As a video marketing tool, LinkedIn horizontal videos have become increasingly popular for businesses and creators looking to engage their professional audiences. However, to utilize these horizontal videos effectively, it’s important to understand the ideal specifications and requirements for the LinkedIn video player.
LinkedIn Video Dimensions
LinkedIn recommends uploading horizontal videos that are 1280 x 720 pixels, which is an HD 16:9 aspect ratio. This size is optimized for native playback across desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. Uploading videos at the recommended 1280 x 720 size ensures the highest video quality and minimizes black bars or cropping on the viewer’s screen.
Here is a quick overview of the recommended LinkedIn horizontal video dimensions:
| Video Type | Dimensions |
|---|---|
| Horizontal Video | 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9 HD) |
Minimum and Maximum Dimensions
While 1280 x 720 is the recommended size for optimal playback, LinkedIn videos can range between the following minimum and maximum dimensions:
- Minimum size: 400 x 225 pixels
- Maximum size: 3840 x 2160 pixels
Videos smaller than the minimum 400 x 225 pixels may suffer from quality issues or fail to upload properly. At the maximum end, videos larger than 3840 x 2160 pixels (4K resolution) will still work but LinkedIn will transcode and compress them to optimize streaming performance across devices.
Aspect Ratio
In addition to size, the aspect ratio of your LinkedIn videos is another key consideration. Aspect ratio refers to the proportional relationship between a video’s width and height.
LinkedIn recommends a 16:9 widescreen horizontal aspect ratio for videos. This includes dimensions like 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080, 3840 x 2160, etc. Avoid uploading vertical videos or non-widescreen aspect ratios like 4:3 or 1:1.
Posting horizontal 16:9 videos will prevent awkward pillarboxing (black bars on the sides) or cropping issues within the LinkedIn feed. This way, your video content will look polished and professional as viewers scroll through their feeds.
Video File Size
In addition to resolution and aspect ratio, the file size of your video matters when optimizing for LinkedIn. In general, LinkedIn recommends keeping your video file sizes under 5GB.
Smaller file sizes not only make uploads quicker, but they put less strain on a viewer’s data plan when streaming on mobile. Significantly large files can lead to choppy playback or other performance issues.
Here are some tips to help control your video file size:
- Use a video compressor to reduce file size without sacrificing quality.
- Choose reasonable resolutions based on your content goals.
- Export your final videos in common compressed formats like .MP4 or .MOV.
- Aim for short, concise videos (under 3 minutes when possible).
Video Codecs
Codecs refer to how your video file is encoded or compressed during export. LinkedIn recommends using the H.264 video codec and AAC audio codec when exporting videos.
These standard codecs allow your videos to be hardware accelerated during playback for better performance. Avoid less common codecs like ProRes, DNxHD, or older formats like H.263, which may cause playback issues on LinkedIn.
Framerate
Framerate determines how many frames or images are shown per second in a video. For LinkedIn, you’ll want to export your videos at a standard broadcast framerate of either 30fps or 60fps.
Higher frame rates like 60fps offer smoother motion, while 30fps is more data efficient. But in general, 30fps or 60fps will provide good visual quality on LinkedIn at common HD resolutions.
Lower frame rates can negatively impact the viewing experience, so avoid 24fps or 15fps outputs.
Bitrate
The bitrate controls how much visual information is contained in each second of a video file. Videos with higher bitrates preserve more detail and clarity, but come with larger file sizes.
For LinkedIn, target video bitrates between 8-10 Mbps for 1080p resolution and 15-20 Mbps for 4K resolution. This ensures high visual quality while keeping file sizes reasonable for streaming.
You can adjust the bitrate in your video editor’s export settings. But in general, YouTube’s recommended HD and 4K bitrate ranges are ideal for professional results.
Audio Recommendations
In addition to the visual specifications covered above, here are some ideal settings for your video’s audio:
- Audio Codec: AAC or MP3
- Channels: Stereo
- Bitrate: 192 Kbps
Properly mixed and exported stereo audio will provide the best sound quality and viewing experience on LinkedIn. Make sure audio levels are even and melodic sounds are clear.
Conclusion
By adhering to LinkedIn’s recommended specifications for horizontal videos, you can upload professional, polished content that plays back smoothly in viewers’ feeds. The ideal dimensions for LinkedIn horizontal videos are 1280 x 720 pixels at 30fps or 60fps using standard H.264 and AAC codecs.
Keep videos under 5GB with reasonable 1080p or 4K bitrates. And don’t forget clean stereo audio at 192 Kbps. With these publishing best practices for size, aspect ratio, codecs, and more, you’ll be ready to share stunning horizontal videos that engage your LinkedIn audiences.