After several months of loitering way behind all other social media platforms in terms of its readiness for full-blown video marketing, LinkedIn has now started rolling out native video functionality to all users on mobile and desktop.
What’s Native Video?
Native video on LinkedIn means you can use the app (or desktop version) to record or upload already saved videos on your device, directly to your LinkedIn feed. Earlier, users had to embed videos from YouTube and other platforms.
Just like a native video for Facebook comes with several benefits over embedded video content, the LinkedIn native video also delivers some unique advantages. In this guide, I’ll cover these, and help marketers understand what they can do to make the most of the native video for LinkedIn in 2018.
Why Native?
When you already have a lot going on for your YouTube channel, and can easily embed your videos to showcase them on LinkedIn, why bother with native video uploads? The answer:
- LinkedIn native videos get more visibility than embedded videos.
- LinkedIn’s algorithm is made to treat native videos preferentially.
- Viewers that engage with one of your native videos will get more of your native (not embedded) videos on their newsfeed.
- You can use LinkedIn Analytics to analyze your native video performance.
Remember, the LinkedIn native video has just started. Facebook’s native videos get 10 times the shares as YouTube embedded videos. The LinkedIn algorithm, too, will eventually drive the engagement value and visibility of native videos much more and much quicker than embedded videos.
The Basics
Here are the basics of LinkedIn native video that you’d need to remember while you plan and produce your video content.
Duration
The video duration needs to be between 3 seconds and 10 minutes. Of course, the ideal duration depends on your video’s theme (a business intro is best kept below a minute, a customer testimonial will need 2-3 minutes, etc., a DIY video could need longer). The maximum file size limit is 5 GB.
Autoplay
Just like Facebook, your native videos on LinkedIn will auto-play without sound when your followers stop on them. So:
- Create truly engaging video content that hooks the audience’s interest
- Add captions to your video to communicate even with sound off
- Use a descriptive title to tell viewers what the content is about
- Grab the attention in the first 3 seconds, motivating users to turn the sound on
Description
Smartly use the 700 characters to add some teaser text about your video. You could also link to a LinkedIn Publisher post. Add a few keywords, use a hashtag or two, and mention any LinkedIn followers whom you think might like (and share) the content.
Analytics
Arguably, the biggest benefit of LinkedIn native videos is that you get to use LinkedIn Analytics to make sense of what’s working and what’s not. A ‘view’ is recorded if a viewer runs your video for 3 or more seconds. You get information on likes, shares, and comments, and can also see important professional details of top viewers, such as their industry and job roles. This helps you target high-value users with targeted video content.
How to Use LinkedIn Native Video for Marketing Like A Pro?
LinkedIn video helps you refresh your LinkedIn marketing. Video content is arguably the most engaging form of content on social media. You only need to quickly browse through video marketing stats to realize this. In 2018, here are some ways you can supercharge your LinkedIn marketing in using native video.
Interview Industry Experts
Your LinkedIn audience will not miss out on content that it could benefit from. The best option is to reach out to your network, seek an interview with an expert, and upload the video to your LinkedIn feed.
Introduce Your Business
Native video is another opportunity for you to put up a descriptive video to explain what your business does and answer some frequently asked questions. This helps your LinkedIn B2B network truly understand your expertise.
Create Native Video to Popularize Your Content Posts
You can create teaser videos that talk about some key aspects of one of your high performing articles on LinkedIn or any other social media platform. Add a link to your content post in the video description. The trick is to generate interest, and promise (and deliver) the answer in the linked post.
Top Tools You Need
To create stunning, valuable, and glitch-free videos for LinkedIn native video marketing, keep these tools handy:
- ScreenFlow: for screen sharing content (Mac)
- Camtasia: Hassle-free video editing (Mac and Windows)
- Zoom: Add a background to your video
- Teleprompter Lite: If you want to read from a script
Concluding Remarks
Video marketing is going to retain its pace of growth throughout 2018. Brands that flow along with the upgrades rolled out by social media platforms will get the best results. Your LinkedIn marketing deserves a video-boost, and native video will deliver that.
