How to Post a Slideshow on LinkedIn

If you want to stop scrollers in their tracks and get more engagement on your LinkedIn posts, it’s time to move beyond simple text and images. LinkedIn slideshows, also known as document posts or carousels, offer a powerful, interactive way to share ideas and tell a story right in the feed. This guide will walk you through exactly how to create and post a slideshow on LinkedIn, share best practices for making them effective, and give you ideas for turning your existing content into engaging visual presentations.

Why You Should Be Using LinkedIn Slideshows

In a crowded feed, slideshows immediately stand out. They are visually interesting and interactive, encouraging users to pause and swipe through your content instead of just scrolling past. This increased "dwell time" is a positive signal to the LinkedIn algorithm, which can help your content get more visibility.

But the benefits go beyond just grabbing attention. Slideshows are an incredible format for:

• Breaking Down Complex Information: Transform dense data, a long article, or a detailed process into easy-to-digest, bite-sized slides. This makes your expertise more accessible and understandable.
• Telling a Compelling Story: Guide your audience through a narrative slide by slide. You can share a case study, a customer success story, or the journey of your brand’s development.
• Repurposing Existing Content: Get more mileage out of the work you've already done. A single blog post, webinar, or industry report can be broken down into a compelling slideshow, exposing it to a new audience.
• Showcasing Your Brand Visually: You have an entire canvas to reinforce your brand identity. Use your brand colors, fonts, and logo to create a polished, professional look that builds brand recognition.

Simply put, a well-made slideshow positions you as a knowledgeable and helpful authority in your field, making it one of the most effective content formats for building a brand organically on LinkedIn.

Before You Post: Creating Your Slideshow File

Before you even open LinkedIn, you need to have your slideshow file ready to go. The most common and reliable file format for LinkedIn slideshows is a PDF. You can also upload PowerPoint (.ppt, .pptx) or Word (.doc, .docx) files, but exporting to a PDF from your design tool generally gives you the most control over the final look.

Here’s how to set up your slides for success:

1. Choose Your Creation Tool

You don’t need to be a graphic designer to create beautiful slides. There are several user-friendly tools you can use:

• Canva: One of the most popular choices. It has thousands of templates specifically for social media presentations, making it incredibly easy to get started. You can easily export your design as a PDF.
• Google Slides or PowerPoint: If you're more comfortable with traditional presentation software, these are excellent options. Just focus on making your design visually clean and modern, not like a corporate report from 2010.
• Figma or Adobe Illustrator: For those with more design experience, these tools offer maximum control over your visuals.

2. Focus on Strong Design and Structure

A great slideshow isn't just a document, it’s a visual experience. Keep these principles in mind:

• The First Slide is the Hook: Your cover slide needs to grab attention instantly. Use a bold, compelling title that clearly communicates the value of reading on. Ask a question, state a controversial opinion, or highlight a surprising statistic.
• One Main Idea Per Slide: Don’t clutter your slides with walls of text. Stick to one key takeaway per slide and use large, readable fonts. Visuals, bullet points, and charts are your friends.
• Use Consistent Branding: Apply your brand’s colors, fonts, and logo throughout the presentation. This makes your content immediately recognizable in the feed and reinforces your professional image.
• Think Mobile-First: The vast majority of LinkedIn users will see your post on their phones. Keep your design simple and use text that is large enough to be easily read on a small screen. We recommend a portrait orientation (like 1080x1350 pixels) to take up more vertical space in the mobile feed.
• End with a Call-to-Action (CTA): What do you want people to do after reading your slideshow? Your final slide should give them a clear next step. Ask them a question to spark comments, invite them to follow you for more tips, or direct them to a link in the comments.

3. Export as a PDF

Once your design is complete, export the final document as a PDF file. This will preserve your fonts, colors, and formatting, making sure it looks exactly how you intended when uploaded to LinkedIn.

How to Post a Slideshow on LinkedIn (Step-by-Step)

Posting the slideshow itself is a straightforward process. Here’s how to do it on both desktop and mobile.

On Desktop:

1. Navigate to the LinkedIn homepage and click "Start a post" at the top of your feed.
2. In the pop-up window, look at the bottom icons and click "Add a document." It’s represented by an icon that looks like a sheet of paper with a folded corner.
3. A file selection window will open. Click "Choose File" and select the PDF, PPT, or DOC file you prepared.
4. Once your document uploads, you’ll see a preview. Now, give your slideshow a descriptive title at the top of the window. This title will be visible above the document in your post, giving viewers context.
5. Next, write your post caption in the main text area above. This is where you’ll provide context for the slideshow, hook the reader, and include your hashtags.
6. Once you're happy with your title and caption, click the "Post" button.

Your slideshow will now appear in the feed as an interactive, swipeable document that your network can engage with directly.

On the Mobile App:

1. Open the LinkedIn app and tap the "Post" button, usually located in the bottom center of the navigation bar.
2. At the bottom of the creation screen, you'll see several icons. Tap "Add a document."
3. You’ll be prompted to select a file from your phone’s storage (like iCloud Drive on iPhone or Files on Android). Locate and select your saved PDF.
4. Just like on desktop, you will then be prompted to add a document title.
5. After setting the title, write a compelling post caption and add your hashtags.
6. Tap "Post" in the top right corner to publish your slideshow.

Best Practices for Slideshows That Perform Well

Now that you know the mechanics, let's cover the strategies that separate a mediocre slideshow from one that gets shared across LinkedIn.

Craft a Powerful Caption

Your slides can be amazing, but a weak caption can stop your post from ever gaining traction. Your caption should:

• Hook the Reader: Start with a strong sentence that builds curiosity and makes people want to see what's in the slideshow.
• Provide Context: Briefly explain what problem your slideshow solves or what knowledge a reader will gain from swiping through.
• Encourage Engagement: Ask a direct question related to your content to encourage comments.
• Use Relevant Hashtags: Include 3 to 5 highly relevant hashtags to increase your post's discoverability. Mix broader industry tags (e.g., #socialmediamarketing) with more niche ones (e.g., #contentrepurposing).

Create Raving Fans by Repurposing High-Value Content

You don't need to reinvent the wheel for every slideshow. Some of the best-performing carousels come from content you’ve already created. Look through your archives for:

• Top-Performing Blog Posts: Identify an article that resonated with your audience. Pull out the main arguments, key statistics, or step-by-step instructions. Turn each main point into a series of 2-3 slides. A 2,000-word article can easily become a 15-slide presentation.
• Webinar or Keynote Decks: If you've given a presentation, you've already done most of the work. Adapt those slides for the LinkedIn format by simplifying the text and ensuring the design works in a vertical orientation.
• Report or Case Study Data: Don't just publish a link to a dense report. Pull out the most shocking statistics, compelling graphs, and key findings. Feature each one on its own slide to make the data more impressive and easier to share.
• Podcast or Video Highlights: Transcribe a popular segment from a podcast or video. Turn a powerful quote or a useful list of tips into a text-based slideshow. This allows people who prefer reading to engage with your audio/video content.

Analyze Your Performance

After you post, don't just forget about it. Pay attention to the analytics. LinkedIn will show you the views, likes, comments, and reposts. More importantly, it gives you analytics about the viewers themselves, including their job titles, companies, and locations. Look for patterns in what works. Did a post with a question-based title get more engagement? Did a slideshow about a specific topic see more shares? Use these insights to refine your strategy for the next one.

Final Thoughts

Posting slideshows on LinkedIn is one of the most effective strategies for sharing value, building authority, and starting meaningful conversations on the platform. By turning your expertise into a well-designed, easy-to-consume visual format, you create content that not only stops the scroll but also drives genuine brand growth.

Of course, great content ideas are only half the battle, consistency is just as important. Having a clear and organized content plan - from your text posts to your document-based slideshows - is foundational to keeping your audience engaged. That's why we built our visual calendar in Postbase to give you a single, clear view of your entire social media schedule. Seeing everything at a glance makes it so much easier to spot gaps, plan your content pillars, and stay consistent across all platforms without getting lost in spreadsheets.