Video . . . It’s Not All Cute Babies & Cheeky Cats!

Video has experienced phenomenal growth accounting for 74% of all web traffic. But it’s not all cute babies and cheeky cats. Video is also a great B2B content channel.

According to research from Cisco Systems 75% of business executives watch work-related video weekly. Whilst according to the Forbes Insights survey, 83% of senior executives said they are watching more online video today than they were a year ago.

“75% of business executives watch work-related video weekly”

Why use video on LinkedIn?

If you are creating video content, then LinkedIn is a great place to share it. As the #1 business platform, LinkedIn is perfect for reaching B2B audiences.

Video on LinkedIn also helps to establish you as an expert by putting a face, voice & personality in front of your network and helping to build that all important ‘know, like & trust’. Not forgetting of course that it’s also a great way to showcase your expertise, products and services.

Where to share video on LinkedIn

There are 3 key areas where you can share video on LinkedIn including:

1. In the Summary & Current role sections of your LinkedIn profile

The good thing about putting videos on your profile is that when someone clicks on your video it pops out and takes over the whole screen. So not only is it very visual, viewers can watch the video from within your LinkedIn profile.

TIP: When uploading a video to your profile you can add a title and description. Make sure the title of your video includes a call to action to watch the video.

2. As a LinkedIn post (status updates) or company page update

Sharing YouTube & Vimeo links on your LinkedIn posts (status updates) increases the chance of getting noticed.

And now native video has arrived on the LinkedIn desktop and on LinkedIn App. You can create video on the fly from your mobile or upload video from your computer direct to LinkedIn. (Although not currently supported on company pages.)

3.    Embed video into your LinkedIn articles

Adding videos to your LinkedIn articles is a great way to add visual interest to your article.

TIP: Don’t just embed your video. Make your LinkedIn article a full-length post by including a transcription of your video or summary in case some people would prefer to read your article or are unable to listen to the video.

LinkedIn Native Video

The LinkedIn Native video feature allows you to either record or upload video directly from the LinkedIn app on your mobile OR upload a video directly from your desktop. 

Bear in mind these things when using LinkedIn native video:

• Videos needs to be a minimum of 3 seconds long up to a maximum of 10 minutes
• When you record from the mobile or upload a video it’s added to a LinkedIn Post (status update). You will then need to add some content to describe your video. i.e. what it’s about, why people should watch the video. You can also use hashtags and of course tag or mention people in your post
• You cannot edit videos that you record directly via the LinkedIn app on the mobile
• LinkedIn tells you how many people have watched your video by telling you how many views you have got. To get a ‘view’ however, someone needs to have paused on your video for at least 3 seconds

As well as the number of views your native video achieves, LinkedIn also provides you with other information such as shares, likes and comments as well as information about the viewers, where they work, their job titles and location.

Make Your Videos Stand Out

Recording video directly from the LinkedIn app will come over as authentic. However, as they are also ‘off the cuff’ type of videos, which are great if you are at an event or exhibition or if you want to do a quick tip, you will also want to take into consideration video quality and professionalism. 

Plus, regardless of whether it’s a native video or a YouTube video, video automatically displays in the newsfeed with the sound off. This means:

• viewers will have to unmute the audio to listen to it
• so your video needs to grab attention so that people don’t simply scroll past it

The best way to stand out is to use headlines and subtitles in your videos. And it’s a good option for those people who are unable to listen to the video.

Adding text to your video depends on how you created it. For example, I use a system called Screencast-O-Matic to record video on my laptop. This then allows me to edit it to add text such as headlines and subtitles. If you are recording on the mobile there are mobiles apps you can download that will allow you to edit your video on your mobile.   

You can find some video editing apps here for android: http://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-video-editing-app-for-android

Or for the iphone here: https://www.cultofmac.com/408993/best-video-editing-apps-for-iphone-and-ipad

Need more support with LinkedIn?

💙 If LinkedIn isn’t working hard for you or you’re not sure where to start with using LinkedIn, email judy@judithparsons.com or connect with me on LinkedIn to chat about how I can help.

Or book a virtual brew here and let’s make LinkedIn work for you . . . ⭐

I run regular LinkedIn LoveIns which are short 30-minute learnings over lunch, often with guest experts to help improve LinkedIn results. If you’d like to be notified of new events why not join my LinkedIn LoveIn group. You can also find the recordings of previous LoveIns as well as tips and updates here.