What You Need to Know About LinkedIn Native Videos
So, you want to be part of the native video wave on LinkedIn. Sure, it’s crucial that you do. Estimates vary, but it’s believed that by 2020, almost 80% of web traffic will be driven by video content. LinkedIn has already started rolling out its native video upgrade to users on mobile devices.
Of course, you’d argue that it was always possible to share YouTube and Vimeo video links to LinkedIn. Yes, however, LinkedIn native video changes it all. The level of engagement you can draw with native LinkedIn videos is amazing. In this guide, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about LinkedIn native videos.
How Do I Upload Native Videos to LinkedIn?
To upload a native video on LinkedIn, open the mobile app. Look for a video icon to the top right of the share box (assuming you have the upgrade). Click on it, and the interface will ask you to either record a video using your phone camera, or upload a pre-recorded video from your gallery.
LinkedIn has issued some guidelines for native videos, which you’d do well to remember if you plan to record specialized business videos for your LinkedIn profile. The video duration needs to be between 3 seconds and 10 minutes, though somewhere close to 3 minutes is the sweet spot, considering short audience attention spans. The maximum file size is 5 GB, which is pretty generous, really.
Then, you can add up to 700 characters of text to go along with the video post. Some tips to remember:
- LinkedIn, just like Facebook, plays native videos in an auto loop, silently.
- So, make your update text captivating, descriptive, and attention-grabbing.
- Typing 700 characters on mobile can be difficult; I suggest you mail yourself the message draft and paste it into the update box.
- Add links to your blog posts, LinkedIn Publisher posts, or website.
- You can tag people in your native video update post; thoughtfully select a few who can help drive engagement.
Upsides to LinkedIn Native Video Marketing
Let’s cover some of the potential benefits of LinkedIn native video marketing.
It’s Likely to Be Much More Engaging than Embedded YouTube Videos
B2B marketers cherish the idea of being able to engage contacts and potential clients on LinkedIn. Native videos are right up their league. Facebook native videos enjoy 10X more shares than embedded videos. Even if half of it holds up for LinkedIn, chances are the native video will topple embedded videos on LinkedIn very soon.
LinkedIn Native Video Campaigns Will Be a Source of Insight for Brands
LinkedIn’s built-in analytical capabilities come to the forefront with native videos. B2B marketers will be able to zero in on crucial audience details such as job title, employer, job function, etc., and it will be able to use the data to fine-tune subsequent video content for more targeted posting.
It’s Likely that LinkedIn Will Give Preferential Treatment to Native Videos
LinkedIn has switched to an algorithmic feed already. With that in mind, it’s likely that LinkedIn will drive visibility of native video content up, preferring it over embedded videos. When this happens, you won’t want to be left high and dry.
More Things to Know about LinkedIn Video
Before you make arrangements for a professional quality video shoot for your LinkedIn profile, here are some things to know.
- Videos can be shot in a horizontal or vertical format.
- Vertical videos are cropped to a square shape in the feed.
- Horizontal videos are shown in full in the feed.
- For businesses with a global and multilingual appeal, the going is tough because there’s no auto-captioning functionality yet. This means you need to use software such as Camtasia to hard caption your video content.
What Kind of Videos Should I Focus On?
At the moment, LinkedIn has given all indications that point towards exclusivity of native videos (you can’t embed LinkedIn native videos elsewhere, like YouTube videos). This buttoned-down approach is in sync with how LinkedIn does things. You need to create engaging videos and ensure your native videos are appealing. Here are some content and theme suggestions to leverage as you attempt to:
- Short interviews with your business’ C-suite members
- Videos showcasing your workplace culture
- Product launch videos
- Behind-the-scenes videos
- Animated resourceful content on business trends
- Tell viewers something unique and surprising about yourself; here’s an example
Concluding Remarks
Very soon, native video upgrades will have reached all LinkedIn users. Whether native videos enjoy the kind of success they did for Facebook, remains to be seen. Now, the time is ripe for marketers to make the most of the functionality before LinkedIn gets saturated with native video content.
