your Power BI dashboards on LinkedIn.
Post a screenshot
The easiest way to showcase your Power BI dashboard on LinkedIn is to save a screenshot of it and post the image. Here are the steps:
- With your dashboard open in Power BI, click on the Download icon (downward arrow) and select “Save as image”. Save the screenshot on your computer.
- Go to LinkedIn and create a new post. Click on “Add an image” and upload your dashboard screenshot.
- In the text of your post, explain what the dashboard shows and highlight key visualizations. Link to the original Power BI dashboard if it’s publicly accessible.
- Write an engaging caption and description to provide context for the image. For example: “Check out the sales dashboard I built in Power BI! It tracks our revenue by product and region over time. Let me know if you have any questions about the visualizations.”
Posting a screenshot lets you quickly showcase your work without any integrations. However, viewers won’t be able to interact with the dashboard or see any animations or transitions.
Embed using Power BI Service
If your dashboard is hosted online through the Power BI Service, you can embed it directly into a LinkedIn post for the full interactive experience. Here’s how:
- In Power BI Service, open the dashboard you want to embed. Click on the “Share” button.
- Select “Embed” and then “Embedded code”. Copy the <iframe> code.
- Go to LinkedIn and create a new post. Paste the iframe code into the text editor.
- The embedded dashboard should show up in your post. You can resize it by adjusting the height and width parameters in the <iframe> code.
- Preview your post to test out interactivity. Add a caption and description to provide context.
Embedding your dashboard allows viewers to engage with your visualizations directly within LinkedIn. However, they’ll need a Power BI Pro license to fully interact with filtered views.
Link to a publicly shared dashboard
You can also simply provide a link to a dashboard you’ve shared publicly. Here’s how:
- In Power BI Service, open the dashboard you want to share. Click on “Share” and select “Get link”.
- Copy the link or use the “Email link” option to get a shareable link.
- Go to LinkedIn and create a new post. Paste the link to your dashboard into the post.
- Write an informative caption explaining what viewers will find at the link. For example: “Check out my interactive sales metrics dashboard for Q3. Let me know if you have any questions after exploring it!”
The main advantage of linking to your dashboard is that viewers will be able to access the full interactive version. The downside is some may not want to click through to an external site.
Embed using Snapp
Snapp offers an integration that allows you to embed interactive Power BI dashboards into LinkedIn seamlessly. Here are the steps to use Snapp:
- Install the Snapp add-in for Power BI Desktop from the Microsoft Store.
- With your dashboard open in Desktop, click on the new “Share to Web” button added by Snapp.
- On the Snapp website, copy the embed code for your dashboard.
- Go to LinkedIn and paste the embed code into your new post.
- The dashboard will show up fully interactive without any licensing restrictions.
Snapp makes the embedding process straightforward. It also handles technical challenges like Iframe sandboxing behind the scenes. However, Snapp dashboards can’t be private or restricted – they are publicly accessible.
Considerations when uploading to LinkedIn
Here are some additional things to keep in mind when uploading your Power BI dashboard to LinkedIn:
- Test how your dashboard appears in LinkedIn across device types and sizes. Consider optimizing visuals for smaller screens.
- Check that your data sources are stable and able to handle traffic spikes if the post gets shared widely.
- Remove or anonymize any sensitive data. Never share personal or confidential information.
- If using Snapp, understand that your dashboard will be publicly available on the web to anyone with the link.
- Enable Q&A in Power BI Service if desired so viewers can ask questions about your data.
- Monitor comments and feedback from your network and respond promptly to questions or issues.
Formatting tips
Here are some tips for formatting your LinkedIn post to polish it:
- Write an eye-catching headline and preview text.
- Use an informative, descriptive caption for any embedded dashboard or image.
- Hyperlink key phrases to external sources.
- Include relevant hashtags to help people find your post.
- Mention colleagues who contributed to the dashboard using the @ symbol.
- Use bullet points, numbered lists, and line breaks to make your post more scannable.
- Show your personality! Add emoji, humor, dialogue, or metaphors to make your post approachable.
Getting the most value
To gain the most value from sharing your Power BI dashboard on LinkedIn:
- Join relevant LinkedIn groups related to analytics, Power BI, or your industry. Engage with group members.
- Follow influencers and thought leaders and comment thoughtfully on their posts.
- Promote your post with your network by linking to it from additional channels like Twitter.
- Interact with your post once it’s live by replying to comments and thanking people for sharing it.
- Analyze the post’s performance in your LinkedIn Analytics. Identify opportunities to refine your approach.
- Consider repurposing your dashboard or segments of it into a blog post or video tutorial to further build your brand as an expert.
Alternative platforms
In addition to LinkedIn, here are some other platforms where you can share your Power BI dashboards:
- Microsoft Teams: Embed dashboards in Teams channels to share insights with colleagues.
- SharePoint: Embed dashboards into SharePoint pages to make data available across your organization.
- Website or blog: Embed interactive dashboards into your own website or blog to engage visitors.
- Twitter: Tweet dashboard screenshots along with insightful messaging.
- YouTube: Record videos of yourself walking through key insights from your dashboard.
- GitHub: Share your .pbix dashboard files on GitHub for other analysts to use and learn from.
Conclusion
Sharing your Power BI dashboard on LinkedIn is a great way to raise your profile as a data analytics expert. Carefully consider which sharing method makes sense based on your use case and audience. Invest time crafting an engaging post with a compelling headline, description, and caption. Finally, interact thoughtfully with your network to continue building relationships.