How to grow on LinkedIn with video
LinkedIn rewards different things than TikTok does, and reposting your Reels there usually falls flat. Here's what to change.
7 minute read
Why LinkedIn is a different game
The instinct to cross-post the same vertical clip everywhere is reasonable, and on LinkedIn it usually underperforms. The audience is there in a professional context, often on a work machine, frequently with sound off, and browsing with different intent than someone scrolling TikTok in the evening. Content that reads as entertainment tends to land softly; content that reads as useful, specific, and credible tends to travel. This is less about production quality than about what the clip is for.
Lead with the substance, not the personality
On short-form entertainment platforms, a strong personality can carry a mediocre point. On LinkedIn it is closer to the reverse: a clear, useful point carries a plain delivery. The clips that work are typically a specific claim, a concrete lesson from real work, or a short walkthrough of how something is actually done. Vague motivation and personal-brand throat-clearing are heavily represented on the platform and heavily ignored. If the clip could have been posted by anyone in any industry, it will probably be scrolled past.
Captions are not optional here
A large share of LinkedIn video is watched without sound, often in an office or between meetings. Burned-in captions — text rendered into the video rather than relying on the platform's own caption layer — mean the clip works on mute and travels intact if it gets reshared. This matters more on LinkedIn than almost anywhere else, because the browsing context is so consistently sound-off.
Format: vertical, square, or landscape
LinkedIn supports vertical video and it performs well in the feed, taking up more screen space than landscape. Square is a reasonable compromise if you are also posting to other surfaces. Landscape is the weakest option in-feed simply because it occupies less of the screen. If you are repurposing from a long recording, reframing to vertical or square is worth doing rather than uploading the original 16:9 export.
The text post around the video does real work
Unlike most short-form platforms, LinkedIn's post text is a first-class part of the content rather than a caption nobody reads. Use it to state the point of the video in plain language, so someone who doesn't play the clip still gets the substance and a reason to engage. Front-load it: the feed truncates after a couple of lines, and the visible portion decides whether anyone expands it.
Where the clips come from
The most sustainable source of LinkedIn video for most professionals is material they already produce: recorded talks, webinars, panel appearances, customer calls that can be shared, internal presentations, podcast appearances. These are already substantive and already in your voice, which is exactly what the platform rewards. Pulling several self-contained moments out of one recording is a far more realistic cadence than scripting new pieces to camera each week — and the moments that stand alone in a talk tend to be precisely the ones that stand alone in a feed.
Consistency and the long horizon
LinkedIn audiences build more slowly than short-form entertainment audiences, and they compound differently — a few hundred people in your industry who actually watch is worth more professionally than a much larger general audience. Expect a longer runway, judge results over months rather than weeks, and prioritise saying something genuinely useful over posting frequently. The platform is unusually forgiving of a modest cadence if the substance is there.
FAQ
Does vertical video work on LinkedIn?
Yes — vertical video is supported and takes up more feed space than landscape, which generally helps. Square is a reasonable middle ground if you're posting the same clip elsewhere.
Can I repost my TikToks to LinkedIn?
You can, but they often underperform. The audience is in a professional context with different intent, so clips that are useful and specific tend to travel further than clips that are purely entertaining. Also remove any other platform's watermark.
How often should I post video on LinkedIn?
Less often than on entertainment platforms. LinkedIn is comparatively forgiving of a modest cadence when the substance is strong — consistency over months matters more than volume per week.
Related pages
Keep reading
More LinkedIn →The best time to post on Instagram, according to four studies
Buffer says Thursday 9am. Later says 5am. Sprout says early afternoon. They analysed billions of posts and still disagree — here is why, and what to do about it.
8 minute readThe best time to post on TikTok, according to five studies
Buffer analysed 7.1 million posts and rates Saturday the best day. Sprout Social analysed 2 billion engagements and says avoid the weekend entirely. Both are right, for different accounts.
8 minute readThe best time to post on LinkedIn, according to five studies
Buffer's 4.8 million posts point to Wednesday at 4pm and rank Tuesday among the worst days. Sprout Social's 2 billion engagements call Tuesday the best day of the week. Here is why.
8 minute readTurn one long video into a week of posts
300 credits for 3 days · no card.
Start free