LinkedIn users will have noticed that more and more videos are popping up in their feed, with the social media platform gradually edging into a market dominated by Instagram and TikTok.
The Microsoft-owned platform has been encouraging video uploads, and users on the platform who have posted bite-sized video content are already reporting a huge spike in their interactions.
LinkedIn has always been viewed as the business-minded social platform with Instagram and TikTok gathering a far wider net of creators and users. But as TikTok’s future looks increasingly shaky in the US, LinkedIn is sneaking up behind it.
Why Is LinkedIn Going After Videos Now?
This isn’t LinkedIn’s first foray into video content. It launched live videos in 2019 and there was also a short lived Stories feature which disappeared in 2021. It has really been in this year, though, that the company has started promoting video content.
In March, TechCrunch reported that a strategy director at an influencer agency called McKinney had spotted LinkedIn’s short-form video feeds. He posted to show the new Video button, which reveals a feed of short video content that users can scroll through.
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A couple of months later in August, LinkedIn made a big splash about its in-feed video carousels, and since then, a raft of tutorial videos have appeared made by creators to help the LinkedIn masses take advantage of this relatively new option. The emphasis is on B2B content but with a broad scope of topics from personal stories to product launches.
Is Its Video Push Working?
Meghana Dhar, a former shopping partnerships manager at Instagram, and now a creator with 15,000 LinkedIn followers, told Business Insider that her LinkedIn “engagement has just exploded” since she started posting videos. She added that she got 10,000 impressions for a written post but a piece to camera garnered her two million hits.
Perhaps it is because of Instagram and TikTok that video content is now the content of choice. It’s easy to consume and feels more personal. LinkedIn has seen this and wants a slice of the action, not least because it allows it to shake off its slightly fusty image as a place for suits and job ads.
Jamé Jackson is a LinkedIn community manager and told Business Insider. “I am on a personal mission to make LinkedIn a daily habit for people. We are so much more than just a platform for job searching.”
And it seems to be working. During the company’s October earnings call, Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella said that “weekly immersive video views increased six times quarter-over-quarter and total video viewership on LinkedIn is up 36% year-over-year.”
How to Get the Best From LinkedIn Video
LinkedIn says that quality is important. Content should be business-focused but can be anything from an insider scoop to a fresh perspective on something in the news.
The company also says that users should “reflect how members already use LinkedIn to find new opportunities and make connections,” and make content that speaks to this. A clear message or call to action is key; and make sure you engage with the comments once the video is live.
However, what LinkedIn doesn’t have is a way for creators to make money from their content. Instead, it’s all about engagement and kudos instead of dollars, but could this change in the future?
