LinkedIn has invited over 500 influencers to post 30-second videos. Their videos will appear in users’ feeds, along with other updates. You’ll be able to see what influencers are opining about a topic, offer your own opinions in comments, and respond to comments from other members.

“While the ability to create video content is currently only available to Influencers, anyone can follow an Influencer at any time to engage with their content, either from their profile, the feed, or their video,” states LinkedIn Senior Product Manager Jonathan (Jasper) Sherman-Presser in a company blog post.

Curated Topics

Influencers can choose their own topics, but LinkedIn’s editorial staff will also ask questions that influencers can answer, explains Business Insider. All videos on a topic such as diversity, workplace culture and innovation will be curated together to help users browse specific topics.

LinkedIn is following other social media platforms already aggressively developing video products. LinkedIn may eventually offer livestreaming similar to Facebook Live and Twitter’s Periscope, Sherman-Presser told Venture Beat.

As a late arrival to video, the platform will need to work hard to catch up to other networks.

The influencer video posts probably represent the platform’s first step to permitting video posts by all LinkedIn users. Before that happens, marketing and PR teams may wish to consider performing a cost-benefits analysis of LinkedIn videos for their own brands.

Excitement and Cynicism

Opinions varied on the LinkedIn’s effort to boost its video offerings. Some experts expressed excitement at the potential to post video in the near future. Others viewed it as a weak, belated effort to join the video bandwagon.

LinkedIn users are generally uninterested in seeking influencers, contends Arik Hanson, principal of ACH communications. Most use the platform to look for jobs or stay abreast of their contacts.

“So, to me, these influencer videos are contrived. They feel forced. And, by and large, they don’t add a ton of value,” Hanson says. Instead, the platform should improve the ability to sort contacts and improve advertising options.

How to Benefit from LinkedIn Videos Now

Although most users cannot create video posts yet, they can still use video on the platform, explains Viveka von Rosen, CEO of Linked into Business, in her blog post. You can:

• Include video links (not embed codes) in your updates,
• Include embed codes in published posts to drive traffic to your YouTube or Vimeo site. Include a transcription of the video for viewers who prefer to read what you say.
• Add video to your profile including the summary, education and experience sections. “Most people’s profiles are just words, if a picture’s worth a thousand words what’s a video worth?” von Rosen says.

It’s also worthwhile to consider including LinkedIn among the social media platforms you monitor for mentions of corporate and brand names.

Bottom Line: LinkedIn’s decision to allow video posts from influencers likely means the platform intends to offer the ability to all users. While some commentators call the move a contrived effort to join the video crowd, video can add value to both personal and company LinkedIn pages. Even if most users cannot currently create video posts, they can benefit from availability of video in other ways.

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William Comcowich

William J. Comcowich founded and served as CEO of CyberAlert LLC, the predecessor of Glean.info. He is currently serving as Interim CEO and member of the Board of Directors. Glean.info provides customized media monitoring, media measurement and analytics solutions across all types of traditional and social media.