LinkedIn is following in the footsteps of its fellow social networks by introducing videos on its platform.
This being LinkedIn, however, things will be kept professional, so don’t expect to see disappearing videos that you can doodle on, and add emojis to. In fact, general users won’t get a chance to record clips altogether.
For now, only LinkedIn Influencers (a collective of high-profile members selected by the social network) can upload videos. The short clips will last up to 30 seconds, and will involve Influencers discussing a business trend or topic curated by the LinkedIn editorial team. Influencers will also be able to create their own topic discussion for other Influencers to weigh in on.
The site’s 433 million users will see the videos of Influencers they follow appear on their feed, and will be able to interact with a clip by commenting on it. LinkedIn currently has over 500 Influencers, including Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Arianna Huffington, and Narendra Modi, meaning content shouldn’t be hard to come by.
Influencers will create videos using an exclusive iOS app entitled “Record.” Offering special features to high-profile users is common in the world of social media — the likes of Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook have all done it. A number of videos have already been shared on LinkedIn, with topics ranging from tips for startup founders to the onset of AI in the workplace.
“The addition of rich video content in the feed, gives [LinkedIn users] yet one more way to get news, insights and access to the world’s top thought leaders,” Jonathan (Jasper) Sherman-Presser, senior product manager at Linkedin, told Digital Trends. “They also have the unique … opportunity to engage directly with these insights through likes, shares and comments.”
LinkedIn claims that this is just the start for videos on its platform, which will be rolled out extensively in the future. Those plans won’t include a wider launch for its “Record” app, with videos instead being integrated directly into LinkedIn.
“We believe there is a huge opportunity to expand the ways our members can collect and share knowledge, and video will play a role in that,” Sherman-Presser says. “We are evaluating the experience and determining the best approach for expanding video more broadly in the future.”
