How to Upload a Carousel on LinkedIn

LinkedIn carousels are one of the best ways to stop the scroll and hold your audience's attention. Instead of a single image or a wall of text, they offer a dynamic, swipeable format that stands out in a crowded feed. This guide will walk you through exactly how to create and upload one, breaking down every step from design to hitting the post button, and share strategies to make your carousels truly effective.

Why LinkedIn Carousels Are a Game-Changer

Before jumping into the "how," it helps to understand the "why." Carousels, also known as document posts, aren’t just aesthetically pleasing, they are a strategic tool for building your brand and engaging your audience on a deeper level.

• They Increase Dwell Time: When someone stops to swipe through your slides, they're spending more time on your post. This "dwell time" is a positive signal to the LinkedIn algorithm, which can reward your content with greater reach. More time on your post suggests it’s valuable, so LinkedIn shows it to more people.
• They Make Complex Ideas Digestible: You can't explain a five-part framework in a single sentence. Carousels allow you to break down complicated topics, step-by-step processes, or data-heavy statistics into simple, easy-to-understand slides. Think of each slide as a single thought, making your message easier to follow and remember.
• They Showcase Your Expertise and Brand Personality: A well-designed carousel positions you as an expert. Using your brand's colors, fonts, and logo creates a cohesive and professional look that strengthens brand recognition. It’s an opportunity to tell small stories, share valuable frameworks, and demonstrate your unique point of view in a visual format.
• They Drive Meaningful Engagement: The interactive nature of carousels naturally encourages action. The final slide is the perfect place for a strong call-to-action (CTA), asking your audience to comment, follow you, or visit your website. People are more likely to respond after you've provided value across multiple slides.

The Best Way to Create a LinkedIn Carousel: The PDF Method

Here's the most important thing to know about LinkedIn carousels: they are not individual images you upload one by one. You create a multi-page document and export it as a single PDF. LinkedIn then beautifully renders that PDF into a swipeable carousel format. Here's how to create one from scratch.

Step 1: Choose Your Creation Tool

You don't need fancy, expensive software to design outstanding carousels. Most people use tools they're already familiar with. The most popular options include:

• Canva: This is the crowd favorite for good reason. It’s incredibly user-friendly, loaded with templates specifically for LinkedIn carousels, and has a vast library of graphics and fonts. For most marketers and creators, this is the easiest and fastest option.
• Google Slides or PowerPoint: If you're comfortable making presentations, you can easily create a carousel. Just set your slide dimensions correctly, design your pages, and you're good to go.
• Figma or Adobe Illustrator: For designers who want more control and precision, these tools offer A-grade creative flexibility. While they have a steeper learning curve, they offer unlimited design possibilities.

Step 2: Set Up Your Document and Dimensions Correctly

To make your carousel look great on both desktop and mobile, getting the dimensions right is a must. While LinkedIn supports various sizes, two are most effective:

• Square (1080 x 1080 pixels): This is a classic and safe bet. It displays well on all devices and is easy to design for. It's the most common size you'll see.
• Vertical (1080 x 1350 pixels): This is arguably better. A vertical format takes up more vertical real estate on the mobile screen, making your post more prominent and harder to scroll past.

Choose one dimension and use it consistently for every slide in your document. Mixed dimensions will not work. Set this up in your design tool before you add any content.

Step 3: Design Compelling and Valuable Slides

Now for the creative part. A great carousel tells a story and guides the reader from the first slide to the last. Here are some design and content principles to follow for writing engaging posts:

Make an Unskippable First Slide

Your first slide has one job: to make people stop scrolling. Use a bold, captivating headline that promises value. A powerful hook could be:

• A question: "Are you making these 3 common career mistakes?"
• A surprising statistic: "85% of job openings are filled through networking."
• A direct promise: "How to Grow Your Audience in 30 Days."

Stick to One Core Idea Per Slide

Don't overwhelm your audience by cramming too much information onto a single slide. Modern attention spans are short. Keep your text brief and to the point. Use large, readable fonts and plenty of white space. Let your visuals do most of the talking. A good rule of thumb is to deliver one single piece of a larger idea per slide.

Maintain Visual Consistency

Use your brand's official colors, fonts, and logo (subtly) throughout the carousel. This reinforces your brand identity and makes your content instantly recognizable over time. If you have a personal brand, consistent colors and a recognizable style for your photo can serve the same purpose.

Encourage the Swipe

Subtly prompt people to keep moving through the slides. You can use visual cues like arrows or phrases like "Swipe to find out why" or "Let's break it down..." Sometimes, breaking a single sentence or image across two slides can create curiosity and make the swipe feel irresistible.

Finish with a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA)

Your last slide is prime real estate. Don't waste it! Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do next. Good CTAs include:

• "What's your best tip? Share it in the comments below!"
• "Follow me for more marketing insights every week."
• "Did you find this helpful? Save this post for later!"
• "Get the full guide on my website. Link in the comments."

Step 4: Export as a High-Quality PDF

Once your design is complete, this step is absolutely vital. You are not downloading individual PNG or JPG files. Go to your design tool's export menu and save the entire document as a single PDF. LinkedIn's official limit is 300 pages and 100MB, so your file should easily fit within these constraints.

How to Upload Your Carousel to LinkedIn

With your polished PDF in hand, the upload process is quick and simple once you know where to look. Many people get stuck because they automatically reach for the "Add a photo" button, but that's not the right one.

1. Start a New Post: On the LinkedIn homepage, click on "Start a post."
2. Find and Click the Document Icon: At the bottom of the post creation window, you’ll see several icons. Ignore the photo and video options. You need to select the one that looks like a document sheet. It’s next to the video icon and when hovered, says "Add document."
3. Upload Your PDF: A window will pop up asking you to "Choose file." Select the PDF document you saved from your computer.
4. Write an SEO-Friendly Document Title: Next, LinkedIn will prompt you to add a title for your document. Do not skip this. This title is displayed at the top of the carousel as users swipe. Make it clear and relevant, using keywords people might search for. For example, if your carousel is about productivity, a title like "5 Actionable Productivity Hacks for Busy Professionals" is perfect.
5. Craft a Compelling Post Caption: Your carousel doesn't exist in a vacuum. The text above it is what gives context and encourages people to start swiping. Use the caption to introduce the topic, highlight what the reader will learn, ask an engaging question, and include 3-5 relevant hashtags.
6. Post and Engage: Click "Post"! Your document will upload, and LinkedIn will transform it into that familiar, swipeable carousel format.

Quick Tips to Take Your Carousels to the Next Level

Uploading is just one part of the puzzle. Here’s how to use carousels strategically to drive results.

• Repurpose Your Best Content: Look at your old blog posts, popular articles, videos, or presentation decks. You likely have a treasure trove of content that can be easily repurposed into a compelling carousel. Find a listicle you wrote? That’s a 10-slide carousel waiting to happen.
• Use Teasers in Your Post Copy: Create an "information gap" in your caption. For example, "Every brand needs to master these 4 content pillars... but the 4th one on the last slide may surprise you." This small detail can significantly boost your swipe-through rate.
• Engage with Comments Immediately: In the first hour after posting, make an effort to reply to every comment. This engagement sends positive signals to the algorithm and can spur more conversation, giving your post a helpful boost in reach.
• Track Your Analytics: LinkedIn tells you how many people viewed and clicked on your carousel. Pay attention to what topics and design styles get the best response from your audience. Double down on what works and do less of what doesn't.

Final Thoughts

Uploading a carousel on LinkedIn is a simple process once you master the PDF method. These document posts offer a standout way to share your knowledge, build authority, and engage with your network in a format that's built to perform well in the feed.

Making great content is the first step, but staying organized and consistent is how you truly build momentum. At Postbase, we built a visual calendar to help creators and marketers plan their content strategy - including these detailed carousels - weeks or months ahead. Seeing your entire schedule grants you the headspace to focus on creating content that performs, knowing the publishing side is handled reliably.