What is the best format for LinkedIn carousel post?

LinkedIn carousel posts allow you to showcase multiple pieces of content in a single post. This makes them an effective way to provide value to your audience while keeping their attention. When creating a carousel post, the most important thing is choosing the right format and content to optimize engagement.

What types of content work best in carousel posts?

Here are some of the most effective types of content to include in LinkedIn carousel posts:

• Infographics – Visual data presentations are highly engaging on LinkedIn. Infographics are a great way to present statistics, trends, comparisons, etc.
• Lists/Tips – Numbered lists and tip posts are very popular. They provide value to your audience in a skimmable format.
• Quotes – Inspiring or thought-provoking quotes make for great LinkedIn posts. You can pair them with relevant images.
• Videos – Behind-the-scenes, educational, or promotional videos often get high engagement on LinkedIn.
• Blog post summaries – Use 2-3 slides to share key stats, images, or quotes from recent blog content.

The key is to choose content types that provide value, insight, education, or inspiration to your target audience. Variety is great – you can mix and match different formats within one carousel.

How many slides should you include?

The ideal number of slides to include is 3-5. Here’s why:

• 1-2 slides is not enough to tell a cohesive story or provide enough value.
• 6+ slides result in lower engagement rates. Too many slides can overwhelm users.
• 3-5 slides is the “sweet spot” that keeps the audience interested while not overloading them.

Of course, this can vary depending on the type of content you’re sharing. But in most cases, 3-5 slides leads to optimal engagement and completion rates.

What image sizes work best?

The recommended image sizes for LinkedIn carousel posts are:

These sizes ensure your images are high-quality and prominent in the LinkedIn feed. Landscape dimensions work very well for infographics and visuals with wide shapes. Square images give you flexibility – they will fill the slide nicely regardless of device or orientation. Portrait sizes optimize vertical images like headshots.

How long should the caption be?

We recommend the following caption lengths for each slide:

• Infographics: No more than 2 sentences or 30-40 words
• Images: 1-2 sentences or 20-30 words
• Quotes: Can be longer, 60-150 words
• Videos: 2-3 sentences, focus on enticing people to watch the video.

Why keep the captions short? Attention spans are limited on LinkedIn, so you want to provide just enough context to pique interest and get people clicking through.

The exception is inspirational quotes – these will be read in their entirety, so you can create longer captions to provide framing and attribution.

Should you use hashtags?

Here are some best practices for using hashtags on LinkedIn carousel posts:

• Include 1-2 relevant hashtags per post. Avoid keyword stuffing with excessive tags.
• Place hashtags at the end of your caption to keep it looking clean.
• Use branded hashtags like #XYZCompany to increase discoverability.
• Leverage trending hashtags when appropriate to tap into larger conversations.
• Monitor performance to identify which hashtags drive the most engagement.

The right hashtags can help the right people find your content on LinkedIn. Monitor analytics to see which perform best, and adjust your hashtags accordingly.

Should you include a call-to-action?

Calls-to-action are highly recommended for LinkedIn carousel posts. Here are some ways to add them:

• Dedicate the final slide to a CTA like “Download our whitepaper now”.
• Use the first slide caption to entice engagement: “Take our quiz in the comments”.
• Add a clear CTA in the main caption: “Click the link below to join our webinar.”

CTAs give people a specific way to engage with your post. This turns passive viewers into active leads and helps convert your content into measurable results.

What’s the best way to create LinkedIn carousels?

Here are some tips to create eye-catching, impactful LinkedIn carousels:

• Use LinkedIn’s built-in carousel post composer to quickly build slides.
• Design the slides in Canva for a more polished, branded look.
• Maintain visual consistency across slides with colors, fonts, etc.
• Balance text and negative space – don’t overcrowd the slides.
• Preview the post in mobile to ensure it looks good on all devices.
• Test different CTAs, captions, images to optimize engagement.

Taking the time to thoughtfully compose your carousel will pay off in higher views, shares, and clicks. Follow these tips to create an engaging post.

Conclusion

To recap, here are the best practices for LinkedIn carousel posts:

• Include 3-5 slides with a mix of content types like infographics, quotes, etc.
• Use landscape, square, and portrait image sizes for optimal quality.
• Write succinct 1-2 sentence captions under 40 words.
• Add 1-2 relevant hashtags to improve discoverability.
• Incorporate a clear call-to-action to drive engagement.
• Maintain visual consistency and balanced design.

Following these tips will set you up for maximum views, shares, and engagement on your LinkedIn carousels. Test different formats and analyze the data to continuously optimize your posts over time.