LinkedIn carousel vs single infographic
By the InfographicHQ team · · Updated
Post a single infographic when your idea fits on one page and you want it understood at a glance. Post a LinkedIn carousel when the idea needs several pages, such as a walkthrough with one step per slide. If you are unsure, make the single image first. It can become slide one of a carousel later.
What is a LinkedIn carousel?
A LinkedIn carousel is a document post: a PDF whose pages the reader swipes through in the feed. A single infographic is one image, read in one look. Each carousel page holds less, and the whole thing holds more.
The trade-offs side by side
| Single infographic | LinkedIn carousel | |
|---|---|---|
| Pages | One | Several |
| Reader effort | One look | Swiping to the end |
| Words | About 170 in the body | As many as the slides hold |
| Reuse | LinkedIn, newsletters, slides, print | LinkedIn document posts |
| Work | One page to lay out and proofread | Every page |
| On InfographicHQ | Every plan. 1568 x 1960 pixels, JPG or PNG | Pro plan. PDF of 1080 x 1350 slides, no extra credit |
InfographicHQ makes the single image at 1568 x 1960 pixels and carousel slides at 1080 x 1350. The free infographic is 1080 pixels wide. See LinkedIn's own limits, in one table.
When a single infographic wins
Post a single infographic when the idea is one idea: a framework, a checklist, a process in four steps, a comparison.
- It fits in about 170 words. A second page only dilutes it.
- You want it to travel. One image can be saved, screenshotted, dropped into a slide, embedded in a blog post, sent in a chat or printed. A multi-page document mostly stays where it was posted.
- You want the point to land without effort. A carousel delivers its whole message only to people who swipe to the end. A single image delivers it to everyone who stops scrolling.
- You post often. One page is a fraction of the work of eight, so you can publish consistently without the format becoming a chore.
When a carousel wins
Post a carousel when the content is a sequence that needs room, or a story.
- The content is a sequence that needs room. A tutorial where every step needs its own screenshot or example.
- There is a story. A problem, a turn and a resolution land better across pages than in boxes on one.
- You have more than one page of genuinely good material. The test is whether each slide would be worth posting on its own. If slides three to six are filler, the single image was the better post.
You do not have to choose
Lead with the single image, use it as the cover of a carousel, or make a series.
- Lead with the single image. Post the one-page version first and see whether the topic gets a response.
- Use it as the cover. The infographic becomes slide one of a carousel: the whole idea up front, the detail behind it. On the InfographicHQ Pro plan you do not have to build that carousel yourself: the Download menu of a finished infographic has it as a PDF, with the infographic as slide one, a slide for each card and a closing slide, ready to upload as a LinkedIn document post. It uses no credit.
- Make a series instead. Five single infographics on five sub-topics, posted over a week. Each post stands alone, and a consistent look ties them together.
You can start with a title page instead, and download the slides as images. What each plan includes is on the pricing page. A consistent look is what a brand kit is for: Brand kit for infographics: what goes in one.
The practical answer
Start with one image: it is quick to make and can go anywhere an image can. InfographicHQ makes one from a topic or your notes in about a minute, and the first one is free.
