Video Marketing for Social Media: LinkedIn Videos

When it comes to social media video marketing,  most people think of platforms like TikTok and Instagram. However, LinkedIn is widely used for B2B marketing, and video is gaining popularity.  With millions of professionals on LinkedIn, the platform offers a unique opportunity to connect with industry leaders. It’s the perfect space to get your message directly in front of decision-makers, and here are some LinkedIn video pro tips to help.

Let’s run through the best practices to ensure your LinkedIn videos connect with your target audience. If done well, video marketing + LinkedIn can = the perfect formula to elevate your brand.

First, a quick rundown of each powerful variable in the above formula:

Variable 1: LinkedIn

Studies show that LinkedIn has an unmatched ability to connect your business with a highly engaged and influential audience:

• LinkedIn has over 900 million members, with 61 million senior-level influencers and 65 million decision-makers.
• Video content is 20 times more likely to be shared on LinkedIn than any other type of content, and LinkedIn members spend nearly three times more time watching video ads than static content.
• 80% of B2B leads come from LinkedIn, making it a key player in driving business opportunities.
• 94% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing, leveraging the platform to enhance brand perception and authority.
• LinkedIn video ads can increase purchase intent by 33%.

Variable 2: Video

Check out the ways video marketing can drive engagement, conversions, and overall business success:

1. Higher Engagement Rates: Videos on social media generate 1,200% more shares than text and image posts combined.  
2. Improved Retention: Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video, compared to 10% when reading it in text.  
3. Increased Conversions: Including a video on a landing page can boost conversion rates by up to 80%.  
4. Enhanced ROI: 88% of video marketers report that video gives them a positive ROI.
5. Higher Click-Through Rates: Emails with video content can increase click-through rates by 200-300%.

Styles, Specs, & Optimization for LinkedIn Videos

Video Types That Work Best on LinkedIn

1. Company Culture Videos

Humanize your brand and attract potential employees and partners by showcasing your organization's work environment and team dynamics. These LinkedIn videos are best used in the awareness stage to build brand identity.

• Feature stories that emphasize diversity and inclusivity initiatives, highlighting how these contribute to a positive and innovative workplace.
• Share anecdotes of employee achievements and team milestones that embody your company’s mission and goals.
• Incorporate visuals of team-building activities and community involvement further to demonstrate your organization's supportive and collaborative culture.
• Provide an authentic glimpse into daily operations and team collaborations with behind-the-scenes footage and employee interviews.

*Tip: Highlight genuine interactions and stories to reflect true company values. These elements can help to foster a sense of transparency and trust with your audience.  

2. Testimonial Videos

Sharing genuine, first-hand experiences from satisfied clients can significantly enhance your brand's credibility, authenticity, and relatability. Testimonials are effective in the consideration stage of the funnel, helping to convince prospects of your value.

• Highlight stories where your products or services have made a tangible impact on customers or businesses to build credibility and prove your commitment to customer satisfaction.
• Use engaging narratives to show potential clients the real-world uses of your offerings, reinforcing the effectiveness and reliability of your brand.
• Include testimonials from well-known industry figures or influencers to bolster your brand's reputation further and extend your reach within your target market.

*Tip: Provide relatable stories from your clients to highlight specific challenges they faced and how your solution helped them overcome these obstacles. Incorporate diverse voices to appeal to a broader audience.  

3. Educational Videos

Diving deep into specific topics within your field offers a fresh perspective and uncovers lesser-known aspects of your industry that can captivate and educate your audience. These videos position your brand as an expert and are best used to engage and nurture your audience.

• Share industry insights, tips, or tutorials to establish thought leadership and enrich your content's depth.
• Incorporate expert interviews or panel discussions to provide a range of viewpoints and encourage meaningful conversations.
• Highlight emerging trends and innovative practices in your industry to keep your audience informed and ahead of the curve.

*Tip: Tailor your content to address common challenges or questions, providing value that resonates with your viewers and encourages ongoing interaction with your brand. Focus on delivering practical insights and clear steps your audience can implement.

4. Explainer Videos

You can effectively communicate key messages by transforming complex information into digestible, visual stories without overwhelming your audience. This makes your message accessible and facilitates a deeper understanding of your brand’s expertise.

• Break down complex concepts or processes with relatable scenarios and analogies that make abstract ideas easier to grasp.
• Demystify industry jargon and the technical aspects of your products, making them more approachable for viewers.
• Combine animation with simple, concise narration to help distill complex ideas into digestible segments, ensuring clarity and comprehension.
• Incorporate voiceovers to guide viewers through the content, ensuring they grasp the key messages effectively.

*Tip: Keep your explainer video clear and concise. Focus on one main idea, use simple language, and include visuals that support and enhance your message.

5. Product Demonstrations

Product videos showcase the features and benefits of your products. They offer an effective way to explore the capabilities of your product. These are ideal for the decision stage, helping potential customers understand how your business can solve their problems.

• Focus on illustrating how your product addresses specific pain points and offers solutions through detailed walk-throughs and live demonstrations.
• Use dynamic visuals and clear explanations to highlight your products' ease of use and effectiveness, making it easier for potential customers to understand their value.
• Incorporate real-life use cases to connect with your audience, enabling them to seamlessly envision how your product can integrate into their lives or businesses.

*Tip: Focus on clear, concise, and visually appealing presentations. Highlight unique selling points and demonstrate how your product stands out from competitors to reinforce its value.

6. Event Videos

Event videos are excellent for LinkedIn. They are a narrative tool to bring your audience into the experience, showcasing atmosphere, interactions, and key discussions. Use these to stir up excitement before an event, maintain engagement post-event, and attract interest for future events.

• Summarize valuable moments from webinars, conferences, or company events.
• Include captivating snippets or highlights of keynote speeches or panel discussions to convey the valuable insights your event offers.
• Keep the conversation going with firsthand testimonials, diverse perspectives, and brief interviews with attendees and speakers.

*Tip: Focus on the most impactful and engaging segments of the event. Utilize dynamic editing to emphasize the excitement and energy of the event to encourage viewers to attend in the future.

Types of LinkedIn Content and Recommended Specs

Embedded LinkedIn Video Posts

Many LinkedIn users upload videos to platforms like YouTube or Vimeo and share them as embedded posts. While this may be an easy option with no strict video spec guidelines, embedded videos don’t auto-play in the feed, making it harder to capture attention. Embedded videos also risk lower engagement since they aren’t optimized by LinkedIn's algorithm like native videos (because platforms don’t want you to take people away from their site!)

LinkedIn Video Specs for Embedded Content

• There are no strict guidelines for embedded videos, but LinkedIn recommends an aspect ratio of 1:1 or 16:9 and a maximum file size of 5GB.
• Embedded videos can be any length

LinkedIn Native Videos

Uploading videos directly to LinkedIn offers a greater reach and engagement than video links. They play automatically in users' feeds, making it easier to capture their attention. LinkedIn reports that native videos are shared more and can reach 40% more viewers.

LinkedIn Video Specs for Native Content

• Video Length: 3 seconds – 10 minutes, but less than 1 minute is ideal.
• Resolution: 256 x 144p to 4096 x2304 p. Recommended 720p or higher.
• Video Dimensions: 1:2.4 or 2.4:1
• Orientation: Horizontal or vertical. Vertical videos are cropped into a square in the feed.
• Bit Rates: 192 kbps – 30 Mbps
• Frame Rates: 10 – 60 fps.
• File Formats: AAC, ASF, FLV, MP3, MP4, MPEG-1, MPEG-4, MKV, WebM, H264/AVC, Vorbis, VP8, VP9, WMV2, WMV3. *AVI, QuickTime, and MOV files are no longer supported.
• Video File Size: 75KB – 5 GB.

LinkedIn Video Ads

If you have the resources, consider adding paid video ads to your LinkedIn strategy. LinkedIn ads let you target specific audiences at different stages of the buyer's journey. You can use these ads to boost brand awareness, generate leads with pre-filled forms, or drive traffic to your website or product page. Additionally, including an offer in your ad headline can increase completion rates by 8%.

LinkedIn Video Specs for Video Ads

• Video Length: 3 seconds -30 minutes. *LinkedIn recommends using 15 to 30-second videos to qualify for more advertising placement.
• Resolution: 256 x 144 p to 4096 x 2304 p. *LinkedIn recommends 1080 x 1080 p for square videos, 1920 x 1080 p for horizontal videos, and 720 x 1280 p for vertical videos.
• Aspect Ratios: 4:5, 9:16, 16:9, and 1:1. *Vertical aspect ratios are recommended; however, these aspect ratios will only be shown on supported mobile devices.
• Frame Rate: Less than 30fps
• File Formats: .mp4
• Video File Size: 75 KB and 500 MB

**Be mindful of LinkedIn's Video Ad specifications! Consult LinkedIn's advertising guidelines to ensure compliance. Ads that don’t meet these standards may be removed, and you could face restrictions on future campaigns.**

LinkedIn Live Videos

LinkedIn Live videos enable real-time, interactive broadcasting to your professional network. They offer a powerful way to engage with your audience through live Q&A sessions, events, and discussions. In fact, live video content gets  24x more engagement on LinkedIn. By using LinkedIn Live, you can foster direct engagement, share timely updates, and enhance your brand's presence.

LinkedIn Video Specs for Live Videos

• Resolution: 720p (1280 x 720 pixels) is recommended for optimal quality.
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9 (landscape mode) is preferred.
• Frame Rate: 30 frames per second (fps) is standard.
• Bitrate: 1500 to 4000 kbps for smooth streaming.
• Audio: Use high-quality audio equipment; ensure clarity and minimal background noise.
• Connection: Ensure a stable internet connection and HD quality (1080p).

Creating Successful LinkedIn Marketing Videos

1. Know Your Audience

Understanding your target audience is crucial. Tailor your video content to address your LinkedIn audience's specific needs, preferences, and pain points. Conduct thorough research to identify their interests and challenges. This ensures your content is relevant and resonates with viewers, driving higher engagement and meaningful connections. Conduct surveys, analyze analytics, and engage with your audience through comments and messages to gain deeper insights into their preferences. Use these insights to craft content that informs and inspires action, positioning your brand as a valuable resource in your industry.

2. Optimize for Mobile Viewing

57% of people interact with LinkedIn on their mobile devices, so optimizing your videos for mobile viewing is essential. High-quality videos can be orientated to fit a small screen and can be either vertical or square aspect ratios (1:1 or 9:16). This ensures a seamless viewing experience on mobile screens.  The maximum file size for LinkedIn video content is 5GB, but a file of this size may cause long loading times and frustrate people browsing on mobile.  Consider keeping your videos concise, ideally under two minutes, as attention spans on mobile devices tend to be shorter. Incorporate captions or subtitles, as up to 80% of users watch videos without sound and use clear and bold text overlays to convey key messages quickly, ensuring they are easily readable on smaller screens

3. Create a Strong Hook

The first few seconds of your video are critical in capturing your audience's attention. Start with a compelling hook—whether it's an intriguing question, a bold statement, or a visually striking image. Make sure your hook aligns with the video's overall message, encouraging viewers to continue watching and engaging with your content. Consider incorporating elements of storytelling or presenting a surprising fact to captivate your audience from the outset. This approach draws viewers in and establishes an emotional connection, prompting them to invest more time in your video.

4. Link Your Post (But Do It In The Comments!)

Linking to related content or service pages on your  LinkedIn video post drives traffic and encourages action. But wait to do this in the comment section so you don’t get dinged by LinkedIn’s algorithm. (Remember the social rule: Don’t be the first to comment on your post!! Let someone else comment, then feel free to share related info and links!) Note: this doesn’t apply to video ads. With paid ads, provide CTAs within your video or accompanying post that direct viewers to specific links or actions.

Best Practices for Creating Content on LinkedIn

• Prioritize Quality Over Quantity: Create video content that offers real value. Make sure it is directly relevant to your target audience and captures their attention. Experiment with different formats like live videos, interviews, and behind-the-scenes glimpses to diversify your content and cater to various viewer preferences.

• Keep Your Messaging Clear and Concise: Short-form videos between 5 and 30 seconds will capture your viewers' attention and entice them to explore your business further. A LinkedIn study found that videos under 30 seconds saw a 200% lift in view completion rates.

• Produce Professional LinkedIn Videos: High-quality social media video production enhances your brand's image and ensures visual appeal and consistency with your brand's aesthetic.

• Use Hashtags Strategically: Hashtags can boost the visibility of your posts and help you reach a wider audience. Choose relevant and targeted hashtags that align with your content and goals. However, avoid using too many hashtags, as this can overwhelm your audience and dilute the impact of each tag.

• Actively Engage With Your Audience: By responding to comments, posing questions, and fostering discussions, you show that you value your viewer's input. This helps build a loyal community around your brand. A two-way dialogue can strengthen relationships, gain valuable feedback, and encourage more meaningful connections with your audience.

• Maintain a Regular Posting Schedule: Consistent posting helps keep your brand visible and relevant to your network. It ensures that you remain top-of-mind and helps build a predictable pattern of engagement.

Conclusion

Mastering video marketing on LinkedIn is essential for businesses and marketers aiming to engage a professional audience. The power of video combined with LinkedIn's professional networking environment offers a unique opportunity to elevate your brand, showcase expertise, and drive meaningful engagement. Utilizing these best practices can further enhance the impact of your videos, helping you build a loyal following and establish your brand as a thought leader in your industry.

If you're interested in learning best practices for social media marketing on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok, check out our ongoing series.

Ready to elevate your LinkedIn video marketing strategy? Whether you're looking to produce company culture videos, customer testimonials, educational tutorials, or product demos, partnering with professionals like Levitate Media can help you craft compelling videos that drive business success. Our team of experts is dedicated to creating high-quality, impactful video content tailored to your specific needs and goals. Contact us today and start transforming your LinkedIn presence!