As a video marketing platform, LinkedIn offers a powerful way to engage your professional network and promote your brand. However, to maximize the impact of your LinkedIn videos, it’s important to understand which video dimensions and sizes perform best on this platform.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll break down the optimal video sizes and dimensions to use for different areas of LinkedIn, from your profile to sponsored ads. We’ll also provide tips to create visually compelling videos tailored for the LinkedIn audience.
LinkedIn Supported Video Sizes
First, let’s review the video formats and sizes supported across LinkedIn:
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 widescreen is recommended
- Landscape Orientation: Videos upload and display best in landscape format.
- File Types: MP4 or MOV
- Maximum File Size: 5GB
- Resolution: Minimum resolution of 720p HD (1280 x 720 pixels)
- Bitrate: 2-6 mbps
- Framerate: 30 fps
- Max Length: 10 minutes (for free accounts), up to 20 minutes for premium accounts
Ideal Video Sizes for LinkedIn Profile/Feed
Your LinkedIn profile and newsfeed are arguably the most important places to share video content. This is where you can establish yourself as an industry thought leader and engage directly with your connections.
For LinkedIn’s feed and profiles, the recommended video size is:
- 1280 x 720 pixels (16:9 HD)
This matches the minimum requirements outlined above. However, for maximum visual impact, consider upsizing to:
- 1920 x 1080 pixels (Full HD)
This will make your videos stand out in the feed and deliver a more polished, professional look when viewers click through to your profile.
Tips for Profile & Feed Videos
- Keep videos under 2-3 minutes long to maintain viewer attention.
- Include relevant hashtags and mentions to extend your reach.
- Add captions to make videos accessible.
- Use eye-catching custom thumbnails to get more clicks.
Ideal Video Sizes for LinkedIn Company Pages
Company Pages have their own feeds where you can publish branded video content. Optimal dimensions include:
- 1920 x 1080 pixels (Full HD)
Again, this adds polish and visual impact. But 1280 x 720 is also sufficient if needed.
Tips for Company Page Videos
- Showcase products, services, culture, and employees.
- Keep videos short, under 2 minutes.
- Use branded intros/outros and graphics.
- Promote videos via Sponsored Content ads.
Ideal Video Sizes for LinkedIn Advertising
You can run video ads on LinkedIn to reach your target audience beyond just your direct connections. The right ad dimensions can lead to higher engagement rates and conversion.
Sponsored Video Ads
Play instantly before, during or after other videos. Recommended size is:
- 1280 x 720 (16:9 HD)
Sponsored Content Video Ads
Appear natively in the LinkedIn feed like regular posts. Recommended size is:
- 1280 x 720 (16:9 HD)
For both ad formats, keep videos short at 30-60 seconds max. Lead with your most engaging content at the start. And include a strong call to action.
Ideal Video Sizes for LinkedIn Live Streaming
Go live on LinkedIn to interact directly with your audience in real time. Optimal video size is:
- 1280 x 720 (16:9 HD)
This delivers a balance of quality and reliability across devices. For a more premium look, upgrade to full HD 1920 x 1080 if your bandwidth allows.
Tips for LinkedIn Live Video
- Test your mic, lighting, and connection first.
- Promote the Live broadcast ahead of time.
- Engage viewers with Q&As, polls, comments.
- Have a co-host to make it more dynamic.
Resolution vs File Size
Higher video resolution provides a clearer, sharper picture. But larger files take longer to upload and stream. Finding the right balance for your needs is key.
| Resolution | Video Quality | Approx. File Size (5 min video) |
|---|---|---|
| 1280 x 720 | Standard HD | 200-500 MB |
| 1920 x 1080 | Full HD | 500 MB – 1 GB |
| 2560 x 1440 | 2K QHD | 1.5 – 2 GB |
| 3840 x 2160 | 4K UHD | 2.5 – 5 GB |
As you can see, 4K video files can get very large without providing that much visible improvement over 1080p on LinkedIn. That’s why 1080p or 720p HD are the sweet spots for balancing quality and file size.
How to Choose the Right Video Size
When selecting your ideal video size for LinkedIn, consider these key factors:
- Purpose – Are you creating a professional brand video or casual content?
- Placement – Will it be a feed post, ad, or on your profile?
- Engagement – Shorter videos tend to get more views completed.
- Bandwidth – Will viewers stream it in HD without buffering?
- Optimization – Does it align with LinkedIn’s recommended specs?
Balancing these variables will guide you toward the right video size across different LinkedIn contexts.
Video Production Tips for LinkedIn
Beyond just dimensions, there are other video production tips that can help you create quality, visually engaging content for LinkedIn:
- Use attractive opening/closing graphics with motion and branding.
- Feature people and faces prominently, not just screen recordings.
- Include b-roll and imagery over voiceovers for visual interest.
- Insert occasional subtle animations, but don’t overdo it.
- Film horizontal/landscape – never vertical.
- Enhance audio with microphone, normalization and music.
- Adhere to the style and tone of the LinkedIn platform.
Investing in quality production will make your videos stand out in the LinkedIn feed and enhance perception of your brand. Poorly produced videos reflect poorly on you.
Video Codecs
The video codec you choose also impacts the viewing experience and file size. LinkedIn recommends H.264 or MPEG-4 encoding. Here’s a comparison:
| Video Codec | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| H.264 | – Efficient compression – Wide device support – Crisp image quality |
– Can be slow to encode |
| MPEG-4 | – Faster encoding – Smaller file sizes |
– Lower image quality – Less device support |
H.264 hits the sweet spot between compression efficiency, speed, and quality. But MPEG-4 can be a good alternative if you need smaller files and faster exporting. The best codec depends on your priorities for that particular video.
Optimizing Video Encoding Settings
Tuning your encoding settings properly will help produce videos tailored for LinkedIn’s specifications and deliver smooth playback. Here are a few key settings to adjust:
- Bitrate – 2-6 Mbps is ideal range.
- Resolution – Minimum 720p HD, or up to 1080p.
- Framerate – Constant 30fps frame rate.
- Keyframe Interval – 2 seconds.
- Deinterlacing – On, for smooth playback.
Running a test export and uploading it to LinkedIn to check quality is recommended before encoding your final video file.
How to Upload Videos to LinkedIn
Once you’ve exported your video in the optimal size and format for LinkedIn, it’s easy to upload it:
- Click the “Write an article” button in your LinkedIn feed.
- In the editor, click the video icon to open the media uploader.
- Select your video file from your computer.
- LinkedIn will transcode and optimize the video as needed after uploading.
- Edit the video title, description, thumbnail, etc.
- Preview the video, then publish to your profile, company page or group!
One thing to keep in mind is that higher resolution/quality videos may take longer to process before you can preview and publish them. But the results will be worth it!
Conclusion
At the end of the day, the ideal video size for LinkedIn comes down to 1280 x 720 HD or 1920 x 1080 Full HD for most uses. Optimize your encoding settings, and keep videos short and engaging.
Focus on crafting compelling content over just maximizing resolution. And perform small tests to ensure your videos look and playback nicely before distributing them to your audience on LinkedIn.
By following the best practices outlined here, you can create stunning, professional-level videos tailored to perform exceptionally well across the LinkedIn platform.
