LinkedIn is tinkering with featuring short-form videos.
Why it matters: Until now, the professional networking platform has been one of the few social media brands that hasn't caved to TikTok-style video experiences.
- "[W]e are testing new ways to help members more easily discover timely, relevant videos to watch on LinkedIn," Suzi Owens, a company spokesperson, tells Axios in an email.
Zoom in: A new "Video" option will appear next to the "Home" button at the bottom of the app's navigation bar, per a demo of the feature shared online by Austin Null, strategy director at creative agency McKinney.
- After tapping it, viewers are led to a feed of short-form videos similar to Instagram Reels and TikTok.
How we got here: "LinkedIn has made a concerted effort to provide a platform that is creator friendly," Peter Yang, co-founder and CEO of OverSubscribe, a startup helping fans invest in creators, tells Axios.
- For example, the platform has a dedicated creator relations team and programs like the LinkedIn Creator Accelerator to help new accounts grow, he adds.
The big picture: Creators on LinkedIn don't have the same scale as TikTokers, according to Brendan Gahan, co-founder and CEO of Creator Authority, a marketing agency that helps brands strike deals with LinkedIn influencers.
- Accounts with over 1 million followers are rarer on LinkedIn, "but they attract narrower, deeper and more trusted connections," he tells Axios.
