LinkedIn video can be a powerful tool for B2B sales and marketing teams. According to Omnicore, more than 560 million professionals use LinkedIn today. It’s also one of the top content marketing channels for B2B marketers looking to raise brand awareness, drive leads, and nurture customer relationships.
With video on the rise, it’s no surprise that LinkedIn has made it easier for B2B marketers to connect, inspire, and educate using video. In this guide, we’ll break down the different types of videos that work best on LinkedIn, and how your team can engage the right audiences with compelling content.
Best Types Of LinkedIn Videos
Explainer videos
Explainer videos are perfect for LinkedIn because they allow viewers to understand what your company is all about in a simple and relatable way. Pin an explainer video to your LinkedIn company page as a friendly introduction, or use them as part of LinkedIn ad campaigns (we’ll get into those later) to introduce your product or service to new audiences.
Company Culture Videos
Are you hiring? LinkedIn, after all, is first and foremost a social networking platform for professionals, and a great place to scoop up top talent. Show off the perks of working for your company with a strong recruitment video or a message from your employees to get candidates excited about applying to open positions. (You can check out some of our favorite recruiting videos here).
Videos Testimonials or Q&As
Video testimonials for LinkedIn can be done in a number of ways. You can grab a sound bite from a client or a member of your team. Or, you can sit down with a client or partner for a longer Q&A session to discuss a major project, or larger issues in your industry (think thought leadership).
Trade Show Or Event Videos
Don’t forget to include LinkedIn in your trade show game plan. Leverage LinkedIn to promote your own event, or where your booth will be on the show floor. After the show, recap your experience with a highlight reel of the event, showcasing all the major moments.
Tips For Creating LinkedIn Video
Consider The Length
In short, keep it short.
LinkedIn permits videos that range anywhere from three seconds to 30 minutes, but optimal video lengths are between 15-30 seconds, or up to five minutes.
Short-form videos can be anything from a quick testimonial sound bite, to an explainer video that drills down the basics. Longer videos also have a place here, especially when targeting middle and bottom-funnel audiences, or for training purposes. The key is to hook viewers early to keep them engaged, and present your narrative in a way that keeps your audience interested.
Make Sure It’s Optimized (LinkedIn Video Ad Specs)
When creating LinkedIn video ads (or video for any platform), it’s important to understand and optimize the format for the best user experience. According to one LinkedIn survey, 91 percent of members view LinkedIn video on mobile, compared to 96 percent on desktop computers. So, make sure your video is optimized for both formats.
To get you started, here’s some basic video ad spec guidelines for LinkedIn:
Layout: Horizontal (vertical videos are not supported)
File size: Between 75 KB and 200 MB
File format: MP4
Frame rate: Less than 30 FPS (frames per second)
Pixel and aspect ratio requirements: 360p (480 x 360, wide 640 x 360), 480p (640 x 480), 720p (960 x 720, wide 1280 x 720), 1080p (1440 x 1080, wide 1920 x 1080)
Audio format: AAC or MPEG4
Audio size: Less than 64KHz
Add Captions
LinkedIn research shows only 56 percent of viewers watch LinkedIn videos with the sound on. It’s even less for mobile, hovering at around a third. Make sure your video is highly visual — use text, graphics, and subtitles to ensure your narrative shines, even with the sound off. Or, you could always opt for an explainer video without voiceover to tell your story.
Include A Strong CTA
Every LinkedIn video you post should be tied to a clear call-to-action. What do you want your viewers to do? CTAs will vary depending on the goal of the campaign, whether it’s building awareness, qualifying leads, or driving demand generation. Your CTA should be clearly labeled, and speak directly to the needs of the audience you’re targeting.
How To Create LinkedIn Video Ads
LinkedIn videos can be uploaded to both personal and company pages straight on your News Feed. Video ad campaigns can also be created through the LinkedIn Campaign Manager. For this walkthrough, let’s focus on Company Pages:
Uploading Video Straight To Your Company Page
This is pretty simple. Just head on over to where you’d normally update your LinkedIn status (this is found on the top of the dashboard of your Company Page).
Click on the video camera on the bottom right of the status bar, upload your video, optimize, and you’re good to go. Once a video is posted in your feed (or if you have older videos you’d like to promote) you’ll see a “Sponsor Now” button appear in the top right corner of the post that will allow you to add videos to existing ad campaigns.
Creating LinkedIn Video Ads In Campaign Manager
You can also create sponsored video ad campaigns directly in your Campaign Manager:
Step One: Once you’ve signed into Campaign Manager, select the account name where you’d like to build your video ad, and start a new campaign.
Step Two: Choose your campaign objective. Think of this as your CTA. LinkedIn offers three options:
- Send people to your website or piece of content (CPC campaigns)
- Collect leads (collected through LinkedIn lead gen forms)
- Get video views (CPM campaigns)
Step Three: Choose “video” as your format type and upload your video of choice
Step Four: Once your video is done uploading, select your target audience. Then, optimize your campaign for your desired bid, budget, and campaign run time. LinkedIn has pretty powerful ad targeting options for video marketing campaigns that allow you to extend your reach beyond your current audience. For a complete breakdown, click here.
Step Five: Click “Launch Campaign,” and you’re campaign is ready for review! Once your campaign is approved, your campaign will launch, and you’re good to go.
Measuring The Success Of LinkedIn Video Marketing Campaigns
Measuring the success of video marketing campaigns relies on a different set of metrics, like video views, video completion rates, and engagement rates. LinkedIn also provides comprehensive reporting on ad campaign performance within Campaign Manager, so you can track the success on ongoing campaigns, and make changes on the fly. This is especially helpful for A/B testing, and comparing performance of different creatives and messaging.
Why LinkedIn Video Works For B2B Marketers
LinkedIn is a valuable resource for B2B marketers. Incorporating video into your social media marketing mix can be a compelling way to connect with new audiences, and elevate your brand. Explainer videos, testimonial videos, and case studies can be used to introduce and educate your audience with ease. Make sure you’re connecting with your customers on the channels that matter most — and for B2B marketers, LinkedIn is one not to miss.
Did you know we’re on LinkedIn too? Check out our company page, and give us a shout!
