If you’ve been scrolling on LinkedIn, you’ve probably noticed an increase in video content lately.
More and more brands are investing in this type of content because it leads to more engagement than photos and text.
Peter Roybal, the head of the Video Product Management team at LinkedIn claims that native videos are 20 times more likely to be shared by users than any other type of posts.
If you’ve wondered if it’s worth putting your time and effort into creating videos for your LinkedIn business account, you’ve come to the right place.
Here’s why you should integrate this type of content in your future LinkedIn blueprint and how to do it, step by step.
LinkedIn Videos For Your Business: A Comprehensive Guide
What you need to know about uploading a video on LinkedIn
- Live videos
- Industry insights
- Leadership ideas
- About the company videos
- Product launch videos
- Event recaps
- How-to videos
- Interviews
- Repurposed content
Where do you share and publish videos on LinkedIn?
- Start strong
- Be authentic
- Keep it professional
- Adapt for both mobile and desktop
- Use the power of storytelling
Download and repurpose LinkedIn videos
Why use LinkedIn videos
Like on any other platform, videos are becoming increasingly engaging.
Whenever you're thinking of expanding your business, finding the proper channels that can connect you to your audience is key. That connection is measured by engagement.
Truth be told, the future of engaging content relies on movement, creative visuals, and a convincing narrative, with a pinch of personality - yes, brands can showcase personality as well.
Clearly, videos can better communicate emotions.
So here are a few advantages of LinkedIn videos:
- Standing out - sometimes, messages tend to repeat, so the way you convey your message is more important than ever;
- Keeping up with trends - Even in B2B, social media standards are relevant to your success;
- Delivering quality content - videos give you the opportunity to express how genuine your message is, and to spread a variety of ideas to your audience;
- Building brand awareness - it’s always best to link a face and strong moral values to a company;
- Strengthening authority in the field of your expertise - by sharing your knowledge, people can better understand how your company can help them;
- Increasing your engagement rates - It’s easier to strike up a conversation with a real person than a faceless brand, and videos humanize brands faster than any other type of content.
Even giving all the advantages above, creating videos requires a lot more time and effort than writing compelling copy or taking pictures.
But if you’re thinking of a long term strategy for your business account, it’s time to start investing.
What you need to know about uploading a video on LinkedIn
Sharing videos from your desktop, laptop, and mobile is now easier than ever.
Uploading them was possible only from mobile phones back in 2017, but this is not the case anymore, giving you lots of options.
Before you decide to upload any video, you need to know these basic guidelines:
- Videos need to be over 3 seconds and up to 10 minutes long
- The recommended length is between 30 seconds and 5 minutes;
- The maximum file size is 5GB;
- You can upload pre-recorded videos, or shoot videos natively through the mobile app;
Now that you’ve learned all this useful stuff, it’s time to upload your first video in 3 easy steps.
- Step 1: Go to your homepage and you’ll see a section where you can Start a post. Here you have multiple choices: just start typing, upload a photo, a video or a file.
Tip❗️
LinkedIn also allows you to Write an article, which is another great way to showcase a video.
- Step 2: Tap on the video sign and you’ll be able to access your documents from a computer or mobile. Don’t forget to allow the required permissions.
- Step 3: Upload the video and simply share it with your audience.
You’ve just uploaded a native LinkedIn video, which typically performs better than embedded videos or links to videos uploaded elsewhere.
Now you know how to post a video. But if you want to build your image, it’s not enough. We’ll further discuss how to improve your video skills.
LinkedIn video specs
If you want to make sure that you’ll be able to post the video, there are a few requirements you need to follow such as.
- Video length - Before uploading any of the video content, check if they are between there limits: 75KB minimum and 5GB maximum;
- Video format - Fortunately, you don’t have to worry very much about video formats, because LinkedIn supports many of them: ASF, AVI, FLV, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, MKV, QuickTime, WebM, H264/AVC, MP4, VP8, VP9, WMV2, and WMV3;
- Video captions - Let the world find out what the video is about by adding relevant captions. Keep them short and on point and make sure everyone’s attention is actually on the video;
- Filters - Uploading or recording a video from your mobile app will allow you to add stickers or text to your video, according to LinkedIn.
LinkedIn video ideas
Since LinkedIn is all about B2B, people tend to think that video tactics they use on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter won’t work on LinkedIn.
This is definitively not the case. The trick, however, is to adapt the message and the tone of voice to the platform. Be honest, but professional!
Regardless of the social media platform, live videos are always a breath of fresh air. It’s the best tool at your disposal to speak freely and honestly on subjects that genuinely interest you.
On the plus side, the LinkedIn algorithm pushes notifications when you go live, so people can join in and interact through messages.
You are certainly an expert in your domain and sharing trending news and your knowledge as an industry insider can help a lot of people.
Try contributing with updates, news or surprising and recent findings. And don’t be afraid to add your own angle as well.
Just keep in mind that your role is to help, not sell.
True leaders are hard to find these days. But if you spot one, you have a lot to learn from him/her.
Luckily for you, you have an entire team of professionals just a few feet away.
Encourage one of the leaders from your team to share insights, ideas, tips or to speak on an interesting topic.
Discover 6 types of B2B videos that supercharge your engagement.
It’s all about transparency and letting people in.
Offer a glimpse into your company culture by creating a simple, straight to the point image of everyday activities.
Add videos that showcase your company culture and values. Let people meet Brenda from Marketing or Bill from Accounting and discover their hobbies.
Show everyone what your team is all about and how they make this company create. It can lead to brand loyalty you could never have imagined.
Launching new products need some celebration - after all, it’s been a lot of hard work in the making.
Let’s do this by creating a special video for LinkedIn. Instead of writing on your blog or pitching the idea to the press, why not break away from the usual format and film your own videos?
Of course, you can always share news about your employees’ success, breakthroughs, or anything else you find relevant.
Organizing an event is not an easy task, but a rather complex one. It is also an exceptional occasion to create sensational videos for your business LinkedIn profile.
Use videos to highlight the most important moments of your event, shine a light on your keynote speakers, or just show a glimpse of the atmosphere.
Don’t be embarrassed to brag about your event, no matter its size.
If you have some experience in the field, share it with your followers on LinkedIn. This is a business-oriented platform, so use how-to videos to your advantage.
Find out what people in your field want to know. Most of the time, they’re in social media groups or on Google asking relevant questions to your industry.
Do some research and discover those questions, and then offer people the answers in your videos.
The more, the merrier. It’s also the case when it comes to experts sharing their knowledge and experience.
Interviewing experts in your field is a sign that you truly care about the quality of the content you post, which will lead to building a strong brand reputation.
You can use interviews as content not only for LinkedIn but also for your website or for Youtube.
Just remember to keep these interviews under 10 minutes.
Do you have a neat blog post that has become an Internet sensation? Spread the knowledge once more by transforming it in a video format.
Check your analytics to see which blog posts have the most traffic and create some videos out of the main ideas.
Where do you share and publish videos on LinkedIn
Creating great and insightful videos sounds like a great idea, but it’s not very effective if they’re not seen by a lot of people. This is why you have to try to reach as many professionals as possible.
There are two kinds of videos on LinkedIn: embedded and native ones.
You can embed videos in your timeline by adding the URL - for example, a Youtube URL.
On the other side of the spectrum, native videos are either made directly on LinkedIn or uploaded from your computer on the platform.
So here’s how and where you can use these videos:
- Timeline videos
These are the ones you post as any other type of content. Just like text-based or visual posts, you can share them on your timeline, so they will appear chronologically.
They remain visible for a while, but as time goes by they will fade and get lost through your other posts and constant updates. This is why you have to make sure you include videos in your posts regularly.
- Publish videos in articles
Being a business-oriented platform, LinkedIn has its own Publishing Platform. This allows all members to write, edit and distribute articles that can include multimedia elements such as images, videos, podcasts, slides, tweets, and others.
The publisher tool requires written copy, so you have to enter between 1.300 to 125.000 characters. Ideally, post lengthy content along with instructive media.
- Profile videos
This option is only available for business profiles, and you can choose between linked or uploaded videos. Basically, it means integrating videos on your company profile.
The video places you as an expert in your niche, with valuables insights to share. Keep in mind that It’s one of the first things people who follow your profile see.
- Advertisements
LinkedIn lets you create campaigns to reach a wider audience.
With this option, you can choose an objective, build a target audience, choose your ad format and set a customized budget, in order to make sure your video reaches the right people.
- Share videos with groups
You’ll want to keep up with the latest news and interests in your industry, and joining dedicated LinkedIn groups is the way to do it.
You can exchange thoughts and ideas with other professionals, learn from them and let them learn from your expertise. Naturally, videos are a big part of this.
LinkedIn video best practices
Just like with any kind of marketing tactic, having a thorough plan set in place is key. Your videos need to be honest, easy to follow and relatable.
If you want to get the most out of your videos on LinkedIn, make sure you follow a few simple best practices:
1. Start strong
With so much content on every social media platform, it’s harder for companies to get attention. That’s why the very few seconds of your video have to act as a hook and make people interested in what you have to say.
It’s not enough to work hard on a video. You need to convince people to watch it through the end.
Be original, share only high-quality videos and add captions. This will guarantee many people will watch the video, even without sound.
2. Be authentic
People are tired of the same sales speech they typically encounter with every ad they see.
Nowadays, authenticity and honesty are more effective than overused calls to action.
Your audience would much rather like to see that your brand stands for a cause, shares expertise in the field or simply wants to talk to professionals around the globe.
Try to make your videos as informative as possible. Treat your followers as people you’re talking to, not selling to.
3. Keep it professional
Invest time and effort to craft high-quality videos. Because the platform is built to connect professionals and companies around the globe, stick to a professional approach, but without turning to stuffy, cold language.
Think of it as a business-casual style.
4. Adapt for both mobile and desktop
Internet usage has constantly shifted from desktops to mobile phones.
Today, the majority of LinkedIn users (57%) are using the mobile app, so keep this in mind the next time you’re creating a video.
Add captions, keep them short and use stunning visuals.
5. Use the power of storytelling
Storytelling is the most powerful weapon for any brand.
In fact, there is no brand loyalty without it. Every single person tends to associate with brands that have a strong story behind them, sharing values and ideals they can relate to.
Don’t shy away to show both strength and vulnerability while you talk about starting and growing your company, as well as your struggles and aspirations.
Download and repurpose LinkedIn videos
Once you posted a great video on LinkedIn, it’s only natural to want to share that piece of content on other mediums as well - be it other social media platforms or your company website.
After filming a video directly from the mobile app you have the option to save the video before posting.
The bad news is that LinkedIn doesn’t allow you to download already posted videos anymore.
The good news is that there are certain LinkedIn downloader tools that can help.
Here’s how to do this:
- Open LinkedIn video, copy its URL
- Open a LinkedIn video downloader and paste the URL into the designated box
- Press the Download button
- Choose the format of the video (when needed).
All set. Now you can share your video wherever you need.
Final thoughts
LinkedIn videos can be an exceptional opportunity for your brand to stand out in a cluttered LinkedIn feed.
You can use these videos to build strong brand awareness and to increase your engagement.
Try to integrate the best practices and try out different ideas of videos, in order to determine what brings you good results.
When used well, videos can create a long-lasting impression, convince people to visit your page repeatedly and, ultimately, drive leads.
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