LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 850 million members. It’s designed to help members connect, find jobs, develop professionally, and grow businesses. While LinkedIn is best known for building your professional profile and making connections, it offers several other capabilities that can enhance your career, including video conferencing.
In this article, we’ll explore whether you can video conference on LinkedIn. We’ll look at LinkedIn’s video conferencing features, who can use them, how to get started, tips for having an effective video meeting, and alternatives to consider.
Can You Video Conference on LinkedIn?
Yes, LinkedIn does have video conferencing capabilities through LinkedIn Live and LinkedIn Virtual Events. However, these features have some limitations compared to dedicated video conferencing tools like Zoom or Microsoft Teams.
LinkedIn Live
LinkedIn Live allows you to broadcast real-time video to your LinkedIn connections. It’s designed for things like thought leadership talks, Q&As, panel discussions, and product announcements.
To use LinkedIn Live, you must have a LinkedIn Page associated with your profile. You can go live from a mobile device or from a desktop streaming encoder. LinkedIn Live supports up to 4 video and audio streams at once, so you can have multiple presenters on a single broadcast.
However, LinkedIn Live does not support multi-way video communication. It’s primarily a one-way broadcasting tool, more similar to Facebook Live than Zoom. Viewers can interact through a chat window, but they cannot stream their own video back to you.
So while useful for sharing live videos with your network, LinkedIn Live does not enable back-and-forth video conversations.
LinkedIn Virtual Events
LinkedIn Virtual Events allows event organizers to host digital events like summits, conferences, and workshops. It provides tools for live streaming, on-demand video, networking, Q&As, 1:1 meetings, sponsor exhibits, and more.
Within a LinkedIn Virtual Event, organizers can schedule 1:1 video meetings between attendees. This provides a way for participants to video conference as part of the larger event.
However, LinkedIn Virtual Events as a whole are focused on larger-scale digital events, not 1:1 or small group meetings. The 1:1 video meetings need to be scheduled as part of a larger event.
So while LinkedIn Virtual Events offers video conferencing capabilities, they are limited in scope and availability. It’s not a widely accessible video meeting solution for everyday use by most members.
Who Can Use LinkedIn Video Conferencing Features?
The availability of LinkedIn’s video conferencing capabilities depends on your account type:
LinkedIn Live
– LinkedIn Live is available for any member who has a LinkedIn Page associated with their profile. You must go live from your Page, not your personal profile.
– Having an active Premium Business or Sales Navigator account allows you to go live with higher video quality, up to 720p HD. Without a premium account, quality is limited to 360p SD.
LinkedIn Virtual Events
– Creating a LinkedIn Virtual Event requires having an active Premium Business or Sales Navigator account.
– All LinkedIn members can view livestreams and recorded videos from Virtual Events. But to actively participate in events, you must register and have an active LinkedIn profile.
So while all members can watch videos, only those with Pages and premium accounts can use LinkedIn’s live streaming and events tools.
How to Video Conference on LinkedIn
Here are the key steps to get started with LinkedIn’s video conferencing capabilities:
LinkedIn Live
1. Make sure you have a LinkedIn Page set up for your profile. You must go live from your Page.
2. Go to your LinkedIn Page and click “Go Live” from the left menu.
3. Select whether you want to go live from a mobile device or streaming encoder on your computer. Configure your audio and video sources.
4. Schedule your broadcast or go live immediately. You can invite people to view the live video.
5. Interact with viewers through the live chat while your video broadcasts.
LinkedIn Virtual Events
1. Sign up for a Premium Business or Sales Navigator Account.
2. Create a LinkedIn Virtual Event from your LinkedIn Page. Configure event details like date, time, speakers, agenda, etc.
3. Schedule 1:1 video meetings as part of the larger event agenda. These act as video conferencing sessions.
4. Promote your event and manage registration. Have speakers, exhibitors, and attendees login at event time.
5. Monitor the event and ensure the 1:1 video meetings run smoothly for your speakers and attendees. Record any sessions.
While the setup process takes some work, LinkedIn Virtual Events provide the most robust video conferencing capabilities on the platform.
Tips for an Effective LinkedIn Video Conference
If you host a video conference on LinkedIn, follow these tips for a smooth, engaging meeting:
– Test your audio, video, and internet connection beforehand to catch any technical issues. Make sure you have adequate bandwidth.
– If using LinkedIn Live, bring in a moderator to monitor chats and comments from the audience.
– Frame your camera properly and sit with good lighting so you’re clearly visible.
– Prepare talking points and visual aids to stay organized and concise during your meeting.
– Engage the audience through questions, polls, reactions, and whiteboarding to make it interactive.
– Follow up after the meeting with shares of the recording and recaps of key takeaways. Continue the conversation.
– For 1:1 video chats, build rapport at the start through introductions and ice breakers before diving into heavy topics.
– Use screen sharing if needed but be intentional about when to share your screen vs engage face-to-face on video.
– If issues arise, stay calm and flexible. Pivot to an audio-only call if needed and troubleshoot for next time.
Alternatives to LinkedIn for Video Conferencing
While LinkedIn offers limited video communication features, there are many other purpose-built video conferencing platforms to consider:
Zoom
Zoom is the leader in modern video communications, with robust features for meetings, chat, phone, webinars, and conference room video. Zoom integrates with LinkedIn for easy scheduling. The free basic plan allows 100 participants for 40 minutes.
Microsoft Teams
Teams provides video meetings through Microsoft’s Office 365 workspace. It offers strong integration with LinkedIn for networking before and after meetings. Teams meetings allow up to 300 participants for 60 minutes on the free license.
Google Meet
Google Meet features reliable video meetings that are easy to start and join. Meet is free for meetings of up to 60 minutes for up to 100 participants. It’s part of the G Suite productivity tools.
Webex
Webex from Cisco is a stable, enterprise-grade video conference platform. The basic license allows 50 minute meetings for up to 100 attendees. Webex works across devices and integrates well for meetings inside LinkedIn.
BlueJeans
BlueJeans is a scalable video conferencing solution that works equally well for small meetings or large-scale events. The entry-level plan supports 50 minutes for up to 50 participants.
Conclusion
In summary, yes you can video conference on LinkedIn through LinkedIn Live broadcasts and 1:1 video meetings scheduled within LinkedIn Virtual Events. However, these capabilities are quite limited compared to dedicated video conferencing platforms. For frequent video communication needs, standalone tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex are more robust and accessible options worth considering. But for the occasional live broadcast or video chat as part of a LinkedIn-based digital event, the built-in tools can get the job done.
