Ever since the launch of LinkedIn videos in 2017, it has been an immensely potential content format for businesses alike. Marketers worldwide realized the platform’s prowess from being a mere social media platform to an effective B2B lead generation tool
In just one year, there have been more than 300 million video impressions on the platform. However, though it has been 4 years, several marketers are still unaware of the outstanding business possibility that LinkedIn native video possesses. Today, we will discuss some of those opportunities and how a business owner can harness them and smell success.
The Growing Trend of Video Marketing
As it is evident, videos and video marketing have garnered wide popularity in all these years and are instrumental in driving significant ROI. Stats say that video boosts revenue by 49% for companies that leverage video content for their marketing activities than those which don’t.
Such has been the positive influence of LinkedIn video marketing for brands. More and more video and animated content are shared and watched.
YouTube alone takes the lion’s share of the most numbers of videos watched – almost 5 billion! 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute! So, one can very well bank upon the massive prospect that video content have.
The Surge of LinkedIn Videos in eCommerce
Coming back to LinkedIn videos, LinkedIn has quickly become the world’s largest professional networking site and a prime place to share knowledge. Hence, each of the content shared on the platform directly impacts a brand.
As it is known, LinkedIn primarily leaned onto textual content before shifting to a more visual approach, and now finally, we have seen the advent of video content on the platform, which is a great news for all brand evangelists. Because there are several ways to leverage this feature to generate outstanding traffic and conversions.
Though it’s more than true that you must share high-quality videos on LinkedIn to create a bonafide brand authority, the notion of a mandatory large production team is just a myth. You may be an individual, a start-up, or an aspiring influencer and can very well harness the genius of LinkedIn video posts.
Now let’s take a look at the main kinds of LinkedIn video content that you can leverage for your business and achieve your marketing goals.
Native Videos
Video content that are directly uploaded on LinkedIn or created within the platform itself. The usual duration of such videos variesfrom 3 seconds to up to 10 minutes. These native videos are auto-played in a user’s news feed creating more engagement.
Native video’s orientation can be horizontal or vertical; however, one must keep in mind that vertical videos are cropped into a square to fit within the user’s feed. Thatthe videos must be created in such a manner that despite the cropping, the actual scenes remain intact. Engage your customers with LinkedIn native videos, and enjoy the surge in your traffic and ROI.
Embedded Videos
Embedded videos are videos that are posted on other networks or channels initially and then shared on LinkedIn. The concept is pretty simple. You may ideally share your video on YouTube, Vimeo, or any other video hosting platform- and then share the link on LinkedIn.
There’s a wonderful advantage to utilizing embedded videos as you can reuse the same content on multiple channels. This greatly boosts your engagement and viewership rate. When you embed videos into LinkedIn, you practically increase the versatility and utility of your content that helps your brand stand out in the crowd.
Sponsored Video Ads
With sponsored video ads in LinkedIn, you can define a custom target audience and create personalized video content based on the buyer persona. These videos will be featured in the feed of those audiences and get you more engagement, more qualified and interested leads.
More interestingly, these videos can run upto 30 minutes, which means you can show vivid details of your product and services to your chosen audience. To make the most of LinkedIn videos in 2021, think of investing in sponsored ads that make the most buzz and reach hundreds and thousands of people at a go.
Live Streams
LinkedIn Live Stream, featured in 2019, which is still in its beta stage, has already caused a stir amongst LinkedIn users, and as a result, the platform has seen a significant surge in live video content.
To post a live video, however, you have to seek prior permission from LinkedIn by submitting an application. Once you get the approval, you may start broadcasting your content. But remember, you may only stream only through third-party broadcast tools on LinkedIn.
So, that was the four main types of videos on LinkedIn that you may harness for your brand awareness generation activities and other marketing efforts.
Now, if you ask where you would use them and how you would do that, there are so many ways to achieve that. Don’t be overwhelmed with so many options though; just find the right one and start sharing your content.
For Storytelling
Selling is storytelling these days. Your audience does not want to hear endless marketing pitch, instead wants to hear a story. A problem statement, where their painpoints are portrayed, and then a solution statement, wherein your product/service comes in. And you show how your product/service can help them in overcoming their problems.
This is the whole crux of the selling methods that are most prevalent in both traditional businesses as well as in eCommerce. Your audience always wants to know your brand, learn about who they are connecting with. Satiate their curiosity with videos and build brand awareness with LinkedIn video ads. Endorsing your brand in the form of a story can get you more leads and traffic.
For Product Promotion
Apart from explaining your services and your brand, you may also use videos on LinkedIn for your product promotion purpose, whereby you can share upcoming product launches.
Or answer some FAQs, or share how-tos, or product demos, etc. Let your audience be aware of what they are waiting for.
For Vlogging Purpose
Vlogging is the new trend amongst the millennials and mostly the influencers. Social media influencers who create numerous Vlogs regularly, and have a good number of followers, are reached out by legit brands for their product endorsements and promotion. A genuine influencer in your industry niche can simply create a Vlog and share the details of your product, appreciate it on camera, acknowledge how it can solve your audience’s problems, and so on.
Also, instead of hiring an influencer, you can save some bucks and try your hand in video blogging. It’s no rocket science, after all. Whatever you have to say, just show it to your prospects. It’s a guaranteed method to boost your connections and drive more qualified leads.
To Share company Behind-the-Scenes
Audiences love to see the faces behind a brand they adore. Try to share some engaging and fun videos of your office behind-the-scenes and keep them engaged. This creates a different level of personalization where they see the place where all their problems get solved.
Impress them with your technology, skill, charm, the amiability between your employees, the fun and frolics, in short, the cool office culture you have.
To Establish yourself as an Industry Expert, a Thought-Leader
Yes, you can very well augment your stature within your niche with a thoughtful and well-researched video. When your video content features a much important topic and shows enough research to back your claims, it automatically catapults your social recognition and escalates your online reputation.
A professional video helps you stand out in the crowd and also enables the Google crawlers to find your site faster than other sites. Just ensure your video has relevant metadata and meta tags.
Wrapping Up
LinkedIn has always been the holy grail for genuine marketers and prospective consumers; and thus, with the rise of video content on the platform, it has become a rage. So much so that Pete Davies, director of product management at LinkedIn, is of the same opinion.
According to Pete, videos have been the fastest-growing format on LinkedIn right now and have been something that likely makes people connect and interact. As it is evident from consumer behaviors, video continues to grow all over the social media realm, and there’s no stopping to it.
With each passing day, more and more social channels are opening up for video streaming. If you want to grow your brand, drive more conversion, and diversify your content, LinkedIn videos can be a cost-effective, authentic and convenient medium.
Just start creating engaging video content with super cool animations, After Effects motion graphics, whiteboard animations- and see your bottom line skyrocket, and your customer engagement strengthens. And any assistance required, we are just an email away!
