Formats

---
name: linkedin-formats
description: Pick the right LinkedIn content format and follow its specs. Use for questions about single images, carousels, video, polls, newsletters, which format to choose, reach by format, or format specs. Do NOT use for writing the post (use storytelling) or timing it (use scheduling).
---

# LinkedIn Content Formats

You pick the right LinkedIn content format. The default is a single image, and the actual styling is done in **your design tool** (which holds the brand system: colors, backgrounds, fonts). Your job is the format decision, not the visual styling.

## Reference

Load `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/platform/algorithm.md` for format specs and the algorithm view, and `{SKILL_BASE}/resources/performance/performance-playbook.md` for the Design lever.

## Format performance (from an analysis of 12,000+ GTM posts)

Typical (median) reactions and comments by format, across 12,000+ B2B GTM posts:

| Format | Typical reactions / comments (median) |
|---|---|
| Multi-image carousel | 44 / 6 |
| Single image | 28 / 6 |
| Video | 27 / 5 |
| Document (PDF carousel) | 22 / 5 |
| Text-only | 13 / 2 |

- **Single image is the workhorse.** It should be the default and carry the majority of posts.
- **Video is a strong but situational lever** (see the video section): audience- and timing-dependent, and cooling in the GTM space.
- **Text-only is the floor.** Text-only posts pull very few comments, so visualize them wherever you can.
- **PDF documents actually perform fine** (near single image), so avoiding them is an ad-boostability choice, not a performance one. Multi-image carousels over-index in the raw data (44), a possible contrarian play.

## Design format effect at a glance (from the 12k analysis)

Reach multiplier is median reactions relative to text-only (the 1x floor); avg engagement is mean reactions plus comments per post.

| Format | Reach multiplier | Avg engagement | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carousel (multi-image) | 2.9x | 75 | Highest typical reach. Frameworks, numbered lists, step-by-steps, save-bait. |
| Single image | 1.6x | 79 | The default workhorse, and the highest ceiling. Infographics, proof visuals, cheat sheets. |
| Video | 1.6x | 62 | Situational. Short demos or clips; does not win at the top in GTM. |
| Text-only | 1.0x (baseline) | 38 | Genuine personal stories only. Otherwise the floor, add a visual. |

Carousel has the highest typical reach, single image the highest ceiling (a bigger viral tail), so single image stays the default and carousel is the under-used lever.

## Format performance by follower band (median reactions)

| Format | <2k | 2-5k | 5-10k | 10-20k | 20-50k | 50k+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single image | 15 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 45 | 113 |
| Carousel (multi-image) | 22 | 32 | 60 | 48 | 81 | small n |
| Video | 7 | 22 | 18 | 27 | 51 | 77 |
| Text-only | 5 | 13 | 17 | 23 | 25 | 79 |

- **Single image** is the workhorse at every size and has the highest breakout ceiling.
- **Carousel** over-performs on the typical post (it often beats single image from 5 to 50k) but with a lower ceiling, an under-used lever.
- **Text-only** is the floor everywhere.
- **Video** is situational and does not win at the top, a GTM-specific pattern (broad-market benchmarks rank video higher; GTM audiences prefer dense visuals and frameworks).
- Full by-band benchmarks and percentile tiers are in `performance-playbook.md`.

## Growth Today format policy

- **Single image first** (PNG or JPG, 1080×1350px, 4:5) is the default, and a visual is mandatory on every post. A well-made animated MP4 loop (from Figma) or a quality GIF is also fine.
- **PDF carousel is not our default**, not because it fails (documents perform about as well as single image) but because only a single image can be boosted as a **Thought Leadership Ad**. If you must ship a carousel: 8-12 slides, slide one is a cover hook, one idea per slide, last slide is a CTA.
- **No cheap or generic GIFs.** Off-brand and low-effort. (A designed MP4 loop is different and allowed.)
- **External links out of the body** (they cut reach 40-60%). Post natively, put the link in the first comment, and say "link in comments".
- **Text-only only for a genuine personal story** where a visual would dilute it. Otherwise always attach a visual. When you do go text-only: 800 to 1,300 characters, hook in the first 210, single sentences per line.
- **Polls**: sparingly (max 1/week, audience research only). **Newsletters**: see the `repurposing` sub-skill.

## Video: situational, not our default

In general video is a strong lever and can be the best-performing format for established accounts. But for Growth Today it is audience- and timing-dependent, not a default:

- Our deep GTM topics do not fit LinkedIn native video's 2 to 3 minute window.
- Video has cooled in the GTM space. Our own older videos are in the data, but the trend softened.
- **The Growth Today play:** lead with a strong single-image post and link the full breakdown on YouTube (first comment or as a resource), rather than relying on native video.
- If you do post native video: short and scroll-stopping (Shorts/Reels style) or a longer substantial piece (webinar), never middling. Captions mandatory (85%+ watch on mute), vertical 9:16 for short form, watch your own analytics.

## Growth Today priority visual formats

All single image, designed in your design tool.

| Format | What it is | Best for | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Info-dense infographic** | one dense page that forces zoom-in | tech-stack maps, system flows, framework dashboards | a top-performing visual (e.g. a dense infographic on a concrete build) |
| **Cheat sheet / master map** | everything on one topic on one dense page | annual resources, role or topic overviews | highest save-bait: lower comments, very high saves |
| **Proof visual** | real tool-UI screenshot + bold title overlay | campaign results, tool comparisons, Claude Code output | real numbers = instant credibility |
| **Comparison visual** | two columns, naive view vs expert view | contrarian takes, before/after, role education | light background, green accents |
| **Tool map** | numbered rows with tool-logo pills | tech-stack reveals by layer | |
| **Tier ring** | concentric rings | signal tiering, account scoring | |

## Format decision tree

```
Comprehensive overview / reference resource? → CHEAT SHEET (primary, save-bait)
Tech stack / tool reveal by layer?           → TOOL MAP
Comparison / activation scenarios?           → DASHBOARD GRID
Contrarian take / naive vs expert?           → COMPARISON VISUAL
Real campaign results / tool output?         → PROOF VISUAL
Signal tiering / account scoring?            → TIER RING
Personal story / vulnerability?              → portrait photo or branded card (text-only only if truly special)
Claude Code workflow?                        → terminal screenshot or proof visual
Sequential workflow that truly can't fit 4:5?→ carousel, max 1x/week; first ask "can this be a cheat sheet?"
User requests PDF carousel / cheap GIF?      → explain the policy, propose a single-image alternative
Video?                                       → see the video section (situational; usually drive to YouTube)
```

> Governs **file format** (single image first, MP4/GIF loop allowed, no PDF carousels or cheap GIFs), not **creative style**. Other creative approaches (map visuals, people grids, hub-and-spoke) are fine when they serve the topic.

## Handoff to design

Once the format is chosen, the visual itself is built in **your design tool** (which holds your brand system). This skill does not generate a structured design brief, and it should not: that is a separate job.

- **Pick the format here**, then hand the content and format to your design tool.
- **Want a written brief first?** Use **design-briefer** to turn the post into a brand-agnostic design brief plus fitted copy, then build it in your design tool.

## Start from your own data

LinkedIn's algorithm decides what gets distributed, and it shifts materially about every quarter, so treat every rule here as a current best guess. Start from the account's own analytics (what earns reach, saves, and comments right now), read it by funnel stage (ToF reach, MoF discussion, BoF intent), benchmark against others in the space, and re-check quarterly. Format always follows the content: topic, then pillar, then funnel goal.

## Examples

**Example 1, a 7-step framework:** cheat-sheet infographic, single image 1080×1350, built in your design tool. Not a PDF carousel (not boostable as an ad).

**Example 2, a personal failure story:** text-only is acceptable here (a real story). Mistake-to-lesson structure, under 1,300 chars, hook in the first 210.

**Example 3, promoting a blog article:** a text summary of the key insight, then drop the link into the first comment and keep it out of the post body.

---

*Created by [Growth Today](https://www.growthtoday.co), an AI-native GTM engineering firm. Maintained and updated by [Brigitta Ruha](https://www.linkedin.com/in/brigittaruha/). More open Claude Skills for go-to-market teams: https://www.growthtoday.co/claude-skills*