It’s the go-to platform for professionals and is usually associated with an older demographic of internet users.
But it seems LinkedIn is trying to get down with the kids by copying TikTok, famed for its predominantly adolescent userbase.
The Microsoft-owned networking platform is about to introduce a video feed with short scrollable video clips to its mobile app.
However, rather than dancing and cooking tips like on TikTok, clips on LinkedIn will be about professional networking and career development.
It’s unclear when the feature is being widely released, although one LinkedIn user has already tested it out, suggesting it might not be too far away.
LinkedIn which has been owned by tech giant Microsoft since 2016, has a reputation for blog posts filled with confusing corporate terminology – but it could draw a new type of younger user with the launch of a new short-form video feed
A brief clip of what LinkedIn’s short-form video looks like was posted by user Austin Null, a marketing professional based in Kansas, showing businesspeople talking about their career
A brief clip of what LinkedIn’s short-form video looks like was posted by user Austin Null, a marketing professional based in Kansas.
It shows short clips taking up almost the entirety of the screen, much like on TikTok, Instagram and other apps increasingly becoming focused on video.
Users will be able to access clips on LinkedIn by tapping on a new ‘Video’ icon on the navigation bar, between ‘Home’ and ‘My Network’.
Once the ‘Video’ icon is tapped, the clips will start automatically and users will be able to scroll through them with a quick swipe.
The Video icon will displace the ‘Post’ icon, which users need to tap on to create a blog post.
The Post icon is being moved to the top of the interface, next to the ‘Messages’ icon, TechRadar reports.
It’s unclear whether LinkedIn for desktop will be getting more of a focus on video; MailOnline has contacted LinkedIn for comment.
Social media apps have long been inspired to create their own versions of features from the hugely successful app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance
Social media consultant Rhea Freeman said she is not surprised that LinkedIn is experimenting with short form video and thinks it could attract younger users.
‘It’s a trend that has swept through social media platforms and gains in popularity,’ she told MailOnline.
‘If this increases people’s time on LinkedIn then that’s a win for the company.’
It’s understood that LinkedIn won’t be losing its focus on professional networking and career development, however.
‘I think it’s important that each platform keeps its identity,’ Freeman added.
‘What I’d hate to see is the kind of content that’s largely shared on other platforms being reposted on LinkedIn.
‘I love a lip syncing video as much as the next person, but on LinkedIn? That wouldn’t work.’
Social media apps have long been inspired to create their own versions of features from the hugely successful app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
Instagram and Facebook, which are owned by Mark Zuckerberg’s company Meta, have already introduced Reels, which similarly feature scrollable short clips.
Instagram introduced its own take on short-form video in 2020 with Reels, while Facebook followed suit the following year. Pictured, Reels on Instagram
Instagram has faced criticism for shifting away from its original focus on photos to short-form videos – notably from media personality Kylie Jenner, who urged Meta to ‘make Instagram Instagram again’ and said it should ‘stop trying to be TikTok’.
Just like with TikTok, Reels users just have to swipe the screen to watch an endless library of short-form clips, powered by an algorithm.
Meanwhile, in 2022, Twitter (now known as X) added a scrolling feed of videos to its app that could be expanded to ‘immersive’ full screen with a single tap.
Even Google-owned YouTube has been in on the act, releasing YouTube Shorts, which present clips in portrait mode and limits them to 60 seconds in length.
Like TikTok, YouTube Shorts allows users to post short-form videos of up to 60-seconds from their smartphones
This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk
