LinkedIn video is driving sales big time for thousands of businesses around the world. If you want some of that action, keep reading!
Newsflash: Sales is never going back to a pre-Covid world where most new business is done face-to-face, in person.
But the adage that “people buy people” is still true: trust and emotional connection play a big role, especially in B2B.
Online video technology is filling that gap - but not just through synchronous video conferencing. We’ll show you loads of other ways to use video in your sales and marketing efforts.
And the pandemic has made LinkedIn enormously more important, as a great way for professional people to network, communicate, buy, and sell without the opportunities of the pre-lockdown world.
In this blog, we’ll show you five ways of using video on LinkedIn to turn your social media profile into a sales machine. Click on one of the links below to jump ahead, or read on!
LinkedIn Videos #1: Newsfeed Content
Ever since LinkedIn introduced video capabilities in 2017, it’s been getting bigger and bigger. Today, users watch around 300 million videos per year on the platform.
There’s no limit on the types of video you can share in your feed:
- Animations
- Product demonstrations
- Webinars and presentations
- Talking heads and discussions
- Adverts
The list goes on and on.
But the key is to be eye-catching. Just like other social media platforms, LinkedIn provides an infinite scrolling experience: your goal is to get people to stop and look when they get to your post!
Video has a big advantage here, in that the default LinkedIn user settings autoplay them (without sound). So:
- Make the opening of your video grab the attention, and front-load the message you want to get across. After all, around a third of viewers will have stopped watching after 30 seconds
- 57% of all LinkedIn traffic is mobile, so make sure your videos are optimized for playing on mobile devices
- While moving images will catch the scrolling eye, without sound to help they may not keep it. So make sure you provide subtitles as standard!
Why Should You Do It?
Using video in your LinkedIn posts can increase awareness of and engagement with your brand significantly.
- In 2021, LinkedIn has about 800 million users worldwide - 90 million of whom are senior-level decision-makers and influencers
- Video LinkedIn posts generate an average of three times more engagement than non-video posts
- They are also five times more likely to start a conversation
- Video ad campaigns on LinkedIn have an ad view rate of around 50%
- LinkedIn’s algorithm prefers video to other types of content, meaning it is more likely to be seen by your network and people beyond it
How Can You Do It?
LinkedIn makes it super-easy for you to share videos. Just click the “Video” option at the top of your newsfeed page to upload...
… or paste the video’s URL into the text window to link to it.
However, LinkedIn’s algorithm prefers native video to links away from its site, so it’s advisable to upload wherever you can for maximum visibility 👍.
Just a few technical specifications about LinkedIn’s support for video as well:
- Max Length: Three seconds to 10 minutes long
- File size: Between 75KB and 200MB
- Video format: MP4
- Audio format: MPEG4 or AAC
- Frame rate: Less than 30 frames per second (FPS)
- Landscape format: 16:9 aspect ratio (640x360px to 1920x 1080px)
- Square format: 1:1 aspect ratio (360x360px to 1920x1920px)
- Portrait format: 9:16 aspect ratio (360x640px to 1080x1920px)
Stick within those parameters and you’re good!
LinkedIn Videos #2: Messaging
LinkedIn only began allowing users to share videos in private messages in 2019. Since then, it’s become a favored tool of LinkedIn power users - although it’s not yet something the majority of members have picked up on.
That allows you to stand out from the crowd by getting early on the act!
The best LinkedIn video messages are personal and one-to-one: kind of like video voicemails.
But while most people today are comfortable leaving an audio message, it’s not always easy to make a good impression on camera. So, if you’re worried about getting started, check out our top tips for looking like a pro on film!
Why Should You Do It?
Video messaging outperforms other forms of messaging by a big margin:
- 59% of executives prefer to consume video over any alternative medium
- Video thumbnails are clicked 65% more than other linked content
- 64% of people are more likely to buy once they’ve watched a video
Those stats are taken from video email studies, but LinkedIn messaging has special advantages for video:
- Videos can be shown in-line in LinkedIn messages. That’s only possible for HTML5-supporting email clients - and most of the time, you won’t know what client your prospects use
- Email’s big problem is spam, but LinkedIn doesn’t allow you to send unsolicited messages directly to inboxes (although this can be done with a Sales Navigator InMails)
- LinkedIn messages let prospects check out your profile to find out about you
- LinkedIn inboxes are usually far less crowded than email inboxes!
How Can You Do It?
LinkedIn’s mobile app lets you record videos and send them directly, but you can’t do that through a browser - you need to use a third-party recording tool to send video messages in LinkedIn that let you...
- Upload a video file as an attachment
- Share a link to a video hosted elsewhere
And while you might naturally gravitate towards uploading, there are some good reasons to prefer linking:
- A link allows you to display a custom thumbnail. Youtube has found that 90% of the best-performing videos feature custom thumbnails
- Video messaging platforms like Sendspark will enable you to customize the landing page your leads visit to view your video
- As shown above, a Sendspark landing page allows you to influence viewers’ onward navigation, with custom Calls To Action to pages of your choice
- Cloud-hosted linked videos will often provide analytics about engagement
- If you have a long list of contacts to send to, it’s far more efficient to send links
Sendspark does all of these things incredibly simply and effectively. Create a free account and get started sending LinkedIn video messages today!
LinkedIn Videos #3: Video Sales Letters
A Video Sales Letter or VSL is a particular type of video that presents your service pitch in full to viewers. Typically, in a VSL you will:
- Present a problem the audience has and show you understand the pain it causes them
- Demonstrate how your service overcomes that problem better than any alternative
- Provide case after case of successful user stories as evidence
The VSL is the 21st-century version of the old-school direct response sales letters you still see tucked inside magazines like Reader’s Digest.
The crucial advantages of videos though are:
- You can demonstrate the solution - remember: show always beats tell!
- You can talk to, smile at, and make eye contact with your audience
- With a bit of planning, you can also personalize your messaging to particular segments or even individuals
Why Should You Do It?
- Video sales letters can make your sales process far more efficient: no need to travel to a prospect’s office to deliver a pitch, or even to give the same one over and over on a video call. VSLs automate the top of your sales funnel, so your sales agents can spend time on properly qualified, interested leads
- No more back and forth trying to arrange meetings. Just drop your VSL into a prospect’s LinkedIn inbox and let them watch it in their own time
While a lot of businesses that use VSLs incorporate them into sign-up workflows on their websites, sending them via LinkedIn has the advantage of being very personal and one-to-one. That’s key when making sales is as much about relationships as the product.
How Can You Do It?
Video sales letters can be pretty long, depending on what’s being sold.
It’s important to bear in mind that LinkedIn only lets you send attachments up to a total of 20MB in messages. So, you’re not going to be able to upload most VSL files to send on.
There are two ways around this problem:
- If you subscribe to Sales Navigator, upload the file there and create a Smart Link
- Send a link to another hosting location, along with an animated GIF preview or short introductory video, using a tool like Sendspark
Both will give you valuable analytics insight into how your video is being engaged with.
The trouble with Smart Links is that it takes a lead quite a few clicks to get to the attached asset - including a very off-putting request asking if they’re ok with stats being monitored! Plus, the way your video is presented is totally out of your control.
That’s not true for Sendspark.
As we’ve already mentioned, part of the package is a powerful landing page builder which lets you customize how your videos are displayed - including a CTA button that lets viewers book in meetings with you themselves!
There’s no limit to the length of videos you can produce with Sendspark, so even on the free package, you’ll be able to create comprehensive VSLs.
LinkedIn Videos #4: Client Testimonials
Client testimonials confirm your credibility as a brand and the effectiveness of your service. Buyers need that kind of reassurance when being asked to try something for the first time.
On LinkedIn, video testimonials can make a big impression - either as newsfeed videos or when sent as messages.
- Use montages of loads of positive customer comments in newsfeed videos, to show how many happy users you have
- Pick out the most relevant by use case to share with similar prospects over one-to-one messaging
Of course, that means you can use the same footage twice over for different purposes! 🥂 Just remember to plan the best questions before you ask for the testimonial...
Why Should You Do It?
Video testimonials are the ultimate form of social proof!
- 89% of marketers rate video testimonials as the single most effective content marketing tactic
- 92% of buyers consider reviews and testimonials before purchasing and 72% say that publishing them makes them trust a business more
- They let viewers see real people giving their unscripted views on your service. That’s far more convincing than reading your description or even customers’ own words
- Video is great for conveying emotion: prospects will be able to see from their expressions and tone of voice how users feel about your business
How Can You Do It?
The single easiest way to get client video testimonials you can share on LinkedIn and elsewhere is using Sendspark’s Request Video function.
Just go into your Sendspark dashboard, hop to the “Video Requests” tab, and click “Request Video”.
This will generate a link that you can copy into a LinkedIn message or email. When your customer clicks on it, without any downloads, they’ll be able to record an off-the-cuff video for you!
And when they save it...BOOM 💥💥💥 There it is in your account for you to download or share directly to your LinkedIn prospects like any other video message.
Combining your LinkedIn Videos in a Funnel
Smart sales and marketing folk already know that you don’t have to treat these tactics in isolation. In fact, the more you can combine them into organized sales funnels, the more powerful they become!
- Grab your audience’s attention with awesome newsfeed videos or video LinkedIn ads
- Send a video connection request to viewers to get them into your network
- Qualify them as leads with a comprehensive Video Sales letter
- Link your landing page to a calendar booking tool so that viewers can do the bookings for you, via a Call To Action
- Send personalized messages to chase up video viewers who haven’t booked yet or who are going cold
- Share video testimonials to convert waverers who need reassurance
- The best sales funnel workflows of this sort will take leads back and forth between your website and LinkedIn. On your website, create “one-off upsell” videos that are shared with viewers who hit certain on-site behavioral triggers and “downsell” videos to offer a cheaper option to those who are not ready to buy
A video sales funnel of this sort can give leads a really good understanding of your service and a real sense of knowing you, before you even spend any time face-to-face with them!
That will save you a huge amount of time and money, and allow you to concentrate sales resources where they can have the biggest impact - ie converting people at the bottom of the funnel.
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind, video is just one piece of the puzzle. Check out our other resources for building your LinkedIn sales strategy:
- How to use LinkedIn Sales Navigator
- Prospecting on LinkedIn
- Video outreach on LinkedIn
- How to create a great LinkedIn profile
- Best LinkedIn automation tools
That being said... there’s never been a better time to start using video across all of your LinkedIn activities. The stats say it all - video performs better on LinkedIn than any other medium!
Sendspark is the ideal tool to create or import videos and share them on LinkedIn, and we’ve shown today how you can use it to make a big impression. Sign up now to start recording and sharing videos for free.
