The algorithm giveth and the algorithm taketh away. Such is the cycle of social media. After launching their native carousel post format in July 2022, LinkedIn not too long ago announced their elimination of it lower than a 12 months later.
Why? Apparently due to user feedback that LinkedIn carousels (and hyperlink stickers and profile movies) weren’t hittin’ the mark for content material creators on the platform.
That’s a bit unusual, contemplating LinkedIn carousels get 5 times as many clicks as every other submit format.
Don’t fear: there’s nonetheless a method to make LinkedIn carousel posts. It’s known as the “LinkedIn doc submit” or “PDF submit hack,” and it’s been round so much longer than the precise LinkedIn carousel format.
Right here’s the right way to create LinkedIn carousel doc posts and advertisements that get you observed.
Bonus: Download a free step-by-step guide to combining organic and paid social tactics into a winning LinkedIn strategy.
What’s a LinkedIn carousel?
A LinkedIn carousel is a content format that viewers swipe through to see multiple images or videos within a single post, like a flipbook. Many social platforms, like Instagram and Facebook, have carousel post formats.
LinkedIn carousel post
LinkedIn carousel posts used to look like this:
Supply: Hootsuite on LinkedIn
Since June 2023, you may’t showcase a number of photographs or movies as a carousel like that anymore, however you can make a document-based carousel submit like this:
Supply: Nicholas Petroski on LinkedIn
The one limitation with doc carousels vs. conventional carousel posts is you may’t use video information.
LinkedIn carousel advert
LinkedIn carousel advertisements are nonetheless a sound format. So when you’ll have to create natural carousels with PDFs, go forward and prep these image-based carousel advertisements!
Supply: The Home Depot on LinkedIn
LinkedIn carousel specs
Since precise carousel posts aren’t round anymore, right here’s what you’ll have to create doc carousel posts on LinkedIn:
- A doc file (PDF, PowerPoint, or DOC/DOCX)
- Most 300 pages
- File measurement of lower than 100MB
Moreover, whereas both web page orientation works, we suggest utilizing an A4 or US letter measurement panorama orientation to your doc for higher visibility.
For carousel advertisements, the present specs are:
- JPG, PNG or GIF (static solely) format
- 1:1 side ratio (sq.)
- Minimal measurement of 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Beneath 10 mb per picture
- Minimal 2, most 10 photographs
Do carousel posts do higher on LinkedIn? [Experiment!]
We all know carousel posts outperform almost each submit kind on different platforms, even getting 3 times more engagement than Reels on Instagram. What about on LinkedIn?
Let’s discover out.
To show the speculation that LinkedIn carousels additionally lead the pack in engagement, I did what any good scientist would: I examined it myself.
Since precise LinkedIn carousel posts don’t exist anymore, I attempted this with the PDF doc technique. (Precise steps to create these are within the subsequent part.)
A number of issues to learn about this mini-experiment:
- I created a PDF, a picture submit, and a textual content submit and scheduled them to my LinkedIn profile.
- I used the identical copy for the textual content content material a part of the submit for all three.
- I put the touchdown web page hyperlink within the feedback, as these within the know do, as a result of LinkedIn posts with out hyperlinks get better results.
- I had Hootsuite autoschedule the picture and textual content posts to maximise their attain, utilizing the Best Time to Publish characteristic that analyzes your distinctive viewers and publishes posts once they’re almost certainly to be seen.
Listed below are the posts:
And listed here are the outcomes:
What do these outcomes inform us? Effectively, for one, I’m not very talked-about.
Secondly, that sure, doc carousel posts do appear to do higher on LinkedIn.
Why do LinkedIn carousel posts carry out so a lot better? It could possibly be as a result of their visible nature makes them extra eye-catching in your LinkedIn feed, making it extra doubtless you’ll cease and browse it.
Or, it could possibly be as a result of folks need analysis and information on LinkedIn: 77% of technical users say it’s their favourite kind of content material.
Supply: Statista
Statistics and infographics go collectively like peanut butter and jelly. Ergo, doc carousel posts are the peanut butter to LinkedIn’s jelly.
It’s science.
Easy methods to submit a carousel on LinkedIn
In case you skipped forward, native picture and video carousels on LinkedIn are gone. These are the steps for a nifty workaround: LinkedIn doc posts that seem like carousel posts.
Doc posts have been round on LinkedIn for a number of years and so they operate a lot the identical means a carousel submit used to: a number of frames customers can swipe by.
Right here’s the right way to make them:
1. Click on “Begin a submit”
Register to www.linkedin.com and click on Begin a submit on the prime.
2. Create your LinkedIn carousel submit
Sort in the principle textual content content material such as you would for every other submit. Then click on the three dots icon and the doc icon to connect your PDF, PowerPoint, or .DOC/.DOCX file.
Add your doc, give it a title (which is publicly viewable), and click on Carried out.
You can even create a doc carousel submit from the cell app by tapping Put up, then beneath Extra, select Doc to connect your PDF.
3. Put up it
That’s it! Click on Put up and also you’re achieved.
Right here’s what your carousel doc submit will seem like:
You might additionally go away a remark in your new LinkedIn carousel doc submit with a hyperlink to a touchdown web page the place folks can obtain the PDF, or learn the report, in full.
It’s essential to notice if you add a PDF to LinkedIn, it turns into publicly downloadable. However lots of people don’t know that, and the obtain hyperlink is hidden within the full display view on the prime proper, so it’s unlikely folks will obtain it that means.
That’s why it’s nonetheless efficient to hyperlink folks over to a touchdown web page to aim to seize their e-mail with the intention to obtain the PDF. Get these leads, bebe.
Easy methods to create a carousel advert on LinkedIn
Curiously, LinkedIn has stored the picture carousel submit format for paid advertisements. Right here’s what they seem like:
Supply: Motto on LinkedIn
First off, you want a LinkedIn Firm Web page with the intention to run advertisements. Setting yours up from scratch? Optimize your Company Page for discovery and engagement first.
After getting a Firm Web page, right here’s the right way to create a carousel advert:
1. Create a brand new marketing campaign
Log in to www.linkedin.com and head to Campaign Manager. Click on Create, then Marketing campaign.
2. Enter superior mode
You possibly can solely create carousel advert codecs in “superior mode” so click on on Superior on the prime to change over. It should ask you to create a brand new advert group.
3. Select an goal
Give your advert group a reputation and select your goal. I selected “web site visits” since I need folks to click on a hyperlink.
4. Set your price range
Like on different platforms, you may set both a lifetime or each day price range. You possibly can have the system optimize your advert spend, which is a good suggestion for many LinkedIn customers, or you may set handbook bids (really helpful for tremendous superior professionals solely!).
Fill out the price range and your date vary and click on Subsequent.
5. Select your target market
You may get tremendous particular with viewers concentrating on in superior mode, together with importing your personal customized viewers. LinkedIn additionally has inbuilt audiences based mostly round sure profile attributes, like customers who’ve a minimum of a Bachelor’s diploma or work in particular fields.
For instance, I selected advertising and marketing professionals.
Clearly, your geographic and demographic concentrating on will likely be distinctive to your wants.
6. Select the carousel format
Now we’re on the good half: the precise carousel creation. Select the carousel advert format:
The final (non-obligatory) setup process is defining your conversions for correct marketing campaign monitoring. Once more, these are particular to your marketing campaign, so test LinkedIn’s assist part for how to set up conversions precisely the best way you want them.
Then, click on Subsequent.
7. Create the carousel advert
Click on Create new advert. Add a reputation to your advert (to your personal monitoring functions), and the precise advert copy and hyperlink URL.
After that, you may add as much as 10 picture playing cards. Every one can hyperlink to a distinct URL, or have all of them hyperlink to the identical place. It is advisable to add a brief headline (max 45 characters) for every card.
8. Save and activate your marketing campaign
When you’re achieved creating your carousel advert, click on Save on the backside so as to add it to your marketing campaign.
Repeat the method to create further carousel advertisements inside that group, or go forward and activate your marketing campaign from Marketing campaign Supervisor to begin working your advert(s).
Need some super-specific tricks to maximize conversions? Try our carousel ads guide.
10 LinkedIn carousel examples
1. Begin with a daring colour
This carousel catches your eye immediately with its daring background colour on the primary slide.
Supply: Dan Nelkin on LinkedIn
Steal this: Pair a vibrant colour together with a catchy headline to get consideration, then ship worth in your remaining slides.
2. Educate your viewers
Folks need information, stats, and to study one thing new from LinkedIn. Adobe is aware of this, and incessantly affords related recommendation for his or her artistic skilled viewers.
Supply: Adobe on LinkedIn
Steal this: Use doc carousel posts to show folks a ability, or talk new details about your business.
3. Showcase your organization tradition and values
Carousel posts don’t at all times should be instructional or have fancy infographics. Share images from a latest neighborhood or workplace occasion and speak about values that matter.
Supply: Hootsuite on LinkedIn
Steal this: Put collectively a photograph slideshow of a latest occasion you sponsored or simply share images from across the workplace. Let clients and potential workers see what your organization is all about.
4. Use a contrarian headline
Brandwatch’s headline caught my consideration as a result of it’s completely different from what we usually see, pushing suggestions which might be new, distinctive, wonderful, confirmed, and many others. As an alternative, their headline guarantees “unoriginal suggestions that work.” Sincere and descriptive.
Supply: Brandwatch on LinkedIn
Steal this: Sure, catchy headlines can get clicks, however don’t overthink it. Typically one of the best headlines are probably the most trustworthy, or probably the most… unoriginal.
5. Share a tutorial
Canva is aware of their product has a ton of options, so sharing tutorials as carousels helps shortly train customers one thing new and preserve folks utilizing their product.
Supply: Canva on LinkedIn
Steal this: Any firm can create step-by-step tutorial carousels, however it’s particularly becoming for software program corporations or consultants and coaches. It’s additionally an ideal method to repurpose movies or weblog posts into LinkedIn carousels.
6. Promote an occasion
Since LinkedIn carousel posts get so many extra clicks and far more engagement than different codecs, they’re nice for selling occasions. Google makes use of a doc carousel submit right here to advertise their free webinar.
Supply: YouTube on LinkedIn
Steal this: Create a number of slides itemizing the time, date, and site of your occasion (or the URL to enroll in a web-based occasion). For a bit extra element, get away a number of key factors folks can count on to study, or advantages of attending.
7. Help a brand new product launch
LinkedIn in all probability isn’t your primary gross sales channel for e-commerce or B2C merchandise, however it’s nonetheless an excellent place to speak about your latest stuff, both to draw potential job seekers, or for total model consciousness.
Supply: Anker on LinkedIn
Steal this: Break down the important thing options of your newest product for a doc carousel submit. Tailor the copy of your submit to the extra B2B-focused viewers of LinkedIn, relatively than a “purchase this now” name to motion.
8. Share analysis
Folks need information. Give folks information.
Supply: Pew Research on LinkedIn
Steal this: Flip your newest survey or report right into a doc carousel submit. As a bonus, get folks in your e-mail record by linking to a touchdown web page to obtain the total report.
9. Quote an interview
Who higher to rock a LinkedIn carousel than LinkedIn? This one options recommendation taken from one other LinkedIn submit, repurposed as a carousel. So meta (however not Meta)!
Supply: LinkedIn on LinkedIn (LoL)
Steal this: Repurpose a podcast episode or YouTube video into LinkedIn carousel slides. Or, take an current interview from elsewhere and create a carousel along with your key takeaways. Simply make sure to ask permission first from the copyright proprietor earlier than sharing a submit with their content material in it.
10. Create a mini-portfolio
Sherwin-Williams makes wonderful use of the doc carousel format as a venture portfolio in a nutshell — particularly helpful for service suppliers.
Supply: Sherwin-Williams on LinkedIn
Steal this: Put as much as 10 of your finest images for a latest venture, together with a abstract of the important thing challenges and massive wins within the submit content material, and increase, you have got a tiny however mighty portfolio to showcase your work. You might additionally create slides of previous shopper testimonials if you happen to don’t have any images. Be certain that to incorporate your web site hyperlink for prospects to study extra and e-book you.
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