Do you prefer reading long texts or short sentences with images? The context here matters, so imagine choosing one of the above options for a platform like LinkedIn.

LinkedIn carousels have been trending for their scroll-stopping and high-engagement nature. They fall under the category of “short sentences with images,” making them simple to understand and visually appealing.

Online platforms offer a sea of information. When you see a big lump of text, it might feel overwhelming, causing you to scroll past it. Short sentences paired with appealing visuals, however, tend to catch your attention. If you still cannot relate, try a tiny experiment on yourself. Next time you're on LinkedIn, pay attention to what makes you stop scrolling to read a particular piece of content.

What is a LinkedIn Carousel Post?

LinkedIn Carousel posts are a game-changing content format that grabs attention with its interactive, swipeable design, available on mobile and desktop. Imagine flipping through a digital flipbook with vibrant images, videos, and compelling visuals. This format lets you showcase more information in a single post, playing with backgrounds, layouts, and fonts to craft your unique brand identity.

What makes LinkedIn Carousels truly powerful is their practicality: viewers can download them directly. This makes them perfect for sharing valuable step-by-step guides that your audience will want to save and refer back to. This carousel trend is not only used in LinkedIn but is also popular across platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

Do LinkedIn Carousel Posts Outperform Other Formats?

Let’s check out some experiments to see if LinkedIn Carousels are the real thing. We took the results from two different experiments that were performed by Hootsuite and Buffer. 

In the experiment by Hootsuite, they compared carousel posts with image posts and text posts and used the same copy for the text content part, for all three formats. According to their results, carousel posts outperformed in terms of gaining impressions. Here’s their table of results:

In this experiment, carousels take the win. Let’s see what Buffer found in theirs. 

They conducted an experiment to see how they stack up against traditional text and image posts. For one week, they only posted carousel posts to determine if they could deliver superior results.

The week before this experiment, the content strategy centered on text posts. While these garnered a decent amount of engagement, the results were underwhelming compared to the week dedicated to carousels. Here’s a quick look at the numbers:

March 11-17 (Primarily Text Posts):

• Total Impressions: 5,033
• Total Engagements: 110

March 18-23 (Only Carousel Posts):

• Total Impressions: 14,001
• Total Engagements: 381

The results were clear: carousel posts not only tripled the impressions but also more than tripled the engagements. According to the experimenter, the quality of interactions also soared, with more shares, comments, and meaningful discussions around carousel posts compared to text and image posts.

We have a clear winner! Carousel posts are a great format for LinkedIn that everybody should try out at least once. So, lets quickly learn how to create and post a carousel on LinkedIn. 

How to Create a Carousel?

Here’s how to create an engaging carousel for LinkedIn:

1. Design with Canva (or Your Preferred Tool)some text
   • Canvas Size: Start with a square canvas (1080x1080 px) for clear and sharp visuals.
   • First Slide (Title): This is the most important slide. Use bright colors, eye-catching graphics, and concise text to grab attention. Add an arrow to guide viewers to swipe through. Include your LinkedIn profile picture or company logo to protect your content.
2. Middle Slidessome text
   • Content: Use 6 to 12 slides to keep it informative but not overwhelming.
   • Format: You can number your slides if you would like. Keep all your information brief and to the point. Use graphics that complement the content.
3. Final Slidesome text
   • Call to Action: Instruct users on what to do next.
   • Identity: Include a larger photo of yourself or your company logo to reinforce your identity.

You can also use templates to make your work easy and efficient. Many carousel templates are available online, or you can even choose your own design on Canva. Don’t forget to keep the templates aligned with your brand!

Posting on LinkedIn

1. Use the document feature when creating a post.
2. Upload the PDF of your carousel.
3. Provide a document title within the 58-character limit.
4. Add a compelling caption and relevant hashtags.
5. Schedule the post for the best time to reach your audience.

Top 5 Ways to Grab Attention On Your Next LinkedIn Carousel

These 5 hacks can take your LinkedIn profile a long way, so take some notes. P.S. The last hack is the golden hack which will help you with most of the other pointers mentioned below.

1. Capture Attention with Stunning Visuals

They say “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, but in the realm of carousels, this saying would not persist. Sure there are carousels with premium information, but if it does not catch a viewer’s eye, it will never be read. To avoid this mishap, keep these tips in mind:

• Don’t just add some random stock photo. Your visuals should enhance and elevate your message meaningfully.
• Ensure your images are sharp and clear. There are many premium image online libraries like Pexels or create custom graphics with tools like Canva.
• The great thing about carousels is that you can design images that flow seamlessly from one page to the next, making the carousel look like a cohesive, creative document. See the image below! Try that and make your readers enjoy scrolling through your post.

• Be brand-consistent. Use a cohesive visual style across your posts to strengthen your brand identity.

2. Hook Your Audience with a Powerful Opening

The opening lines of your post are your chance to hook readers and keep them interested. Use these strategies to make a strong first impression:

• Ask a Provocative Question: “Ever wondered why your productivity seems to hit a wall every afternoon? What if the answer lies in how you manage your time?”
• Follow LinkedIn influencers are see what types of hook they use that gets them engagement. For example, one famous personality on LinkedIn, Joe Gannon, posted a superb carousel showing 50 posts hook to make your LinkedIn copywriting more effective. To give you an idea, the top 5 hooks in his post were:some text
  • I read ___ so you don’t have to. Here’s what I learned. 
  • Here’s how I ___ and you can too:
  • Why ___ isn’t working anymore:
  • Unpopular opinion: ___
  • Here’s why you are wrong about ___:
• Be controversial: Through this you will invite discussions in your comment section and catch people’s attention. Like in the above example, the hook line “Unpopular opinion: ___” could be a great start.
• Tell a Relatable Personal Story: “I’ll never forget the day I learned to juggle work and study. The strategy that saved my sanity might surprise you…”. Another famous personality on LinkedIn, Nathan Baugh, made an insightful post on how to master storytelling. You can use his knowledge to your advantage.
• Share a Surprising Statistic: “Did you know that 60% of people don’t get enough sleep each night? Here’s how improving your sleep can boost your overall performance…”
• Paint a Familiar Picture: “Imagine you’ve just started a new fitness routine and are struggling to stay motivated. What’s the secret to making it stick?”
• Highlight a Common Challenge: “Staying organized can feel impossible when your to-do list seems endless. Here’s how you can regain control and boost your efficiency…”
• Drop a Memorable Quote: “As Steve Jobs famously said, ‘The only way to do great work is to love what you do.’ Let’s explore how passion can transform your daily grind.”

3. Break Content into Easily Scannable Sections

This is one of the most important characteristics to keep in mind. Carousels work well because they segregate information into bite-sized content that does not feel overwhelming or tiresome to read. If you make your carousels crowded with information, then it will not be any different from a written post! Here are some ways you can keep your content easily scannable:

• Q&A Format: Start with a frequently asked question, then provide a detailed answer to draw readers in. You could keep 1 to 2 questions per page on a carousel. 
• Boxed Tips: Highlight crucial advice or actionable steps in distinct, visually appealing boxes. This adds structure to your content
• Subheadings: Use descriptive subheadings to segment your content into key areas, such as “Crafting Impactful Headlines” or “Designing Engaging Visuals.”
• Numbered/Bulleted Lists: Organize information with lists like “5 Essential Strategies for Better Time Management.”
• Quotations: Feature memorable quotes or significant insights in stand-alone, centered text to emphasize key points.

4. Genuinely Assist Your Audience

Posting self-promotional content might catch eyes momentarily, but it won't make you a trusted industry leader. To truly stand out and become the go-to expert your audience relies on, focus on creating valuable, helpful content consistently. Here are some engaging ways to do that:

• Curated Content: Offer links to valuable resources along with your insightful commentary.
• Case Studies: Showcase real-life problem-solving examples that your readers can replicate.
• Product Reviews: Provide honest, unbiased reviews of tools and products you've tried.
• Q&A Sessions: Answer common questions in a detailed, informative manner.
• How-To Guides: Share step-by-step tutorials that teach new skills from start to finish.
• Industry Reports: Deliver data-driven insights and analysis that your audience craves.
• Listicles: Create compelling lists like “10 Must-Have Chrome Extensions for Busy Marketers.”

Make it your mission to genuinely add value with every post. Over time, you'll earn the reputation of a trusted advisor and industry authority.

5. Let an AI predict how much attention your carousel will get before going live

All of the above tips are easier said than done. One way to be sure that your carousel is attracting attention and that people don’t scroll through it is by leveraging artificial intelligence! Yes, there is an AI called expoze.io that predicts how much attention your creative will get even before it goes live! 

You can use a heatmap to see which parts of each page in your carousel are getting the most attention. The warm colors like red show where people are looking the most. For example in the image below, the heatmap on one of the pages of the carousel shows that the entire text is getting the most attention, which is great! This means your page is not too cluttered, and the message you are trying to convey is getting noticed! 

If you want to focus on a specific part, like the opening hook on the first page, you can use the "area of interest" (AOI) setting. This will give you a percentage showing how much attention that part is getting, helping you decide if you need to make any changes. For example, in the image below, the AOI setting was cleverly used to figure out how much attention would the carousel get taking all the distractors in perspective. The percentage of attention that it gave was 28.1%. This yields good insight as it tells us that our creative is doing well in getting noticed, but of course, you can try making some changes to see if you could increase the predictive attention percentage.

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Pro tip: You can improve your first carousel image by editing it on a LinkedIn homepage to see how it stands out among other distractions, as shown in the above example. Tools like Canva can help you do this easily. If you’re serious about getting noticed on LinkedIn, try A/B testing your carousel with other high-engagement carousels to see what works best.

In short, upload your carousel pages to expoze.io to see if they’ll grab attention on LinkedIn. Make changes based on the results, and you’ll be ready to rock your posts!

Conclusion

Now that we know how great LinkedIn carousels perform, how to create them, and some insider tips to make them the best, you are all set to be the carousel king or queen! Experiment on your LinkedIn with such posts and see what a big difference it makes in your outreach! Happy posting!