Here's What You Need to Know
Do you believe history repeats itself? It certainly does when it comes to recession, inflation, and the stock market. The same pattern seems to hold true for social media trends. We've seen the explosive growth of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts.
LinkedIn started beta testing its short-form video feed on March 28, 2024. This new feature aims to emulate popular aspects of platforms like TikTok, offering a TikTok-esque experience tailored for the professional environment.
Let's make it clear: LinkedIn is a professional platform, so you probably won’t see TikTok dances, but imagine the potential for the growth of expert videos!
This article explores why you can't afford to ignore LinkedIn's new short-form videos, drawing parallels with the success of other platforms.
The short answer to "Is LinkedIn's Short Form Video Feature the Next Opportunity?" is yes, but keep reading to make your own decision.
What Is LinkedIn's Short-Form Content?
LinkedIn's short-form video feature allows users to create and share quick, engaging videos, similar to TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. Currently in beta, this feature is inspired by these popular platforms, offering vertical, bite-sized video content. Although LinkedIn is a professional platform, you likely won’t see TikTok dances. Instead, expect a focus on expert videos and professional insights.
Why You Can't Afford to Ignore LinkedIn's New Short-Form Videos
Today, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and IG Reels have over 190 billion daily views! We’ve seen their success after their launch.
1. TikTok's Meteoric Rise
From mid-March to mid-April 2020, TikTok usage increased by 33% for Gen Z and 27% for millennials. During the early days of the pandemic, the app was downloaded 2 million times in one week in the US alone. TikTok saw a 48.3% increase in unique visitors from January to March, with installations in the UK surging by 34% following the lockdown.
2. Instagram Reels' Rapid Adoption
Instagram Reels, introduced to compete with TikTok, gained 220 million users in just three months.
3. YouTube Shorts' Global Reach
YouTube Shorts also saw significant success, generating over 6.5 billion daily views globally by 2020.
4. LinkedIn's Strong Presence
As of 2023, LinkedIn has around 1 billion registered users and records approximately 1.9 billion total visits per month. On average, users spend about 7 minutes and 32 seconds per visit, with more than 100 million messages sent daily. Given these statistics, LinkedIn's venture into short-form videos is poised for success.
Why Short-Form Videos Work
Attention Span and Fast-Paced Life
In today's fast-paced world, attention spans are shorter than ever. Studies show that the average attention span has decreased to about 8 seconds, which is even shorter than that of a goldfish.
Short-form videos cater to the need for quick, digestible content, providing a high-impact message in a brief amount of time. This makes them ideal for capturing and maintaining the audience’s attention.
High Engagement
Short-form videos are inherently engaging. They are quick to consume, easy to share, and often include interactive elements that encourage viewers to engage with the content. This leads to higher engagement rates compared to longer videos.
Versatility and Creativity
The format allows for a wide range of creative possibilities. From music and effects to quick cuts and transitions, short-form videos offer a dynamic and versatile medium for creators to express their ideas.
Here's What's Coming (Key Points):
LinkedIn's short-form videos will likely focus on professional development and education. Users can create and share quick tips, tutorials, and industry insights, providing valuable content to their networks and establishing themselves as thought leaders.
The historical success of short-form video content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts suggests that LinkedIn's new feature could follow a similar trajectory.
How To Win On LinkedIn and Establish Your Brand?
Lower engagement on text walls:
LinkedIn is probably going to focus more on boosting video content and reducing the text wall or traditional ways of posting. So start focusing more on video content and then repurpose that to articles and text wall posts.
Focus on educational content:
LinkedIn's user base consists primarily of professionals and businesses. This creates a distinct environment for short-form video content that focuses on professional development, industry insights, and company culture. Brands can use this format to create content that resonates with their target audience in a professional context.
Focus on quality and consistency, but bring the quantity game later on:
Historically, when TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts came out, the focus was on high-quality well-edited videos but not enough quantity. If you had a well-engaging video with great quality, you had a huge chance. I'm assuming this is going to be the case for LinkedIn. Once the short-form content gets saturated, then it's time to switch to quantity as well as more authentic, low-production videos.
The caption is the king:
Most people check short-form content with the sound muted. Make clear, grammatically and spelling-wise correct captions. It's going to boost your engagement and growth.
Focus on value, not sales:
Pushing for sales and having tons of sales-y CTAs (calls to action) is not going to help you make more sales or establish your brand, but authentic value does.
Think, why would YOU subscribe to a podcast or follow a page? The only reason you would do that is if there is a specific value in it regarding your problem that you don't want to miss out on. To be frank, 99% of industries can do this even if you are B2B companies, so don't let that hinder you from taking action.
Instead of selling, focus on value and optimizing your LinkedIn profile. Authentic connection and value bring you more sales than you can imagine. Think leadership tips, and industry insights.
Choose this video format:
Hook - Value - CTA (be careful about this) - value
Hook: The hook is the very beginning of your video. It's designed to grab the viewer's attention right away. This could be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement. For example, "Did you know you can double your productivity in just 5 minutes?"
Value: After the hook, you need to provide valuable information that keeps the viewer interested. This is the main content of your video. It should be informative, helpful, or entertaining. For instance, you might share a quick tip or insight related to your topic, like "Here’s a simple trick to manage your time better."
CTA (Call to Action): The CTA is where you encourage your viewers to take a specific action. This could be liking your video, subscribing to your channel, or visiting your website. However, be careful not to make this too pushy. A subtle and helpful CTA works best, such as "If you found this tip useful, check out our website for more."
Launch and grow your podcast:
Yes, as the founder of Venture Podcasting, I'd definitely suggest that, but put the judgment and bias aside; here is why:
Podcasts focus on informative and educational content while saving time and money. When you have a well-produced and strategy-heavy podcast show, not only do you create engaging, educational, and informative content, but you also spend 2-4 hours per month depending on how many podcasts you record in a month. You can take multiple short-form content, and turn it into SEO-optimized articles, text wall posts, quote images, and more. So you spend the minimum amount of time with the most outcome.
You can hire a team or have professional agencies like ours help you. Feel free to reach out if you are interested.
If you don't want to do podcasts,
Dedicate time each week for video creation. Set aside specific times each week to focus solely on creating video content. Consistency is key to building an audience and maintaining engagement. Batch recording is the best approach to save time.
Batch recording is the best approach to save time. Instead of recording one video at a time, plan and record multiple videos in one session. This method, known as batch recording, is more efficient because it minimizes the setup and takedown time. For example, if you set aside one afternoon each week, you could plan, script, and record several videos during that time. This way, you'll always have content ready to post, even on busy days.
The Hidden Danger of LinkedIn Shorts for Companies:
These are a few threats to companies that don't prepare:
Companies or brands that stick solely to text-based content are at risk of low reach and engagement.
Companies that hold back information thinking they are going to give away their "secrets" to their audience are going to stay behind. We are in the era of AI, ChatGPT, and information; there is no information people can't find. If you are service-based, help your target audience understand and nurture them. They will come to you because, at the end of the day, you are the expert in your field, and they are not.
Don't try to measure the ROI. It's almost impossible to know how someone purchased from you in the world of sharing. How would you know who shared your content and who made the purchase? You can only track the traffic afterward. There are many hidden revenues being generated from content.
Conclusion
As LinkedIn experiments with short-form video content, the potential for this feature to become the next big trend in social media is promising. Drawing inspiration from the success of TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, LinkedIn's short-form videos could offer brands and professionals new ways to engage, educate, and expand their reach. By embracing this trend, LinkedIn users can stay ahead of the curve and leverage the power of short-form video content to achieve their goals.
