How to Make a LinkedIn Slideshow

LinkedIn documents, often called slideshows or carousels, are one of the most powerful and underutilized content formats on the platform today. They stop the scroll, encourage engagement, and let you deliver massive value in a simple, visual format. This complete guide will walk you through exactly how to create and share your own LinkedIn slideshow, from planning your content to uploading it for maximum impact.

So, What Exactly Is a LinkedIn Slideshow?

First, let's clear up some confusion. When you see a post with multiple images you can swipe through horizontally, you're looking at what LinkedIn officially calls a “document.” Most users, however, call them slideshows, carousels, or sliders. They are all the same thing: a single, multi-page document (usually a PDF) that allows you to present information in an interactive, slide-by-slide format.

Why do they work so well? It boils down to a few simple factors:

• Increased Dwell Time: When someone stops to swipe through multiple slides, they spend more time on your post. LinkedIn’s algorithm sees this longer "dwell time" as a strong signal that your content is valuable, leading to greater organic reach. For more tips on improving your content's visibility, explore how to optimize LinkedIn posts for engagement.
• Better Storytelling: A single image or block of text can only say so much. A slideshow gives you space to build a narrative, walk through a step-by-step process, or present a compilation of tips. You can guide your audience through a complete thought from start to finish.
• Highly Digestible Content: People love scannable, bite-sized information. Slideshows let you break down complex ideas into simple, digestible chunks. Instead of facing an intimidating wall of text, your audience gets one small, easy-to-understand point per slide.
• Encourages Engagement: The physical act of swiping is a form of interaction. It pulls the user into your content and makes them an active participant rather than a passive observer. This small investment often makes them more likely to like, comment, or share when they reach the end.

The Anatomy of a High-Impact LinkedIn Slideshow

Before you jump into a design tool, take a moment to plan the structure. A great slideshow isn't just a random collection of images, it’s a well-paced story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. The most effective carousels almost always follow this simple formula:

1. The Hook (Slide 1): Your first slide has one job: to stop the scroll. It needs a benefit-driven headline, an intriguing question, or a bold statement that makes someone want to see what’s on the next slide. This is your post's billboard - make it count.
2. The Content (Slides 2-9): This is the heart of your slideshow. It's where you deliver the value you promised in the headline. Break down your topic into a series of clear, concise points. Remember the rule: one main idea per slide. This keeps the momentum going and prevents overwhelm. You can have up to 300 pages in your document, but the sweet spot for engagement is usually between 5 and 10 slides.
3. The Nudge (Throughout): Don't assume people know what to do. Add small visual cues like arrows or simple text like "Swipe for more" to encourage users to keep swiping. This simple trick makes a surprising difference.
4. The Call-to-Action (Final Slide): You've captivated your audience and delivered value. What do you want them to do next? Your final slide should have a clear, simple call-to-action (CTA). Ask a question to spark comments, direct them to a link in your caption, or encourage them to follow you for more content. Don't let their attention just fade away - give them a next step.

Step-by-Step Guide: How to Actually Make the Slideshow

Creating the slideshow itself is easier than you think. You don't need fancy B2B marketing tools or a professional designer. All you're doing is creating a series of single-page graphics and saving them together as one PDF file. Here's exactly how to do it.

Step 1: Choose Your Design Tool

Your goal is to create individual pages that will become the slides. You can use any software that lets you design graphics and export them as a PDF. The most popular and accessible options are:

• Canva: This is the go-to tool for most marketers and creators for a reason. It's user-friendly, has thousands of templates, and makes creating beautiful designs and exporting to PDF incredibly simple. (We'll use Canva for our example.)
• Figma: A more advanced design tool, but an excellent (and free) option if you want more control over your designs. Great for teams that are already familiar with it.
• PowerPoint or Google Slides: Yes, really! You can design each slide in PowerPoint or Google Slides and then simply save or download the entire presentation as a PDF. The key is to set your page dimensions correctly from the start.

Step 2: Set Up Your Document and Dimensions

Before you start designing, you need to pick the right size for your slides. While you can use standard presentation widescreen, the best-performing formats are optimized for mobile viewing.

For best results, use a portrait orientation which takes up more screen space on mobile phones.

• Recommended (Portrait): 1080 x 1350 pixels (a 4:5 aspect ratio)
• Alternative (Square): 1080 x 1080 pixels (a 1:1 aspect ratio)

In Canva, click "Create a design," select "Custom size," and enter your preferred dimensions (e.g., 1080px width, 1350px height). From there, you just need to add new pages for each slide you've planned out.

Step 3: Design Your Slides with Best Practices in Mind

Now for the fun part. As you bring your content to life, keep these design tips top of mind to make sure your slideshow is effective and easy to read.

Keep It Clear and Concise

Don't try to cram an entire paragraph onto one slide. Stick to a single bold headline and a few bullet points at most. White space is your friend - it makes your content feel more professional and less cluttered. Use large, legible fonts that are easy to read on a small phone screen.

Maintain Consistent Branding

Use your brand’s colors, fonts, and logo consistently across all slides. This not only looks polished but also builds brand recognition. If someone sees your slideshow, they should instantly know it’s from you without even seeing your name.

Use Strong Visuals

Pair your text with relevant icons, illustrations, or high-quality photos to make each slide more engaging. Visuals help explain concepts faster than text and make your carousel more interesting to swipe through.

Don't Forget the "Nudge"

Add a small arrow or a simple text cue like "Keep swiping ->," on all but the last slide. This subtly tells users that there is more content to see and increases the chances they’ll make it to your final CTA.

Step 4: Download Your Creation as a PDF

Once you’ve finalized all your slides, this last step is what pulls it all together. You are not going to download individual JPG or PNG files. Instead, you'll export the entire project as a single PDF.

In Canva, this is simple:

1. Click the "Share" button in the top right corner.
2. Select "Download."
3. Under "File type," choose "PDF Standard" (this is smaller in file size and perfect for web use).
4. Make sure "All pages" is selected.
5. Click "Download."

You now have a single PDF file that contains all your designs, perfectly formatted and ready for LinkedIn!

Posting Your Slideshow on LinkedIn

You’ve done the hard work of creating your content. Now it’s time to share it with the world. Here’s the final process for uploading it.

1. Start a new post on your LinkedIn feed. Learn more about general LinkedIn posting with our guide on how to create a LinkedIn post. Click the "Start a post" box as you normally would.
2. Click "Add a document." Look at the options beneath the text box. To the very right, you'll see a small icon resembling a piece of paper. This is the "Add a document" button. Do not click the "Add media" (photo/video) button! This is the most common mistake people make.
3. Choose your file. Select the PDF file you just downloaded. LinkedIn will then upload and process it.
4. Give your Document a Title. A dialog box will pop up asking for a "Descriptive document title." This title is important! It will be displayed at the top of the document viewer on your post. Make it clear and compelling, like the headline of an article (e.g., "5 Simple Frameworks for Better LinkedIn Content").
5. Write Your Post Caption. The slideshow can’t do all the work on its own. Your post copy provides the context. Start with a hook, briefly explain what value people will get from swiping through, and then repeat your call-to-action. Finally, add a few relevant hashtags to increase discoverability.
6. Click "Post" and you're live! Your slideshow is now published on LinkedIn for the world to see and swipe through.

Quick-Start Ideas for Your First Slideshow

Not sure what to make your first slideshow about? Here are some proven ideas that work well in this format:

• Educational How-To Guides: "A 7-Step Guide to Launching Your First Podcast."
• Lists and Listicles: "5 Common Mistakes New Managers Make."
• Industry Trends and Data: "3 Key Marketing Trends to Watch This Quarter."
• Myth-Busting Content: "Why Everything You Know About SEO Is Wrong."
• Repurposed Content: Turn a popular blog post, tweet thread, or podcast episode into a slideshow. Summarize the key takeaways, with one takeaway point per slide.
• Case Studies or Success Stories: "How We Helped [Client] Achieve [Result] in 60 Days."

Final Thoughts

Creating a LinkedIn slideshow isn't about being a design expert. It’s about structuring valuable information in a format that your audience finds engaging and easy to consume. By planning your content with a clear beginning, middle, and end, creating simple and clean slides, and exporting as a single PDF, you have everything you need to stand out in the feed.

Of course, making great content is only one piece of the puzzle, planning and scheduling it consistently is what drives results. We actually built Postbase to solve this exact problem. Our visual calendar makes it easy to schedule posts in advance and get a bird's-eye view of your entire content strategy across all platforms, including LinkedIn. This way, you can thoughtfully plan where your next slideshow fits into your weekly schedule and never miss a beat.