LinkedIn might be the oldest social networking platform, but that doesn’t make it any less popular for marketers. With over 1 billion active members worldwide, LinkedIn is a powerful platform for professionals to increase their visibility and engagement. It also provides a fantastic outlet for brands seeking new ways to incorporate video clips as part of their overall marketing strategy through video on LinkedIn for desktop and phone usage via the LinkedIn app.
While organic video might not be the first type of content to pop into your head when you hear the name LinkedIn, there are many reasons to harness the power of video content on the platform if you’re not doing so already. This guide explores different LinkedIn video formats, features specific to the platform, as well as insights into the platform's algorithm. I’ll also guide you through best practices to create engaging and informative LinkedIn video content garner new connections, and create online communities.
Why LinkedIn Video Matters for Organic Content
LinkedIn launched its first native video format in 2017, a game changer for building professional connections, showcasing thought leadership, and establishing trust between brands and audiences. This expanded the possibilities for marketers looking to test other content on the platform and experiment with social media videos on LinkedIn.
Whether working with limited budgets or wanting to test out an alternative platform, LinkedIn videos can be a great outlet for producing new short-form videos and other types of organic content. You can connect with new audience members and existing followers within LinkedIn's video feed, add captions for soundless phone experiences, and provide insider tips and tricks that position your brand as an authority in your industry.
With 86% of marketers incorporating video into their overall content strategy, LinkedIn's video feed provides a fantastic outlet to get creative and engage new audiences with LinkedIn Lives, Document Videos, and even link out to third-party platforms.
Benefits of Using LinkedIn Video
As the platform continues to roll out new video posts offerings and features, there continue to be ample benefits to adopting LinkedIn videos as part of your brand’s content.
LinkedIn videos receive five times more engagement on the platform than static content, with LinkedIn Lives receiving 24 times more engagement. Thanks to its in-feed video offerings, videos housed on LinkedIn’s platforms boost discovery and engagement.
While its mid-scroll vertical format shares similarities with Instagram Reels, LinkedIn content appears strictly within your audience’s feed. This differs from short-form video platforms like YouTube and Instagram, which feature a Discovery and Explore page, respectively, to preview new and trending video posts.
Similarly, LinkedIn videos offer significant potential for your organic reach, with many referring to it as the TikTok of B2B video as it combines elements of business networking with content creation and video production.
LinkedIn Video Formats: Types & How to Use Them
Next, let’s look at the various formats and types of video posts for marketers on LinkedIn. I’ll briefly describe each, their ideal use cases, and best practices.
Native Videos
To kick off my list, native videos are those directly embedded on LinkedIn. These are talking head videos that marketers upload directly to the platform using their computer or via the LinkedIn mobile app. Given their auto-play capabilities, native videos immediately capture your audience’s attention throughout LinkedIn's video feed, making them ideal for thought leadership videos, tutorials, and case studies.
Native content is diverse in its offerings. It can take the form of both short-form videos and long-form videos on your user's LinkedIn homepage.
Video uploads can span a maximum length of:
- 15 minutes when published from a video file on your computer.
- 10 minutes when uploaded from a mobile device.
For shorter content, you’ll want to edit videos to sit within the sweet spot of one to three minutes. That said, your campaign objective will likely impact your video length, so adjust accordingly.
Similar to other platforms, LinkedIn favors short videos that capture audience attention spans. Here are some tactics to help with this:
- Add stickers and text when you create LinkedIn video content for interactive experiences.
- Optimize videos with stunning visuals, an enticing video thumbnail, and HD audio quality.
- Include closed captions to your short videos for viewers with accessibility needs.
Whatever your marketing goals or objectives for your content or your video ads, ensuring your LinkedIn content does this quickly and efficiently puts you in a better position to promote your new video to potential audiences.
LinkedIn Live
Broadcast to your audiences in real-time using the power of video streaming, thanks to LinkedIn Live. Viewers engage with you live by asking questions and joining your virtual conversation. This gives them a behind-the-scenes glimpse into your business, and lets them build meaningful connections with your staff, fellow audience members, as well as other creators who might be watching your video live.
LinkedIn Live is ideal for long-form content requiring a video outlet, like interactive webinars, Q&A sessions, or kicking off product launches. They also let you promote your events in advance across your audiences' LinkedIn feed and make for great repurposed content throughout other social media platforms once your video stream is complete.
Document Videos
Document videos are another name for carousel-style videos on LinkedIn and are a relatively new feature to the platform. This short-form video feeds a side-scrolling array of video clips to users, letting them swipe across to view documents, images, and more.
Document videos are an excellent use case when you want to incorporate a storytelling element as part of your videos or need to present step-by-step tutorials and multi-slide presentations.
Third-Party Video Links
Finally, LinkedIn video offers marketers the ability to share third-party video content. This enables brands to disperse content across platforms, such as sharing YouTube and Vimeo links to LinkedIn audiences.
While this seamless format lets you easily share ready-made content from other social platforms, third-party video links tend to receive a lower organic reach than a native video file that you directly upload and publish to LinkedIn. Keep that in mind the next time you think about sharing a new video from your YouTube channel to LinkedIn's video feed.
LinkedIn-Specific Features for Video Content
Not all social media platforms are created equal. In fact, LinkedIn offers its users specific features for creating, publishing, and analyzing video content.
By understanding unique platform-specific features for producing LinkedIn video content, you increase your chances of your video content aligning with the platform’s algorithm, attracting new audiences while maximizing the platform’s feature offerings.
Video Analytics
LinkedIn’s video performance insights enable marketers to make data-driven decisions to enhance future video marketing campaigns. These include video views and engagement rates.
You can also get a sense of who is watching your vertical video with viewer demographics, granting insight into audience professions, industries, and locations, helping determine if your content is reaching your target audience.
Video Captions
41% of online audiences prefer watching videos on their mobile phone. Add captions and subtitles to enhance the overall silent auto-play experiences and take into account the accessibility needs for individual viewers with disabilities.
Call-to-Action (CTA)
When you upload to LinkedIn's video feed, incorporate a strong call-to-action within your closed captions and frames. This encourages and invites audiences to take the next step to interact with you. This can include engaging with your business profile, signing up for your newsletter, increasing website visits, or simply encouraging users to share videos.
Some CTAs to consider using include:
- Visit our website
- Message us for details
- Comment your thoughts
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How the LinkedIn Video Algorithm Works
Every major social media platform, including LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, utilizes an algorithm to ensure the best user experience for its audiences and users. An algorithm is often made up of a set of rules that determine whether a new video published to the platform is likely to receive engagement.
If it deems the video likely to be interacted with and clicked on, it is more likely to be positioned front and center for new and existing users to consume via the LinkedIn mobile app. It can launch brands into the stratosphere, generate new leads, and create communities.
Little is truly known or understood about what influences each algorithm to push content in front of audiences or how algorithms actually operate; the LinkedIn video algorithm is no different.
While the LinkedIn team keeps its algorithm elements relatively under wraps, there are elements to focus on to present your video content favorably so you receive greater interaction from potential viewers.
For example, we know that LinkedIn tends to favor content incorporating new or emerging features the platform launches and that brands do themselves a huge favor by experimenting with these elements. We also know that users are displayed content that is similar to their recent viewing activity on the platform.
Ahead of us taking a closer look into some potential elements that make up the algorithm, or at the very least, are favored by the algorithm, I want to reiterate that these insights are based on industry studies and expert observations, not official LinkedIn releases.
Engagement Within the First Hour
Regardless of the industry you serve and the audience your LinkedIn video content aims to target, it’s crucial you start your content strong. In fact, the first few seconds are often critical to determine if a user will continue watching your video on LinkedIn or decide to share videos with their connections.
The platform monitors video content engagement within its first hour, considering a video’s likes, comments, and shares. By reviewing these components, LinkedIn interprets higher engagement levels as a sign that your content is something audiences are interested in seeing and viewing.
Encouraging deeper conversations among followers in the comments sections not only boosts your positioning in favor of the algorithm but also helps you build meaningful connections with your audiences.
Video Relevance Remains Important
Content relevance is an important factor in increasing overall engagement as part of the LinkedIn algorithm. It is determined by several video factors, including its topic, language, and mentions, as well as your audience’s existing profile connections, viewing activity, and how long they view your video (known as “dwell time”).
This is important to note, given LinkedIn won’t display your content to random or uninterested audiences. Rather, it will display your content to those viewers who are more likely to make meaningful contributions to your video in the comments section, increasing your overall video engagement. Allegedly, LinkedIn also prioritizes professionals your profile or brand is already connected to, in addition to those connections with whom you regularly interact with on the platform.
Best Practices for Creating Successful LinkedIn Videos
Now that you understand the different LinkedIn video formats available and have some potential insight into how the LinkedIn algorithm may operate, I'll share some LinkedIn video best practices that are successful and engaging yet align with LinkedIn as a professional networking and ideas-sharing platform.
Above all, you’ll want to keep your video professional yet personable, ensuring a fine balance of polished content with authenticity.
Content Ideas for Organic LinkedIn Videos
Don’t restrict yourself to one type of video, especially if your expertise is far-reaching and impactful. From tutorials and quick tips to customer stories and case studies, experiment to see what works for you and your brand. Don’t forget to give your audience a glimpse into the goings-on with your brand by incorporating behind-the-scenes clips or team introductions.
Consistency is Key
Creating LinkedIn video content is not a “one-and-done” strategy. It takes consistent, long-term momentum to see results. When you post regularly, you create better connections with your audiences, and provide continuous insight into who you are and what you offer. If you’re just starting your LinkedIn video strategy, posting quality content once or a twice a week is a great start.
Optimize for Mobile Viewing
Did you know that 91% of LinkedIn members watch videos on their mobile devices? That’s a significant audience whose attention you can potentially capture simply by optimizing your videos for mobile viewing experiences. Don’t forget to optimize for the few seconds of viewing experiences, too. Hook your audiences in with an intriguing question, bold statement, or visually engaging element to ensure they remain watching via their phone.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Best Ratio for LinkedIn Videos?
The best aspect ratio for LinkedIn videos depends on the format, but 16:9 (horizontal) and 1:1 (square) work best for in-feed posts, while 9:16 (vertical) is ideal for Stories. Square videos tend to perform well for engagement, while horizontal works better for more polished, long-form content. No matter the ratio, make sure your video is optimized for mobile, since most LinkedIn users scroll on their phones.
How Long Can a LinkedIn Organic Video Be?
LinkedIn native videos can be up to 15 minutes long when uploaded from a computer and 10 minutes from a mobile device. But shorter is often better—videos in the 30 second to three minute range tend to hold attention and drive more engagement. If you’re posting a LinkedIn Live, there’s no hard time limit, but keeping it under 60 minutes ensures better audience retention.
What Is the Format of LinkedIn Organic Video?
LinkedIn supports MP4 video files with a maximum file size of 5 GB. Videos should have a resolution between 256 x 144 and 4096 x 2304 pixels, with frame rates from 10 to 60 frames per second (FPS). Auto-play is enabled in the feed, so adding captions helps keep viewers engaged even when they’re scrolling without sound.
How Do You Optimize Videos for LinkedIn?
To optimize your LinkedIn videos, grab attention within the first few seconds with bold visuals or a compelling hook. Keep your content concise—ideally under three minutes—to maintain engagement. Since LinkedIn videos autoplay on mute, add captions to make them accessible and mobile-friendly. A strong thumbnail, relevant hashtags, and a clear call-to-action (CTA) can help boost visibility and drive interaction. Finally, post consistently and encourage comments to increase reach, as LinkedIn favours content that sparks conversation.
Elevate Your Marketing Strategy with LinkedIn Video
LinkedIn’s video capabilities offer a powerful way to connect, engage, and grow your professional presence. By understanding its formats, aligning with the algorithm, and following best practices, you can craft content that resonates with your audience and boosts your brand’s visibility.
Now it’s your turn—experiment with different video types, stay consistent, and optimize for mobile to make the most of LinkedIn’s unique platform. Your next big connection might just be one video away!
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