Could LinkedIn Usher In A New Professional TikTok Style Sensation?

LinkedIn is experimenting with the idea of bringing TikTok style short-form video to its business-centric social network. The Microsoft-owned social media network is playing around with the video shorts idea in hopes it will bolster video content in a timely and easily discoverable manner.

It is no secret that social media platforms such as TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram have had a lot of success with short-form videos. As such, it is no surprise that other social networks have attempted to cash in on that success. Now, LinkedIn, a social network focused professional engagement initiatives like bringing potential employees into contact with possible future employers, is joining the party by experimenting with short-form videos under a dedicated “Video” tab in the site’s navigation bar. The questions still remain, however, why LinkedIn, and why now?

In an email, company spokesperson Suzi Owens wrote, “[W]e are testing new ways to help members more easily discover timely, relevant videos to watch on LinkedIn.”

The system works much like it does on other platforms, with users presented with the ability to give a like or add a comment to a video, or simply swipe to the next one. The major difference is that LinkedIn’s reasoning for adding short-form videos is for users to add business focused content, rather than the next dance trend.

Brendan Gahan, co-founder and CEO of Creator Authority, remarked that creators on LinkedIn do not have the same reach as TikTok. An example is the fact that over 1 million followers are far fewer on LinkedIn. However, Gahan also points out, “but they attract narrower, deeper and more trusted connections.”

LinkedIn is not just tossing short-form videos into the mix and hoping it sticks. The company says it wants feedback from the community, both good and bad, before it extends the ability for all of its users to partake in the party. The community’s reaction will be key to how far this new venture is taken, and if it proves to be a welcomed feature for engagement between users, rather than an unnecessary distraction from the true intent of the business-minded platform.