LinkedIn has recorded a 36% jump in video viewership between October 30, 2024, and January 29, 2025, pushing more users to embrace short-form video on the platform. This rise is outpacing all other post formats, prompting questions about whether LinkedIn can maintain its professional focus while mimicking social-media platforms like TikTok and YouTube.
The company’s internal data shows that weekly video creation from publisher program participants has increased by 67% year-over-year.
Microsoft, which owns LinkedIn, has highlighted video’s importance in its earnings reports, linking it to growth in advertising revenue. Yet the rush to shorter clips, including a vertical video feed test launched in March 2024, has left industry observers wondering if LinkedIn risks losing what sets it apart from competing platforms.
🚨NEW 🚨 LinkedIn is testing a new short-form video experience, including a dedicated video ta, similiar to TikTok, Reels, Shorts, etc.
— Lindsey Gamble (@LindseyGamble_) March 27, 2024
H/T to @AustinNull for the discovery/screen recording
Details here:https://t.co/HgGSUaJYvq pic.twitter.com/nDQ8otY0iW
Related: Elon Musk’s X launches vertical video feed to rival TikTok
Laura Lorenzetti, Senior Director and Executive Editor at LinkedIn, described the platform’s approach to video to Digiday, explaining:
“Our team at LinkedIn has been focused on supporting members on the platform as they explore how to leverage video to share insights. We’ve hosted several workshops both at our offices and at industry events; we’ve held LinkedIn Live discussions on best practices for sharing videos; and we work closely with publishers, corporate comms executives and organizations to answer questions and provide guidance.”
While some users applaud the shift to more dynamic, visually engaging content, others fear an identity clash. Critics point to the possibility that shorter, casual videos might overshadow deeper career discussions. Proponents argue that, if managed well, business updates, recruitment clips, and industry breakdowns can benefit from a more accessible format.
Related: As TikTok falters, Bluesky steps in with custom video feeds
Creators and Their Experiments
A big part of LinkedIn’s video story revolves around individual creators who are experimenting with short-form content. Natalie “Corporate Natalie” Marshall, known for her office humor posts, said in a Digiday interview that her LinkedIn clips benefit from a surprising level of longevity. “We find that viewership doesn’t fall off as fast as it does on Instagram and TikTok,” she said. “We are getting posts from months ago on our feed — and I think that’s probably a benefit for the brands to know that there’s longevity with their spend, if they are to do a partnership on LinkedIn.”
Another example comes from Terry Rice, a business strategist who ran a test to see whether the platform’s algorithm truly boosts videos. He posted the same content as a text-based image post and with a short video.
According to Rice, the video post reached 181,000 impressions, while the static post gathered just 786. Yet the text post showed a 12.7% engagement rate, versus 0.1% for video, suggesting that LinkedIn’s algorithm might broaden reach but not necessarily deliver higher-quality engagement.
Several brand partnerships also illustrate LinkedIn’s expanding video economy. Notion, a productivity software company, collaborated with creators like Marshall to promote its tools in sponsored LinkedIn videos.
Meanwhile, Lindsey Gamble, another LinkedIn creator, shared with Digiday that he earned five figures through sponsored LinkedIn posts in 2024, further hinting at a rising monetization trend.
Related: Meta unveils video editing app to capture Bytedance CapCut’s market gap amid TikTok struggles
Brands See Promise, but Seek Data
Microsoft has included LinkedIn’s video growth in its recent earnings presentations, noting that immersive video views increased sixfold quarter-over-quarter. For advertisers, however, there is still a question of transparency.
LinkedIn does not display public view counts for videos, leaving brands to rely solely on creators’ self-reported metrics and impression totals. That is partly why some mainstream consumer companies remain on the fence, although a growing number of B2B-focused advertisers have jumped in.
Brendan Gahan, founder of Creator Authority, likened LinkedIn’s current state to YouTube’s early days. “This still feels like that era of YouTube in 2010, where brands are starting to come in, the ecosystem is growing, and there’s acceleration,” he said. “But to me, it feels like this is that initial wave, and we haven’t even come close to the mass mainstream.” Spending on LinkedIn campaigns at his agency doubled between Q3 and Q4 2024, and he anticipates similar growth heading into 2025.
The platform’s focus on short-form video has also raised eyebrows among traditional LinkedIn users who favor text-heavy posts and professional discussions. Yet many industry watchers believe a balance can be found. Embracing video may help attract a younger demographic looking for career guidance, real-life work tips, and networking opportunities in an easily consumable format.
However, short-form video also opens the door for more viral content, and probably with that the door to controversies.
In January 2025, the European Commission ran a stress test on major digital platforms, including LinkedIn, to gauge their readiness to combat misinformation ahead of Germany’s elections. LinkedIn avoided direct scrutiny but was questioned on how video might contribute to the spread of unchecked content—a sign of increased regulatory interest in its evolving ecosystem.
Can LinkedIn Preserve Its Core Identity?
As the platform continues refining its vertical video feed and investing in workshops to help creators produce high-quality clips, LinkedIn is at a crossroads. On one hand, it faces competition from Meta and other social platforms that are far more entertainment-driven. On the other, LinkedIn maintains a unique foothold in the professional community, offering content that can be both engaging and career-advancing.
The question remains whether increased video adoption will redefine LinkedIn as a social network first and a professional hub second—or if it will successfully blend both identities.
Observers note that LinkedIn’s final challenge is ensuring new types of content don’t overshadow the thoughtful, business-focused discussion that made the platform a standout. Yet with creator successes, brand partnerships, and strong internal numbers, short-form video may be here to stay.
The Data and Privacy Factor
LinkedIn’s shift toward video is unfolding against a broader backdrop of data security and potential legal scrutiny. In January 2025, the platform was named in a lawsuit alleging that it used private InMail messages to train AI models without users’ explicit consent.
The suit claims LinkedIn repurposed personal data in a manner that might violate privacy regulations, raising questions about how the platform manages the increased information gathered through video features and creator programs.
LinkedIn’s professional niche places it under particularly close scrutiny, since many of the discussions and interactions involve sensitive career or corporate details. Any privacy misstep could impact the trust the platform has built among its user base.
Despite this potential cloud, LinkedIn’s emphasis on short-form video shows no signs of easing, reflecting broader industry trends where AI recommendations are increasingly used to personalize and promote content.