How Many Characters In A Linkedin Post? [A Character Count Guide]

Character limits on LinkedIn mean more than just the amount you can include in a post or message.

These limits influence how your overall brand is perceived, which can inherently impact important connections.

LinkedIn is one of the most powerful platforms in the world and in this post, I will outline how to utilize this platform to its utmost potential in order to meet character limits successfully, inherently creating the most valuable professional brand. 

LinkedIn Posts Character Limit

The character limit for posts on LinkedIn is 3000 characters.

This gives you copious amounts of space to enter the relevant information and tailor it to suit your individual brand or business.

The character limit for the headlines on these posts has been extended to 220 characters.

LinkedIn will display a ‘see more’ button if your post extends beyond the 140 character mark.

LinkedIn Messaging Character Limits

LinkedIn provides two options for messaging. The first of these is connection messages that are messages received from prospective connections that wish to join your network within the platform.

These messages will have a limit of 300 characters. Letters, numbers, spaces, emojis, and symbols are included as characters.

While this may seem limited, it is enough to make the right impact – if used correctly.

The second option for messaging on LinkedIn is InMail. This is an email that is linked directly to your LinkedIn account.

While it is specifically an email for your account, it is slightly different in the sense that you are only able to send messages to people who you are already connected to.

There is also a limit placed on the number of InMail messages that can be sent and received each month, all of these expire after 90 days if they aren’t used.

If this seems restrictive, it is because LinkedIn has introduced this option as part of their path towards upgrading to a paid subscription. In order to send more emails to people who aren’t in your network, you can also buy credits to do so.

What Should I Include In A LinkedIn Message?

When you are considering using LinkedIn messaging in order to connect with more people, you may want to know what should be added to these messages.

There are four key elements that should be included in order to make your messages have the optimum impact. 

URLs

URLs are a great place to start whenever sharing content on LinkedIn.

This is because your aim is to ensure that your potential connection does not need to do the utmost work in order to obtain a good understanding of your skillset and brand.

Whenever you are using URLs, you should try to ensure that you have shortened yours.

While LinkedIn allows you to shorten your URL for posts, it does not allow you to do this when sending messages.

Due to the character limits that have been outlined above, you will need to save as many characters as possible in order to leave space for your main message.

Thus, URLs are more beneficial when used in LinkedIn posts as opposed to messages.

This is because they tend to populate large quantities of your character count on standard messages.

You should also note that previews of your content are not provided within InMail messages.

How Do I Connect Like A Pro?

Creating impactful messages and posts on LinkedIn may seem like a hard task.

Thus, you may be wondering what to say whenever you are reaching out to potential employers and connections.

You may also wonder what makes reading a message worthwhile to new connections? I have outlined some tips to drive your engagements below: 

1. Ensure That The Subject Line Is Right

Copywriters often place emphasis on succinct subject lines for content. These are the access key to the minds of your reader.

As such, you need to treat these lines with care and ensure that you are crafted them specifically. In order to produce a solid subject line, you will also need to ensure that you are adding value to your post.

Value can be classified as anything that includes a reference point of a point of discovery that can be made in order to identify your message or post to the recipient. Whatever angle you are taking, you should make sure that your subject line is personal and valid.

Personal subject lines will ensure that your reader knows why they need to read the email, and valid subject lines specifically target your recipient using a personal trigger that is thereby linked to professional gain.

Whenever you are considering the length of your subject line, you should try to keep it between 28-39 characters in order to avoid overwhelming your reader.

2. Stay Relevant

Without remaining relevant, your emails will tank. Staying relevant is crucial when generating the highest standard of results on LinkedIn.

As previously mentioned, relevance can be achieved by referencing a personal discovery that you have made about a potential connection, or by using a common reference point like a mutual connection.

There is also another important factor that should be considered whenever you are striving for relevance. This concerns the recipient’s interest in the post or message itself.

They will be asking themselves “what is in this for me?”. Therefore, you should keep your message succinct and relevant to their professional needs.

3. Stay Specific

You also need to remain specific as specificity helps to remove any reason for dismissing a message on LinkedIn.

If you are accurately identified a relevant connection point and your recipient has opened your message, then stating succinctly and on point is the best way to build a solid case for communication.

Using stats, figures, names, or titles is also a brilliant way to ensure that your message remains specific to the subject at hand.

This also provides you with more credibility, although, you should avoid overwhelming them with too many specific details. Your aim is to generate interest in your potential connection without overwhelming them.

Conclusion

To conclude, the character limit for posts on LinkedIn is 3000 characters.

This gives you plentiful opportunities to outline detailed descriptions of the job that you are advertising, or the skills that you have in your area of expertise. The character limit for headlines on these posts is 220 characters.

You should note that you should aim to keep your posts as relevant and specific as possible in order to avoid deterring potential connections from reaching out to you.

Driving engagement on LinkedIn is all about your presentation and remaining succinct is a great means of developing and enhancing your professional brand.

You should also note that using URLs can take up a sizable chunk of any post on LinkedIn.

Fortunately, LinkedIn shortens URLs on posts. However, this is not applicable for messages that are sent within the platform including those messages that are sent via InMail.

There are also limitations placed on the number of messages that can be sent via InMail if you do not have access to a paid subscription or are unwilling to purchase additional credits.