LinkedIn following TikTok? Report says job search platform is testing short video feed
Upstox
2 min read • Updated: March 28, 2024, 12:43 PM
Summary
LinkedIn's video feed is expected to focus on employment, professionalism and other aspects of the corporate world, instead of the clips related to cooking, comedy and other miscellaneous topics as seen in the video feeds of Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook and others, the report said. The company may also monetise the feed after formally rolling it out.
Taking a cue from the success of TikTok, Microsoft’s LinkedIn is now testing a short-form video feed, a report said, citing a company source. LinkedIn, which is used mainly for building professional networks and searching for jobs, has reportedly unveiled the video feed for select users on a trial basis.
The company is experimenting with a “TikTok-like short-form video feed”, news portal TechCrunch reported, citing its communication with LinkedIn officials. The video feed is expected to focus on employment, professionalism and other aspects of the corporate world, instead of the clips related to cooking, comedy and other miscellaneous topics as seen in the video feeds of Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook and others, the report said.
The new feature, which is being tested on LinkedIn’s app and not its web version, is aimed at increasing engagement and providing users with bite-sized videos that they can scroll through, it added. LinkedIn, notably, claims to have around 1 billion users spread across 200 countries.
How will the new LinkedIn short videos feed appear?
The video feed is presently not available for all users, as the company is yet to formally roll it out. LinkedIn is currently experimenting with it among select app users. Among those who were able to access the feed was Austin Null, a strategy director at influencer agency firm McKinney. Null, in a demo posted on LinkedIn, showed that a new ‘Video’ tab has been added to the app’s navigation bar.
On clicking on the video tab, one is taken to a vertical feed of short videos, which users can watch and swipe upwards to see the next set of clips. This is similar to the feed rolled out by other social media companies, including TikTok which popularised it.
According to TechCrunch, there is a possibility that LinkedIn may monetise the feed in the future, allowing content creators to earn through the platform.
TikTok, which was the first to start the short video feed, is counted amongst the most profitable social media companies. The revenue clocked by its parent ByteDance touched $120 billion in 2023, up 40% as compared to the year-ago period, the Financial Times reported earlier this month, citing company sources.