On June 16, LinkedIn announced that it would be discontinuing certain creator features, including native LinkedIn carousels, profile videos, and in-image links.
According to their announcement email this decision was based on user feedback, which suggested these features were not effectively facilitating sharing experiences and expertise within the community.
Carousel posts: The most significant feature to be removed
Native LinkedIn carousels were added as a format in July 2022, aiming to provide a more engaging and interactive way of presenting content. Despite the positive engagement experienced by many users, the overall response from creators has been lukewarm, leading to the decision to remove the native posting tool by June 26th.
However, users can still create LinkedIn carousels using the PDF document feature, which shows each page as an individual, scrollable frame. This can be a helpful workaround for social media managers who still want to utilize the benefits of carousel posts for their organic content.
Profile videos and in-image links: Additional features to be removed
Introduced in 2021, profile videos offered users the chance to add a short video clip linked to their profile images. Even with additional prompts provided by LinkedIn to encourage use, this feature will also be discontinued.
LinkedIn’s option to add clickable links to images and videos, a feature introduced in August 2022, has also been deemed unpopular and will be shelved. Regardless of its potential to drive referral traffic, it hasn’t caught on as expected.
How to create effective LinkedIn carousels
While LinkedIn’s announcement marks the end of these three features, it does not completely erase the possibility of creating engaging carousel posts.
Here are some tips to create compelling LinkedIn carousels :
1. Start with an eye-catching visual: The first slide grabs the audience’s attention. An engaging image or a compelling title can intrigue the viewer enough to scroll through the rest of the carousel. You can use a tool like Canva to create LinkedIn carousels quickly.
2. Add branding: Ensure your brand identity is consistent and recognizable by adding your logo, username or profile image to each slide.
3. Create a clear Call to Action (CTA): The goal of a carousel post should be more than just getting users to scroll through the slides. Decide on a goal and create a relevant CTA for every carousel. Whether you want traffic, more direct messages or more profile views, make it clear in the last slide
4. Share thought leadership: LinkedIn carousels are a great way to share unique thoughts, visions, or strategies related to your industry.
5. Highlight industry trends: Analyze and share industry trends or data you’ve collected to offer valuable insights to your audience.
6. Compile customer stories and case studies: Use LinkedIn carousels to visualize data from your customers or clients, or to share user-generated content.
7. Teach users something new: LinkedIn carousels are ideal for tutorials. Break down the process into steps and highlight each on its own carousel card.
8. Employ data visualizations: Use data in your carousel posts for impactful, shareable content that underlines your industry expertise.
9. Re-purpose them for other channels: The carousel format is also available on Instagram, so if you have an Instagram presence, re-post it there as well!
Looking ahead
Although LinkedIn is phasing out some features, the platform still offers abundant opportunities for creative content presentation.
For social media managers and digital marketers, the key lies in adapting to these changes, understanding the preferences of the audience, and creating engaging content that resonates with the LinkedIn community.
