Are you on the fence about using video at all, let alone using video on LinkedIn?
Smart small business owners have been using video for years to:
Further, Small Business Rainmaker founder and video marketing expert André Palko noted, through various sources:
Savvy business owners don’t limit their video use to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. They also use their videos on LinkedIn. Social Media Examiner says:
"Marketers who are already invested in YouTube or Facebook video should consider LinkedIn because its unique audience offers great opportunities. LinkedIn has more people who work in the top levels of their profession and attracts people who are gainfully employed or seeking a job. You’ll find only slightly more men than women, and the demographic is older.
With this audience, LinkedIn is great for content creators who want to reach people who have buying power. About 45% of all B2B buyers make purchasing decisions based on LinkedIn content. So if you’re on LinkedIn and you’re a B2B marketer, you have a good chance of reaching people who could help you move sales."
Video creator Animoto notes:
"With an audience over 610 million professionals worldwide, LinkedIn offers a unique opportunity for marketers to reach decision-makers, thought leaders, and executives on a platform where they’re ready to engage with and consume professional content."
They've put together some data that should convince you to get you on board with video on LinkedIn:
And renowned Marketing expert Neil Patel says:
"LinkedIn has proven without question that they intend to remain a relevant part of the go-getters’ success. I believe that content marketing on LinkedIn is more important now than ever. And the best way they’ve shown this is with the addition of native video on their platform. They’re adapting to capitalize on the biggest marketing trends at the right time, and so should you."
You can see that LinkedIn and video is a match made in heaven for marketing.
1. Native video – uploading videos directly to LinkedIn and they reside on LinkedIn.
2. Embedded videos – posting links on LinkedIn to videos that reside on an outside video platform like YouTube. LinkedIn supports video sharing platforms YouTube, SlideShare, TED, Getty, Vimeo, Vine, Lifestream, and more.
3. LinkedIn video ads – paid advertising created only by a LinkedIn (company) Page admin with user permissions. These videos can run as long as 30 minutes, whereas native video can be a maximum of 10 minutes. I’m not covering paid video posting on LinkedIn in this article, but you can read about LinkedIn video ads here.
At this writing, LinkedIn allows you to post native videos here (look for the little video icon to upload your video):
You’ll use embedded videos here:
In the About, Experience and Education sections of your personal LinkedIn profile. To embed videos in these sections, click on the little blue edit pencil for each section, look for the “Media” section, and click on “Link” to add the link to your video.
LinkedIn’s Publishing Platform (sometimes called Pulse). To post video links in your articles here, look for the Embed icon in the top menu when you open an article page. You can also click the Add Multimedia icon to the left of your cursor and select the Video icon to add video links.
Most any kind of video can be used on LinkedIn, including:
Video styles cover a wide range, such as these outlined by graphic designer platform 99designs. Some of them can be made on your own smartphone, some using DIY solutions, and some must be created by professional video production firms:
DIY video often compromises on quality, so if you go that route, be sure you don't end up with sub-standard videos.
One great option is CareerBrandVideos™, a high-quality customized video system, specifically designed for personal branding for job search, career, and entrepreneurs. These videos combine animation and kinetic typography to include movement that keeps viewers engaged.
99designs advises you start where any marketing campaign always begins: Know your audience:
"It’ll be easier to narrow down the voice and tone in which to communicate to them. This makes it easier to decide between a more traditional style (like live action or a photo montage) or something a little more dynamic (like animation or motion graphics)."
My advice: To develop the content for whatever style of video you choose, consider the following:
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions describes some best practices for creating videos, including:
Explainer video creator Wyzowl advises optimizing your videos for mobile viewing:
"57% of all engagement on LinkedIn is via mobile. Long gone are the days of desktop browsing reigning supreme; we now need to ensure that our video marketing efforts pay-off by optimizing content for mobile users. You can do this by using the correct format – preferably a high-quality video that can be orientated to fit a small screen."
Sprout Social offers an "Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Video Specs." You'll find all the details on specs for LinkedIn video here.
As noted earlier, videos are a powerful way to help people understand who you are, what makes you tick, and how you operate. So you want to make good use of your videos and get them in front of lots of people.
LinkedIn allows you to embed videos in the About, Experience, and Education sections of your personal profile. To post videos here, you’ll need to first post them on your video sharing platform (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.).
Post videos recurrently in your personal profile, LinkedIn (company) Page, and showcase pages feeds. LinkedIn accepts native video here, so you’ll post the videos directly into the feeds. There are many apps you can use to set up recurring posts, such as Hootsuite, Buffer, and Recurpost, which I use.
LinkedIn says, in its LinkedIn Live Best Practices Guide:
"Through its unfiltered nature, live video presents a unique and exciting opportunity to create authenticity, give exclusive access to a private event, celebrate a moment or establish a brand as bold and innovative. We believe this is the ultimate channel to drive deep engagement with your followers on LinkedIn."
You'll need to apply for and be approved to use LinkedIn Live.
Sometimes called “Pulse,” LinkedIn lets you post full articles on their publishing platform. You can embed videos in these articles.
If you've chosen the right relevant Groups to join, you have access to thousands of members. Posting videos in Groups will help you greatly expand your network. You can add native videos in Groups.