As a leading professional social network, LinkedIn enables users to connect with each other, share content, and engage professionally. With over 810 million members worldwide, LinkedIn is an important platform for personal branding, thought leadership, lead generation, and recruitment.
Video is becoming an increasingly popular and effective medium on LinkedIn. According to LinkedIn, video posts generate 50% more comments than regular posts. As more users turn to video to build their personal brand and share professional insights, understanding the right video format for LinkedIn is key.
What video file formats does LinkedIn support?
When uploading videos directly to LinkedIn, the platform supports the following file formats:
- MP4 or MOV (preferred for optimal playback)
- AVI
- FLV
- WMV
- MPEGPS
- 3GPP
- WebM
The recommended specification for uploaded videos is:
- File size: Up to 5GB
- Resolution: At least 720p
- Aspect ratio: 16:9
- Frame rate: 30fps
- Audio codec: AAC
What is the ideal video format for LinkedIn?
The ideal video format for LinkedIn is MP4 or MOV.
Here are some key reasons why MP4/MOV is the best video format option for LinkedIn:
- MP4 and MOV are considered professional/industry standard formats.
- They provide high quality playback and compression. This results in a great viewing experience for your audience while keeping file sizes manageable.
- MP4 and MOV allow for adjustable resolution and frame rates. You can tailor the specs to meet LinkedIn’s recommended 720p resolution at 30fps.
- These formats are compatible with LinkedIn’s video player and widely supported by other social platforms too.
- The AAC audio codec used in MP4/MOV provides high quality audio that enhances the viewing experience.
- MP4 and MOV work seamlessly across desktop and mobile.
What are the benefits of using MP4/MOV for LinkedIn videos?
Here are some of the top benefits of using MP4 or MOV formats for your LinkedIn videos:
- Optimized playback – MP4 and MOV provide fast, smooth playback without drops in quality. This results in higher viewership and engagement.
- Enhanced quality – These formats preserve high visual fidelity and audio quality for a polished, professional video.
- Better compression – MP4/MOV allows you to achieve smaller file sizes without compromising quality. This makes uploads and streaming faster.
- Easy sharing – MP4 and MOV seamlessly work across different social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram etc.
- Compatibility – MP4 and MOV allow your videos to play on all major desktop browsers and mobile devices.
- Customization – You can tweak resolution, bitrates and other settings to meet LinkedIn’s recommendations.
What resolution and frame rate should you use?
To ensure optimal playback and viewing experience across devices, aim for:
- Resolution: At least 720p (1280 x 720 pixels)
- Frame rate: 30fps (frames per second)
At 720p and 30fps, your videos will play smoothly across all screens while maintaining crisp quality. Higher resolution (1080p) and frame rates (60fps) will increase file sizes significantly without any real advantage since LinkedIn videos autoplay muted.
How can you convert videos to MP4/MOV for LinkedIn?
If your source video is in a different format, you can easily convert it to MP4 or MOV in just a few simple steps:
- Download and install a reliable video converter tool like Handbrake, FFmpeg or Adapter.
- Import your video file into the converter.
- Select MP4 or MOV as the output format.
- Adjust the resolution to 720p and frame rate to 30fps.
- Start the conversion process and export the new MP4/MOV file.
- Upload the optimized video to LinkedIn.
The best video converters allow you to batch process files rapidly while giving you full control over resolution, bitrates, codecs and other parameters.
What are some tips for creating optimized videos for LinkedIn?
Here are some best practices for developing great videos tailor-made for LinkedIn:
- Keep videos short, between 30-90 seconds long.
- Hook viewers right away by starting with a strong opening line.
- Use eye-catching custom thumbnails to capture attention.
- Reduce on-screen text and let the visuals tell the story.
- Diversify content formats like screencasts, animated explainer videos, interviews etc.
- Include captions to make videos accessible.
- Upload HD resolution source files for the best quality.
- Promote your videos across LinkedIn feeds to maximize reach.
Conclusion
Following LinkedIn’s recommended specifications and using MP4 or MOV video formats is key to creating professional, polished videos that engage your audience. With the right strategy, video can be a powerful tool to boost your brand and reach on LinkedIn.
