Doing a LinkedIn post with a photo can be a great way to share updates, articles, ideas, and more on LinkedIn in a visual and engaging way. Photos can help your posts stand out in the LinkedIn feed and catch people’s attention.
When posting on LinkedIn, you have the option to include a photo or other visual along with your written content. This allows you to reinforce your message and connect with your audience visually.
In this article, we’ll walk through step-by-step how to create a LinkedIn post that includes both text and a photo. We’ll cover:
- The benefits of using visuals in your LinkedIn posts
- How to upload a photo to your LinkedIn post
- Tips for taking and selecting strong photos for LinkedIn
- Writing compelling text to pair with your photo
- Formatting options for paired photo and text posts on LinkedIn
- Steps to publish your post
Following these tips can help you create eye-catching and effective LinkedIn posts with photos. Let’s get started!
Benefits of Using Visuals in Your LinkedIn Posts
Before we get into the specifics of how to post a photo on LinkedIn, let’s look at why you should consider incorporating visuals into your LinkedIn content in the first place.
Here are some of the benefits of using photos or other visual elements in your LinkedIn posts:
- Increased engagement – Posts with photos tend to get more likes and comments than text-only posts. Visuals help catch people’s attention and draw them in.
- Enhanced storytelling – Photos allow you to show rather than just tell your story or idea. Visuals make concepts more memorable.
- Showcases your product or services – For businesses, product photos or images of services being delivered add a tangible element to your updates.
- Makes your posts more scannable – On busy social feeds, visuals allow readers to quickly grasp your key message.
- Adds personality – Photos provide a glimpse into company culture or convey your personal brand as an individual.
The right visuals paired with compelling text can help you use LinkedIn posts to engage your target audience and advance your goals, whether they are branding, lead generation, or recruitment.
Uploading a Photo to Your LinkedIn Post
When creating a post on LinkedIn that you want to include a photo with, the first step is uploading your chosen image. Here is how to upload a photo to a LinkedIn post:
- Draft your LinkedIn post as you normally would, clicking the “Start a post” button on your homepage.
- Click the photo icon in the toolbar at the top of the post window. It looks like a small landscape scene.
- In the window that opens, select “Upload photo or video” and choose your file from your computer.
- You can upload a photo from your computer, phone, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. LinkedIn supports common image formats like .JPG, .GIF, and .PNG.
- Crop or edit the photo as needed.
- Click “Done” when you have selected and adjusted the image.
Your photo will now be added to the post canvas, where you can move it around and position it as you create your post.
Uploading the visual first gives you flexibility in crafting your post around the image. Now let’s look at tips for selecting a strong photo to upload.
Tips for Selecting Strong LinkedIn Post Photos
Not all photos are created equal when it comes to engaging your LinkedIn audience. Follow these tips for picking visuals that will maximize views and shares:
- Choose high-quality images – Make sure your photo is high-resolution and not blurry or pixelated. Poor image quality reflects poorly.
- Limit text overlays – Avoid images with too much text, which is hard to read. Use the text of your actual post to communicate key information.
- Select relevant, purposeful visuals – Generic stock photos don’t make much impact. Choose images clearly related to your post topic.
- Use natural expressions and moments – For business photos, capture genuine interactions rather than posed portraits.
- Consider eye-catching compositions – Unique perspectives grab attention. Play with foreground/background and close crops.
- Tap into the power of narrative – Show a story unfolding via a progression of images.
- Balance image and text – Don’t let visuals dominate completely. Leave room for sufficient text to convey details.
Spend time specifically selecting and editing your visuals for maximum effect alongside your words. Avoid just grabbing any random photo and uploading it without thought. A carefully chosen image tailored to your goals makes all the difference.
Writing Compelling Text to Pair with Your Photo
For a LinkedIn post with photo to be most effective, you need compelling text to go along with your visual. Here are tips for writing text that complements rather than competes with your imagery:
- Write from the image’s perspective – Let the visual inspire your messaging.
- Start text with the image hook – Begin your post by setting up or introducing the photo.
- Provide context for the image – Share insights, stats, or background that gives the photo meaning.
- Tell the image’s story – Use storytelling principles to bring the moment captured to life.
- Spotlight visual details – Call out interesting aspects of the photo for readers to notice.
- Align post purpose with image purpose – Ensure your photo topic matches the intention of your post.
- Draft concise text – Avoid lengthy blocks of text that overwhelm the image.
Follow these principles to craft text and choose photos that work cohesively to engage your audience and get your message across.
Formatting Options for Photo + Text Posts
On LinkedIn, you have flexibility in how you position the photo and text together in your post. Here are the formatting options available:
- Top image + bottom text – Place the visual first, then follow with your written content underneath.
- Bottom image + top text – Flip the order and put text first, image second.
- Left image + right text – Position the components side-by-side horizontally.
- Right image + left text – Flip the horizontal positioning.
- Text wrapped – Insert the image within your text content, with words flowing around it.
- Collage – Upload multiple photos and arrange them together creatively.
Experiment to see which format resonates best with your audience and complements your content most effectively for each unique post.
You can also include more than one image. For example, starting with a hook image up top then embedding a few others within your text. There are many possibilities to explore.
Steps to Publish Your Post
Once your photo is uploaded and properly positioned alongside your text, follow these final steps to officially publish your post on LinkedIn:
- Double check your text content for any errors or typos.
- Provide a short but compelling title for the post preview.
- Fill out the “Write an update” field summarizing your post for the feed.
- Add applicable hashtags or @mentions of any individuals, companies, or groups.
- Select your target audience for the post under “Who can see your post?”
- Click the blue “Post” button to publish it and make your photo post go live!
Monitor the post analytics to see how your image and text pairing performs with your audience. Try out different visual styles and formulas in future posts to see what resonates best.
Conclusion
Adding relevant photos to your LinkedIn posts can boost engagement, tell better stories, and breathe new life into your content. With strong images paired strategically with compelling text, you can create high-impact posts that get noticed.
Follow the steps outlined here for uploading eye-catching photos, writing complementary text, formatting the components for maximum effect, and officially publishing your posts. Incorporate visuals thoughtfully as you cultivate relationships and reach goals on LinkedIn.
FAQs
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about posting photos on LinkedIn:
What image file types can I upload?
LinkedIn supports JPG, PNG, and GIF file formats. For best quality, use high resolution JPGs.
What size should my LinkedIn post image be?
LinkedIn recommends upload images that are at least 1200 x 627 pixels. Smaller images may appear pixelated.
Can I edit the photo I’m uploading?
Yes, the image upload tool allows you to crop, rotate, filter, and make other edits before inserting into your post.
Is there a limit on how many photos I can include?
You can upload up to 20 images into a single LinkedIn post. However, 1-3 strong images paired with text often has the most impact.
Can I schedule a post with a photo to publish later?
LinkedIn’s native scheduling tool does not currently support scheduling photo posts. You’ll need to use a third-party tool.
How can I track the performance of my photo posts?
Use LinkedIn’s post analytics to see impressions, reactions, comments, clicks, and shares for each post. Compare results.