Here’s a bit of a trivia: LinkedIn was the OG social media platform. Many tend to forget this fact because Facebook and Myspace gained popularity among users. But really, LinkedIn was created in 2002. On the other hand, MySpace and Facebook were created in 2003 and 2006, respectively.
With over 1 billion members around the world, LinkedIn is a great platform to share your professional thoughts. However, to stand out on this platform, you’ll need to have a good content strategy and use the right LinkedIn post dimensions.
In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know to make your way into the largest professional network in the world. With the right strategy in place, you’ll be able to tap into your target audience from approximately 310 million monthly active users.
Why You Should Include LinkedIn in Your Content Marketing Strategy
Image Credit: LinkedIn
Around 50.4% of marketers in the US have already included LinkedIn as part of their strategy. It is a platform that is great for personal branding, professional networking, career advancement, and digital marketing. You get to improve your visibility and reach a wider audience through this channel. Those who see your posts get to notice you as a thought leader in your field.
LinkedIn can open doors to boundless connections and collaborations since you are attracting people who are at the same thought level as you. 77% of B2B marketers have seen the best organic results from LinkedIn, which means great news for their content strategy.
With LinkedIn having the potential to be a goldmine of opportunities for everyone, it’s high time you include this platform in your strategy.
Here’s how you can include LinkedIn in your content strategy:
1. Set clear goals
Just like any other social media platform, you need to define your objectives for using the service. Do you want to generate leads? Boost brand awareness? Gain new followers?
Once you have defined your objectives, you need to identify who your target audience is.
Make sure you tailor your content and tone to appeal to them. Since most of the people on LinkedIn are professionals, you also need to speak professionally. Share information that they will find useful instead of posting random things that are considered meme-worthy.
Remember that people use LinkedIn differently than other social channels. They aren’t there to interact with their friends but to connect with others in their field.
Why Do People Use LinkedIn? |
|
Keep up with current events, news, and trends | 29.2% |
Follow or research a brand | 26.9% |
Post or share photos or videos | 17.7% |
Message friends and family | 14.6% |
Look for funny or entertaining content | 13.8% |
Data from: Hootsuite
2. Optimise your Business page
Image Credit: LinkedIn
Think of your LinkedIn Business page as your business card. Before handing it out to anyone, you need to ensure that it is 100% ready.
As a social channel, your LinkedIn page serves as the gateway to your business. Optimising it will help you prepare it for your SEO and marketing efforts. When people become interested in your business, they’ll check out your LinkedIn Business page. Some tips include:
- Complete your page. Pages with complete information get 30% more weekly views.
- Include a logo. Add a logo and cover image to your page. LinkedIn recommends that you update your cover image at least two times a year.
- Customise your CTA button. Make sure your Call-to-action (CTA) button aligns with your goals.
- Use all of the tools available. Take the example of Canva, which made use of the “Product” tab on LinkedIn to highlight some details about their company. This way, visitors no longer have to leave LinkedIn to learn more about what they are offering.
Image Credit: Sprout Social
The best way to optimise your page is to go beyond the usual organisational information. Showcase what it’s like to work with you as well as the people who are part of your team.
3. Develop a content strategy
Image Credit: LinkedIn Pulse
As a social channel, people use LinkedIn to network and build connections on a professional level. They need to showcase their industry knowledge and be recognised as a thought leader. One way this can be done is by regularly posting blog articles, videos, images, and curated content.
Unlike Facebook, LinkedIn users need to provide value to their audience. Their posts will not gain much traction if they just promote their products and services. Some of the things you can do to achieve this include the following:
- Share news and trends relevant to your industry
- Use hashtags to reach a wider network
- Improve your engagement by commenting and liking other users’ content
- Use eye-catching visuals, like photos, videos, and infographics
The types of posts that do well on LinkedIn include the following:
- Storytelling
- Discussions/threads
- Firsthand tips and experiences
- Case studies
- Original reports
- Testimonials
4. Make adjustments when necessary
Image Credit: Sprout Social
As with any content strategy, things won’t be perfect the first time around. It is always recommended that you track your efforts and measure the performance of your posts. LinkedIn has an analytics portal that you can use to see:
- Which posts earn the most engagement
- Whether your content is generating leads or traffic
- A time or frequency where the performance of your post matters
- How your connections and employees affect your page’s reach
5. Build leads instead of sales
One thing to remember about LinkedIn is that it is a platform for social selling instead of social commerce. It is mostly used for B2B lead generation, which means that people use it to build and nurture connections that will (hopefully) lead to a sale over time.
Unlike TikTok or Facebook, LinkedIn isn’t an ideal platform for spur-of-the-moment purchases. Instead, people who make business decisions on LinkedIn do so over some time. For example, CEOs decide to work with your brand because they see the value in what you are talking about.
For this reason, you should focus on building your credibility and forging relationships rather than making a sale on this platform. When an opportunity comes, reach out and offer expert advice instead of doing a hard sell. This will help boost your credibility once the buyer has decided to make a purchase.
The good thing about using LinkedIn for marketing is that there is so much creative freedom that you have. You can post just about anything you think will be effective with your connections.
There is an ongoing debacle about whether you should be posting memes or using LinkedIn for dating. But these are things that are up for discussion in the future.
LinkedIn Post Dimensions Guide
Image Credit: LinkedIn Pulse
LinkedIn posts with images see their engagement grow two times more than those without one. It’s also interesting to note that larger images have a greater click-through rate at 38%. Not to mention, 63.2% of businesses make sure that their marketing strategy includes images and videos.
But with so many platforms and rules to comply with, how do you keep up? How do you ensure your strategy includes visuals that would work on various channels, like Facebook, X, Instagram, and Pinterest? Here is a guide on LinkedIn post dimensions so you can create the right sizes for your photos and videos:
LinkedIn Post Dimensions |
||
Type | Size (in pixels) | Aspect Ratio |
Profile Photo | 400 x 400 | 4:1 |
Landscape Post | 1200 x 627 | 1.91:1 |
Portrait Post | 627 x 1200 | 1.91:1 |
Square Post | 1080 x 1080 | 1.91:1 |
Cover Photo | 1128 x 191 | 1.91:1 |
Carousel Post | 1080 x 1080 | 1.91:1 |
Data from LinkedIn Pulse
These sizes are only recommended ones. You may use larger sizes but to ensure that your images display correctly, stick to their corresponding aspect ratios.
Important notes to consider when posting a photo on LinkedIn:
- LinkedIn supports photos that have a maximum resolution of 7680 x 4320 pixels
- Files of up to 8MB in size can be processed, which lets you upload the maximum size of data to ensure compatibility with
- Images smaller than 200 pixels will be displayed on the left side of the article as a thumbnail
Why You Need to Use Correct LinkedIn Post Dimensions
Unfortunately, there are still some people who use the incorrect dimensions in their LinkedIn posts. Most who do this are individuals who are trying out LinkedIn posting for the first time or have not updated their page in a long time.
It’s also important to know that seasoned professionals can do it wrong too. Some opt to post the same photo as they would on Instagram or Facebook, without realising there is a mistake in doing it in the first place.
The problem with this practice though is that you tend to use the wrong aspect ratio or size for your images. As a result, your images may be cropped or appear blurry/pixelated. It could also lead to your post looking strange. This can be a big problem if you tend to do it regularly as your engagement will take a hit. It could also lead to your LinkedIn Business profile looking unprofessional.
LinkedIn New Feature: Video Carousel
Image Credit: Lindsey Gamble
LinkedIn started testing out a new feature that offers in-feed video carousels. These series of videos are included on a LinkedIn post much like a carousel post. This time, however, they include video clips instead of images.
The feature was first spotted by a user, who shared the news on Twitter. It was then covered by a social media expert along with a screen record of the feature in action.
LinkedIn has responded to this post with an official statement:
“Videos are rapidly becoming one of our members’ favourite formats to learn from other professionals and experts, so we are testing new ways to help members more easily discover timely, relevant videos to watch on LinkedIn.”
LinkedIn still hasn’t fully launched this feature, but it’s pretty interesting to see how it will be taking on the trend of video content to drive more engagement. LinkedIn previously reported that 1.5 million content gets uploaded to the platform every minute. Out of this number, video is the fastest-growing content type with an upsurge of 34% year-over-year. This proves just how big video engagement is growing for the platform.
Right now, however, we don’t know full details about the feature and what its LinkedIn post dimensions will be for video content. But based on the preview, it will likely follow TikTok’s vertical video format that moves users to a full-screen video experience once one of the video clips is tapped.
Best Practices for Posting on LinkedIn
Apart from following the right LinkedIn post dimensions, you should also consider these important factors:
1. How often to post on LinkedIn
Image Credit: LinkedIn Pulse
Posting frequently and consistently on LinkedIn plays a vital role in how well your strategy will be. Brands that post weekly can increase their engagement by 200%. If you want to post on LinkedIn, the best practice is to check what type of industry you are in. You can post daily if you are in an active industry like software development or personal finance. But if you are part of a less active industry, you can opt to post three times a week.
The goal is not to appear spammy and turn off your connections.
2. Focus on quality content
The best thing to remember is that when you are posting on LinkedIn, your posts should have something to offer. Focus on providing quality content instead of quantity. You can drive more engagement to your posts when you share relevant content with your connections.
Remember, it is better to be seen as a thought leader instead of just someone who posts irrelevant content frequently on LinkedIn.
3. Find the best time to post
Image Credit: Sprout Social
Another best practice for posting on LinkedIn is to post whenever your followers are the most active. This will allow you to get the most engagement (likes, comments, and shares). As a general guide, the best times to post on LinkedIn are on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm.
Again, this is a general guide, this may not apply to the kind of audience you are catering to. You can use various tools to help you identify which is the best time to post for your industry.
4. Use LinkedIn hashtags
Like other social networks, you need to get people to find your posts and profile. The most effective way to do this (without spending on ads) is to use hashtags.
Adding relevant hashtags to your LinkedIn posts can help optimise them. They will improve the chances of your post getting in front of people who are searching for relevant information on the topic you posted about.
You can use your analytics data to see how well specific hashtags are performing on LinkedIn. Another way to do it is to take a look at trending hashtags to see the most popular topics that people are posting on the platform.
LinkedIn Post Dimensions And Their Impact On Content Strategy
Like other marketing initiatives, building awareness and reputation of a brand doesn’t happen overnight and through random replies. You need to follow a content strategy that follows these best practices and LinkedIn post dimensions for your posts to stand out. Speak with seasoned experts to learn how we can develop a strategy for your LinkedIn marketing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best size for a LinkedIn Post?
The best size for a LinkedIn post image is 1200 x 627 pixels. This dimension ensures that your image displays well across both desktop and mobile devices, maintaining clarity and avoiding cropping. For square images, 1080 x 1080 pixels is also a popular choice.
What is the best format for LinkedIn posts?
The best format for LinkedIn posts depends on your content goals. For images, use JPEG or PNG for clarity and faster loading. For videos, MP4 is preferred, with a recommended resolution of 1080 x 1080 pixels. Text posts work well for short, impactful messages, while documents in PDF format are great for sharing presentations or detailed content. Carousels and polls are also effective for engaging audiences interactively.
What is the best length for a LinkedIn Post?
The best length for a LinkedIn post is between 150 to 200 words. This length is optimal for grabbing attention while still providing enough detail to convey your message. For video posts, aim for 30 seconds to 2 minutes, and for text-only posts, keeping it under 1,300 characters is recommended for better engagement.
Can you post a 1920×1080 video on LinkedIn?
Yes, you can post a 1920×1080 video on LinkedIn. This resolution is considered Full HD and is supported by LinkedIn, making it ideal for high-quality video content. Ensure the video is in MP4 format and within LinkedIn’s file size and duration limits for optimal performance.