Text, image, carousel or video: picking a format for the post you have

Every few months a new format is said to be the one LinkedIn favours. First it was text posts, then documents, then video. Some of those claims may have been true for a while. None of them is a good way to decide what to post, because a format that suits the content will beat a fashionable one that does not.

The better question is what your post needs to show. Start there and the format usually picks itself.

Text only

A text post is the fastest to make and the easiest to read on any device. It suits arguments, stories, short lessons and anything that works as a few clear paragraphs.

• Use it for: a finding from client work, an answer to a common question, a short framework with three or four points.
• Watch for: walls of text. Break lines every one or two sentences and use numbered points where the content is a list.
• Length: long enough to be useful, short enough that the reader finishes. For most posts that is a few hundred words at most.

Text with an image

An image gives the eye somewhere to stop in a fast-moving feed. It works best when it adds information instead of decoration.

• Good images: a chart of the number in the post, a screenshot of the thing being discussed, a simple diagram of the framework, a real photo from the work.
• Weak images: generic stock photos of people pointing at laptops, quote cards that repeat the first line.
• Keep text on the image large and short. Many readers will see it on a phone.
• Add alt text so the image works for people using screen readers.

Carousels and document posts

LinkedIn lets you upload a PDF that readers swipe through page by page. These are often called carousels. They suit content with a sequence: steps, a before and after, a set of examples.

• Use it for: a step-by-step process, a checklist, a teardown of a landing page one section at a time.
• Keep one idea per page, with a large headline and very little body text.
• Make the first page do the job of an opening line. It decides whether anyone swipes.
• Cost: they take much longer to make than a text post. Save them for content that needs the sequence.

Video

Video carries tone, face and voice better than any other format, which makes it good for trust. It is also the most expensive to make well and the easiest to abandon after three attempts.

• Use it for: a quick demo, a walkthrough of a result, a short explanation from the person clients will work with.
• Add captions. Many people scroll with the sound off.
• Put the point in the first few seconds, for the same reason the first line of a text post matters.
• Only commit to regular video if you can keep it going. A one-off is fine; a series that stops is a gap.

A simple way to decide

1. Write the post as text first, whatever format you end up with.
2. Ask whether a picture would make it clearer. If there is a number, a chart often would. If there is a product, a screenshot often would.
3. Ask whether the content has a sequence the reader should follow page by page. If yes, consider a carousel.
4. Ask whether seeing and hearing you would change how it lands. If yes, and you have the time, consider video.
5. If none of these apply, post it as text. Plenty of the best posts on LinkedIn are plain text.

Keep a sustainable mix

Your format mix has to fit your cadence. If you post three times a week and one post is a carousel that takes two hours, that may be fine. If every post is a carousel, the cadence will not last. A realistic mix for many founders is mostly text and text with an image, with the heavier formats saved for the ideas that earn them.

Visual consistency matters more than any single format. Pick a small set of colours and one or two layouts for charts and diagrams, and reuse them. Over time, readers recognise your posts before they read the name.

How GoodSocials handles this

GoodSocials writes text posts and can generate an image for each one, up to 200 a month per profile. How those images should look is one of your three brand principles, and a revise comment on any image updates it for the next ones.