In our article on the perfect kind of content material to publish per platform, we found one thing fascinating: LinkedIn carousels get the third highest engagement after movies and pictures.
Maybe extra curiously, we additionally found that LinkedIn is the social media channel the place we noticed the smallest distinction between the varied media sorts. For instance, video posts solely ranked 0.1 p.c greater than photograph posts, and photograph posts have been solely 0.4 p.c greater than PDF carousels.
The timing of this discovery coincided with our introduction of PDF carousel uploads in Buffer, so I believed: why not check out LinkedIn carousels as a content material format? I’ve succeeded with them earlier than however by no means saved them up persistently – what would occur if I did? That’s how this experiment was born.
On this article, I’ll clarify my reasoning, course of, and outcomes for posting PDF carousels day by day for six days to my LinkedIn profile.
Why LinkedIn carousels?
LinkedIn has an fascinating historical past with the carousel content material format. They first launched them as PDF uploads in 2019. Then, they made it a standalone beta function that solely sure customers might entry in 2022. Lastly, in December 2023, they sunsetted the beta function, leaving PDF uploads as the one method to add carousels.
Regardless of the ups and downs, the format is without doubt one of the hottest on LinkedIn as they’re
- visually partaking, resulting in extra time spent on a publish
- improve the chance of engagement
- are prioritized within the LinkedIn algorithm
I personally take pleasure in partaking with them, as completely different creators have distinctive design components which have impressed my content material.
This experiment will hopefully present that LinkedIn carousels don’t should be too labor-intensive, in addition to spotlight the worth of investing in them.
The content material creation course of for every week of carousels
Discovering inspiration
I took inspiration from creators like Sam Browne and Lara Acosta.
Each have very recognizable codecs and buildings for his or her content material, which encourage you to cease scrolling and swipe by.
Selecting one instrument (and one construction)
My instrument of selection was Canva, the place I created a template to duplicate and repurpose for my completely different content material concepts.
![](https://buffer.com/resources/content/images/2024/03/I_work_from_2-10pm_WAT_-_ask_me_anything_-_1080_x_1350_px-7.jpg)
Some components from my LinkedIn carousel template
Doing this helped me keep constant, as I didn’t have to fret about design or fonts – simply the content material of every slide.
Content material themes
I’ve set sure expectations for my viewers on LinkedIn, so my content material themes adopted by on them. My content material is normally centered round private branding, content material creation, content material advertising, and distant work. The carousels I printed have been all some model of that.
Experiment standards
My focus for this experiment was watching the efficiency of carousels in opposition to my normal format of texts and the occasional picture.
I used to be impressed to do that when Mitra, Buffer’s social media supervisor, identified that LinkedIn carousels really file such excessive outcomes as a result of LinkedIn counts scrolls by PDF carousels as impressions.
It seems like clicking by a carousel counts as an engagement on LinkedIn, which is why carousel posts are likely to have a better engagement charge for us than static picture posts or text-only posts.
– Mitra Mehvar, Social Media Supervisor at Buffer
I needed to see what would occur if I invested every week in carousels – would they produce the identical outcomes?
Spoiler: Previous to this experiment, I had been publishing pretty persistently (virtually day by day) on LinkedIn, however nothing has produced the identical outcomes because the week of carousels.
The experiment
Put up 1
- Impressions: 1,400
- Engagements: 34
This publish was impressed by my time on the Buffer retreat that led to me reigniting an previous ardour. The carousel was centered on how I needed to kickstart that pastime once more. It’s a extra private publish and fewer sensible, but it surely acquired a good quantity of engagement and feedback from individuals interested by how I’d method it or making options for my content material.
Put up 2
- Impressions: 3,085
- Engagements: 134
In distinction to the primary day, the second publish had the very best engagement charge of any publish I made with over 103 reactions and 31 feedback. The publish was centered on my distinctive work schedule and the conversations it sparked have been round productiveness and completely different working types. The relatability of the publish in all probability impressed loads of the engagement.
Put up 3
- Impressions: 2,089
- Engagements: 55
This publish was impressed by Mitra, who talked about that it’d be enjoyable to see Instagram-style posts on LinkedIn. I believed it’d be a singular spin on the everyday LinkedIn content material, and the outcomes proved my instincts have been proper.
Put up 4
- Impressions: 1,654
- Engagements: 38
This was the primary of thrice I attempted repurposing previous content material. This publish was based mostly on one tip from a current article on Instagram concepts for B2B corporations the place I expanded on examples for the principle tip I had shared. Repurposing is a game-changer for saving time and the visible component of screenshots mixed with sensible recommendation led to the very best variety of reposts for any of the carousels I posted.
Put up 5
- Impressions: 881
- Engagements: 19
This was the second of three repurposed posts, now based mostly on an previous carousel I had shared. I needed to see the response to taking the content material in an previous carousel, dusting it off and sharing it once more. It was the lowest-performing publish of the six carousels I shared. Nevertheless, it was very text-heavy and shared on a Friday, which may also be a purpose for its decrease efficiency.
Put up 6
- Impressions: 2,512
- Engagements: 80
This was the ultimate publish that was repurposed and the highest-performer of the three and second-highest of all 6 posts. I attribute the excessive efficiency to the present relevance of the subject of newsletters, in addition to the practicality of the recommendation within the carousel.
Comparability with different content material sorts
The week previous to the experiment, I just about shared solely textual content posts like this and this. Whereas they’d loads of engagement, it was nothing in comparison with the week of solely carousel posts. For context, listed here are the overall numbers for both week:
March 11-17 (Primarily Textual content Posts):
- Complete Impressions: 5,033
- Complete Engagements: 110
March 18-23 (Solely Carousel Posts):
- Complete Impressions: 14,001
- Complete Engagements: 381
I’d additionally say the engagement high quality was a lot better – extra individuals shared and commented on carousel posts than in different codecs.
Observations and insights
The experiment was clearly a rousing success, simply going by the information alone. Nevertheless, I made another observations whereas analyzing the efficiency.
- Analyzing the carousels in line with excessive to low efficiency, it’s clear that the mix of visuals with concise however insightful textual content performs the perfect. Slides that broke down advanced concepts into simply digestible visuals and bullet factors tended to seize consideration and improve engagement.
- Engagement went past my viewers acknowledging what I wrote – the carousels fostered in-depth discussions and private tales shared by the viewers. Though you will get nice interactions on any content material format, in my expertise, carousels appear to ask customers right into a narrative, prompting them to contribute their very own experiences and insights.
![](https://buffer.com/resources/content/images/2024/03/Activity___Tamilore_Oladipo-7.jpg)
Engagement on my LinkedIn carousel posts
- The payoff in engagement and visibility justifies the upfront funding in design and content material curation. Carousels require much less time than movies and permit extra probabilities for engagement than single-image posts. This steadiness between effort and reward is essential for anybody weighing the effectiveness of various content material codecs on LinkedIn.
Acknowledging the constraints of this experiment
Whereas the outcomes of our week-long experiment with LinkedIn carousels have been illuminating, it is vital to acknowledge the constraints of such a experimentation.
- Small pattern dimension and length: This experiment was performed over a comparatively brief interval – two weeks, with one week devoted to carousel posts and the opposite to textual content/picture posts. The restricted length and the small variety of posts imply that my findings may not seize the total spectrum of viewers behaviors or the potential variability in engagement over time.
- Restricted content material variety: The dearth of variability within the content material sorts means I don’t have perception into how the true spectrum of accessible codecs may affect engagement otherwise.
- Viewers conduct and time variability: I used our inside knowledge to determine the perfect time to publish on LinkedIn and engaged with the feedback beneath my publish. These elements, together with issues like what was occurring with the algorithm that day, might have influenced the outcomes of this experiment.
Regardless of these limitations, I hope this experiment works as a place to begin for understanding the impression of carousel posts and encourages you to conduct your personal experiments.
Put money into LinkedIn carousels
If you happen to don’t take away anything, keep in mind this: LinkedIn PDF carousels are one of the crucial rewarding codecs on the platform. As soon as you discover your rhythm, they are often what skyrockets your viewers dimension and engagement charge.
If you happen to’re contemplating incorporating LinkedIn carousels into your content material technique, begin with clear messages and easy designs. Give attention to conveying your key factors in an accessible and visually interesting method. Experiment with various kinds of slides—mixing pictures, textual content, and infographics—to find what resonates most along with your viewers.
Creating and posting your carousels is simply half the battle. Interact actively along with your viewers within the feedback to foster a group round your content material. Lastly, observe your outcomes and modify your method based mostly on what the information tells you about viewers preferences and behaviors.
What’s been your expertise with LinkedIn carousels or different content material sorts? Share with us within the feedback!