LinkedIn Carousel Posts: How to Create Them and Why They Work

LinkedIn carousels are one of the highest-performing content formats on the platform right now. They get shared, saved, and commented on at rates that text posts rarely match. If you've been scrolling past them thinking "I'd never be able to make one of those" — this guide is going to change that.

Here's what we'll cover: what a LinkedIn carousel actually is, why the algorithm loves them, how to build one from scratch, and the formats that consistently perform best.

What Is a LinkedIn Carousel Post?

A LinkedIn carousel post is a multi-page document — uploaded as a PDF — that users can swipe through directly in their feed. Each "slide" is a separate page of the PDF, and LinkedIn renders it as a card that readers can scroll through without leaving the platform.

They look polished. They feel interactive. And because users actively swipe through them, they generate significantly more dwell time than a static post — which signals quality to the LinkedIn algorithm.

You've probably seen them: the "10 things I wish I knew before I started" post that you swiped all the way through, or the "Here's how I grew my audience" breakdown with one insight per slide. That's the format.

Why LinkedIn Carousels Get More Reach

LinkedIn's algorithm rewards engagement — specifically, interactions that keep people on the platform. Carousels tick every box:

Dwell time: People swipe through multiple slides, spending more time on the post
Saves: Carousels are the most-saved content format on LinkedIn
Comments: The interactive format invites people to respond to specific slides
Shares: A well-made carousel gets shared because it's genuinely useful

The net effect: your carousel is more likely to be pushed to second and third-degree connections than an equivalent text post would be.

There's also a psychological factor. A carousel signals effort. A swipeable, well-designed deck suggests you took time to create something — and people respond to that with more attention and more trust.

What Makes a Good LinkedIn Carousel

Before you open Canva or PowerPoint, understand the fundamentals that separate carousels that get engagement from ones that get ignored.

1. The First Slide Is Everything

Your cover slide is what people see in the feed before they decide to swipe. It needs to do what a great headline does: make a specific promise that creates curiosity or signals value.

Weak: "My thoughts on content marketing" Strong: "I posted every day for 90 days. Here's what actually moved the needle."

The cover slide isn't a title card. It's a hook.

2. One Idea Per Slide

The biggest mistake people make with carousels is cramming too much onto each slide. Each page should contain one clear idea, one stat, one tip, or one step. The constraint is the feature — it forces you to distill your thinking.

If you're writing a sentence that runs past two lines, cut it.

3. The Last Slide Should Drive Action

Every carousel needs a final slide that tells people what to do next. That might be:

Follow you for more content like this
Comment with their own take
Download a resource
Visit a specific link

Don't leave people at the end of your carousel with nowhere to go.

4. Visual Consistency

You don't need to be a designer. But your slides should look like they belong together — consistent fonts, consistent colours, consistent layout. If each slide looks like it came from a different template, the deck feels amateur even if the content is solid.

How to Create a LinkedIn Carousel Post: Step by Step

Step 1: Choose Your Format

Pick from these proven carousel structures before you start:

The List Post "7 cold email mistakes that kill your reply rate" One mistake per slide, with a short explanation. Simple to produce, consistently popular.

The Before/After or Transformation "Here's what my LinkedIn profile looked like 2 years ago vs. now — and what changed" Shows a process or evolution. Works well with screenshots or comparisons.

The Framework "The 3-step framework I use to write posts that get 10k+ impressions" Name your framework, walk through each step. Positions you as an expert.

The Breakdown / Teardown "I analysed 50 viral LinkedIn posts. Here's what they had in common." Data-driven, authoritative. Heavy on insight density.

The Story Arc "I almost quit LinkedIn 6 months ago. Here's what happened." Narrative across slides, emotional engagement. Each slide advances the story.

Step 2: Write the Content First

Don't touch the design until you've written every slide. Map out:

Slide 1: Hook / Cover
Slides 2–8 (or however many): Body — one idea per slide
Last slide: CTA

Keep each slide to 3–5 lines of text maximum. If you're writing paragraphs, cut them.

You can start with a strong LinkedIn post as your anchor. If you're stuck on what to write, the LinkedIn Post Generator can help you develop the core idea before you expand it into a carousel format.

Step 3: Design Your Slides

You have several options here:

Canva (most popular): Free plan includes plenty of templates. Search "LinkedIn Carousel" in the template library and customise from there. Export as PDF.

PowerPoint / Google Slides: Set slide dimensions to 1080 × 1080px (square) or 1080 × 1350px (portrait). Design, then export as PDF.

Figma: More control, slightly steeper learning curve. Good if you're already in Figma for design work.

Square (1:1) and portrait (4:5) both work well. Portrait slides tend to take up more screen real estate in the feed, which can help with visibility.

Step 4: Export as PDF

Whatever tool you use, export your finished carousel as a PDF. This is the format LinkedIn accepts for carousels. Name the file something descriptive — LinkedIn sometimes uses the filename as fallback text.

Step 5: Upload to LinkedIn

When you create a new post:

Click the document icon (looks like a page) in the post creation box
Upload your PDF
Add a title for the carousel (this appears above the slides)
Write your post caption — more on this below

Step 6: Write a Strong Caption

Your caption is not an afterthought. It's the text that appears above the carousel and it's what LinkedIn indexes for search. A good caption:

Restates the hook from your cover slide
Tells people what they'll get from swiping
Ends with a call to action or a question

Example: "I studied 100 LinkedIn profiles of people who got job offers through the platform. Here's the pattern that showed up in almost all of them. Swipe through — the last slide has the one thing most people miss."

LinkedIn Carousel Post Templates

Here are three templates you can adapt directly:

Template 1: The Tips List

Slide 1: [Number] [Topic] Tips That Most People Skip

Slide 2–[N]: Tip #[X]: [Short title] [2–3 sentence explanation]

Last slide: Found this useful? Follow [Your Name] for more posts on [topic]. Or tell me: which tip are you trying first?

Template 2: The Process Breakdown

Slide 1: How I [achieved result] in [timeframe]

Slide 2: Step 1: [Action] [Brief explanation]

Slide 3–[N]: Step [N]: [Action] [Brief explanation]

Last slide: That's the full process. What step do you want me to break down further? Drop it in the comments.

Template 3: The Myth-Busting List

Slide 1: [Number] LinkedIn myths that are keeping you stuck

Slide 2–[N]: ❌ Myth: [Wrong belief] ✅ Reality: [What's actually true]

Last slide: The biggest one? Most people don't realise [key insight]. Follow me if you want more of this.

Common LinkedIn Carousel Mistakes

Too many slides: 6–12 slides is the sweet spot for most topics. Going beyond 15 slides rarely improves performance and often hurts completion rate.

No hook on slide 1: If your first slide is a logo or a generic title, you've already lost most of your audience.

Walls of text: If your slide looks like a paragraph from an essay, redesign it. Each slide should be scannable in 3 seconds.

No CTA at the end: You've done the hard work of getting someone to swipe through your entire carousel. Don't waste the final slide.

Inconsistent visual style: Mixing fonts, colours, and layouts across slides makes the whole thing look rushed. Pick one template and stick to it.

Pairing Your Carousel with a Strong Caption

Once you have your carousel ready, the caption does the selling. If you're not confident writing LinkedIn captions, the LinkedIn Hook Generator is worth using to sharpen your opening line. The first line of your caption is what people see before they expand it — it needs to pull them in immediately.

For longer captions, format matters. The LinkedIn Text Formatter handles spacing and Unicode formatting so your text looks clean in the feed rather than like one dense block.

How Often Should You Post LinkedIn Carousels?

You don't need to post carousels every day — they take more effort to produce than text posts, and that's okay. Most LinkedIn creators who use carousels effectively post them 1–2 times per week, mixing them in with shorter text posts.

What matters more than frequency is consistency. A carousel that takes an hour to make and goes out every other week will outperform a rushed one that goes out daily.

Also: re-use your carousels. A carousel that performed well 6 months ago can be reposted (with a fresh caption) and often performs just as well with the portion of your audience who didn't see it the first time.

What to Do After You Post

Give your carousel time to build momentum — usually the first 30–60 minutes are critical for early engagement. Reply to every comment in that window. Engagement begets engagement on LinkedIn.

Check your analytics after 24–48 hours:

How many impressions did it get?
What was the click-through rate on the document?
How many slides did people swipe through on average?

LinkedIn shows you "document analytics" for carousels, which tells you how many unique viewers opened the document and how many pages they viewed on average. If people are dropping off after slide 3, that's a signal your early slides need stronger hooks to pull people forward.

LinkedIn Carousels Are Worth the Effort

The investment to production ratio on carousels is higher than most LinkedIn content formats. Yes, they take longer to create than a text post. But they also last longer, get shared more, and establish authority in a way that shorter content rarely does.

If you've been sitting on knowledge that could be broken into a step-by-step process, a list of lessons, or a framework — that's a carousel waiting to happen.

Start with one. See how it performs. Most people who try the format once keep using it.

Want to speed up the writing side of your LinkedIn content? Try the LinkedIn Post Generator — free to use, no signup required.