The best LinkedIn post format: how and why to create a carousel?

Does the carousel on LinkedIn mean anything to you?

If we talk to you about LinkedIn to create a community and generate leads , do you think of written posts and articles ?

In any case, 89% of B2B players are on LinkedIn. A good format is essential to stand out!

One of these publication formats is the LinkedIn carousel : a succession of images to be scrolled horizontally.

What is a LinkedIn Carousel?

A LinkedIn carousel is a publication format: it ‘s a kind of PowerPoint presentation. Each slide (visual) contains a message.

The number of visuals must be limited so as not to bore the reader: 5 to 6 may be enough. But you can go up to 10 visuals by keeping relevant content.

Why create a carousel on LinkedIn?

A carousel is an interesting format on LinkedIn: it is more interactive than a simple written message, without being as difficult to achieve as a video.

You can play on the cognitive bias of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out, fear of missing an opportunity): with this format, you can easily keep your attention by making you want to watch the next slide.

How do I create a LinkedIn post in carousel format?

To create a carousel on LinkedIn:

1. Create your series of images on PowerPoint, Slide or Canva

2. Export them in PDF format

3. Create a new post and share the PDF

Concretely, on LinkedIn , you must follow the following steps:

1. Create a new post.

2. At the bottom of the post, select the add document option.

3. Select the document to add.

Make a success of your LinkedIn carousel in 3 essential tips

1. Be original in creating your post

To have a real impact and generate results, you need to engage readers : likes, comments, shares…

The first performance lever remains the quality of the post : both its content and its format .

Among the original formats that you can try, we advise you:

• A comic strip

• “The [X] best [thèmes]” with a succession of images (for example “The 8 best restaurant concepts” if you are in the restaurant industry)

• “[X] tips for success [objectif]” with a succession of tips to apply (e.g. “6 tips for successful HR interviews” if you are a recruitment agency)

• An infographic , with a series of illustrated figures

2. Build your LinkedIn carousel like a conversion funnel

Your succession of images must work like a video or a text: you need a hook at the beginning (the title and the first image) and a call-to-action at the end (the last image).

You must apply the AIDA format in the slides of your LinkedIn carousel :

1. Attention

2. Interest

3. Desire

4. Stock

For example, if you work in cybersecurity, your first slide should be an impactful number :

At the end, put your CTA. it can be for example:

• Subscribe to your email list

• Add a comment (to request a more complete file)

• Share post

• Read a more complete dossier online

Depending on your call-to-action, the goal is either to make your post go viral (reach other people) or to keep the hottest leads to convert some of them into customers.

We found a great example: the BonPote account shared a summary of an IPCC climate report .

Right from the start, the “hook” draws attention with a sense of urgency and importance : “ Haven’t you read the IPCC report that came out yesterday yet? ”.

During all the slides, the post brings a lot of added value with interesting and recent information :

At the end, the CTA is simple and clear : read the complete file, and as a bonus, share around you.

Result ?

Over 10,000 reactions and 2,500 shares!

3. Define the objective of your post carousel and automate the rest

There are 2 main objectives for a post (a carousel or another format):

• If you create accessible and surprising content, you will reach a wide audience: your post has every chance of building your notoriety.

• If you create specialized content for your niche , you will reach a smaller audience but made up of more qualified leads.

If we take our example of cyberdefense, the LinkedIn carousel on shocking figures is aimed at a wide audience. To target qualified leads, for example, you would need a carousel on “ the 8 control points of your IT security ”. Here readers are interested in cyber defense solutions.

What tools to create a carousel on LinkedIn?

Google Slide is the easiest solution. For more creativity, use Canva . To create a comic, use dedicated tools like BDnF.

Classic tools: Google Slide and Microsoft PowerPoint

The simplest methods are sometimes the best. On Slide and PowerPoint , you can use graphic charters to use typologies and applied designs:

Tools for creating comics

If you want a comic for your LinkedIn carousel, you can hire a designer or cartoonist. Count between 100 and 800 € for this service.

If you want to create it yourself, you can use free tools like BDnF (the software was created for children, it should be fine) or Comic Life .

Design tools

To create more design images, you can use Canva for free. The templates are of better quality than on PowerPoint, being regularly updated:

In the same category, you will find Crello , a simple and effective design tool.

How to make a LinkedIn carousel with Canva?

To simply succeed your LinkedIn carousel with Canva :

• In templates / social networks, choose the template you like.

• Change the colors with those of your graphic charter.

• Edit the text and images of each slide.

• At the top right, export to PDF.

• Upload the visual to LinkedIn.

What you should NOT do for your LinkedIn carousel

We have shown you the best practices, but we share with you the mistakes not to make :

• Text too small

The carousel format will primarily play on mobile. If your text is at a size dedicated to the desktop, it will be unreadable on a smartphone.

• Resume a template without using its graphic charter

If you use templates without branding them, you’re not going to have the same footprint on your readers.

• Use more than 10 slides

Beyond 10 slides, your content will be too long to be read in full: no one will see your CTA (and you will spend a lot of time creating your content).

• Go into details

Stay synthetic! If the reader wants more information, offer them an article at the end.

How to best use the carousel on LinkedIn?

The carousel is an excellent format: use it above all for notoriety campaigns to target a large audience.

To target more qualified leads, you can offer a more complete file in a contact form.

To be even more specific, you can filter only certain contacts.

Then, you can automatically solicit the people who have interacted with your LinkedIn post (we explain in more detail how to do this in this article ).

Thanks to a lead generation tool like LeadIn , you can automatically approach your leads step by step:

1. Like of their posts

2. View of their profile

3. Connection request

4. Inmails

5. Follow-up messages

What is the format of a LinkedIn carousel?

• The format displayed by LinkedIn will be 1080 x 1080 pixels (max size = 10 MB).

• Formats: JPG, PNG and GIF (but don’t compress too much, it will be unreadable!).

• We advise you to import a square format (you can also use rectangular images for your LinkedIn carousel).

Do you want to generate leads automatically?

LeadIn is not just a tool: we also offer a turnkey offer. We deliver a given number of qualified leads to you every month!

For example, for €290 excluding tax per month, you will have 250 freshly qualified leads to convert.

Check out more details here .