Brand Design Masters Podcast

The Best LinkedIn Video Strategy for 2025 - Philip VanDusen
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Announcer:
Welcome to the Brand Design Masters podcast, the show dedicated to helping you build the skills you need to design bulletproof brands for yourself, your business, and for the clients and customers you serve. And now here's Phillip.

Philip VanDusen:
Hey everybody, welcome back. Have you ever felt like you're ignoring LinkedIn and your video marketing strategy? I get it. When most of us think about video marketing, we picture Instagram reels or TikTok, or maybe YouTube shorts. LinkedIn doesn't always get the love it deserves, but it's a hidden gem, especially when you want to connect with professionals, build real business relationships, and actually get clients.

So today I'm going to tell you seven steps. Exactly. How do you use LinkedIn video to attract your ideal audience? I'll break it down. And by the end, you'll know how to create content that actually works for you, no matter what kind of business or brand you're building. All right, let's jump into it. Okay.

Step number one. You have to understand LinkedIn's video formats. So first things first, you gotta understand that there's different types of videos that LinkedIn supports. LinkedIn isn't just a one size fits all platform. Each video format serves a different purpose. So let's talk about the options.

First of all, feed videos. These are the OGs of LinkedIn video. Feed videos are your classic posts that show up in your network's feed and they're versatile too. You can post them on your personal profile or your company page. They can be up to 10 minutes long and LinkedIn supports horizontal, vertical, or square orientations.

So you've got a lot of flexibility. Now, the one thing I love about feed videos is that they don't just vanish into the ether. Once you post them, they're stored under the video tab in your activity section. That means people can go back and find them later, which is perfect when you're building a library of valuable brand content.

All right, next up, LinkedIn's short videos. These are newer and designed for quick, high impact messaging. The sweet spot here is between 45 seconds and 2 minutes. Now, these are best in vertical format. You gotta think smartphone friendly, right? And here's a little tip. Since these videos autoplay silently in the feed, you got to grab attention visually.

And so you want to use captions, bold texts, and even a quick headline at the top to draw people in. And finally, there's LinkedIn Live. The live stream format on LinkedIn is so underutilized, but it's a powerhouse if you want to build deeper relationships with your audience. Now, the audiences tend to be a little smaller on LinkedIn Live.

But the engagement that actually results in an action being taken is much higher than a lot of other platforms. So with live video, you can engage in real time. You can answer questions and even funnel viewers to your email list or to consultations. Now, the great thing is that after the event is over, the video doesn't just disappear.

It lives on in your events tab under your activity section. And here's a little pro tip. Some marketers like to trim the replay. So it's just the first few seconds to keep it exclusive for the people who actually attended the live. But others like to keep the entire event accessible for long term value.

You can experiment and see what works for you. Step 2. Start small with short videos. So, now you know the formats, where do you start? If you're new to LinkedIn videos, start small. Here's my advice. Create 10 short videos. Why short videos? Short videos because they're quick to produce and perfect for testing different ideas to see what resonates with your audience.

There's only one exception though. If your content requires a lot of technical detail, the screen shares and tutorials, you might not want to actually start off with. with short videos. You might want to start with feed videos. Those are much better suited to that kind of content. All right. Step number three, how do you decide what your video topic should be?

One of the biggest challenges I hear from people is what should my videos be about? And honestly, this is where most people get stuck and they get paralyzed and they don't start. They overthink it. So let me help you simplify this process. First, think about the questions you get asked all the time by clients, colleagues, Your network.

What are the most common issues that people in your audience face? Those questions are the gold because they show you exactly what your audience wants to know. Answering them in your videos is always an easy win. Next, consider what makes you an expert. What's something you know inside and out that your audience might struggle with?

Maybe it's a specific skill, like project management or an industry trend you've been tracking. Share that knowledge in a way that's actionable, something people can actually apply and do right away. Another great way to Pick topic is to think about what's happening in your industry niche right now.

What's the news, basically time sensitive info. Are there any big changes or challenges or opportunities happen? For example, if you're in marketing, you might want to talk about how AI is transforming content creation. If you're in design, maybe it's about the latest UX trends. And here's a pro tip. Don't be afraid to get just a little bit personal.

Some of the best LinkedIn videos come from sharing your own experiences. This could be a lesson you learn the hard way, or a success story, or even a failure that you grew from. People connect with stories, so don't underestimate the power of being just a literal bit vulnerable. But, not a lot vulnerable, because LinkedIn is still A more business like platform than a lot of the others.

And last, remember that not every video has to be groundbreaking. Sometimes the basics are what people really need. A simple how to video or a quick tip can perform just as well, if not better many times than some sort of deep dive.

As a creative entrepreneur, I know from personal experience, it can feel isolating to go it alone. So I want you to take a second and imagine being surrounded by other accomplished creatives. Who are just as eager to accelerate the growth of their businesses and personal brands as you are. And if you've been following me for any length of time, you know I'm a huge advocate of mastermind groups and what they can do for you both personally and professionally.

And because of that, I wanted to let you know I've launched a mastermind membership community called Bonfire for Creative Professionals. Bonfire is a hybrid group coaching, training, networking, and accountability community. It's a place for you to make meaningful industry connections. And build knowledge so you can really achieve your full potential.

The best part about it is that you aren't alone anymore. When you join literally overnight, you're part of a group of people who would do everything they can to help you succeed. And build a level of confidence in what you're doing that you've never felt before. In Bonfire, you get bi weekly video coaching sessions, a private online community, A deep resource library of downloads, templates, tools, and tutorials.

And you also get exclusive access to me as a mentor and a coach. So, I want you to come check out Bonfire. Just go to philipvandusen. com slash bonfire and learn more about it. Again, that's philipvandusen. com/bonfire, B O N F I R E. I hope to see you beside the bonfire very soon.

Step number four, use the hamburger method to plan your content. Let's talk about strategy here for a second. When it comes to LinkedIn video, I recommend what I like to call the hamburger method. And it's simple and it's effective and it keeps your content fresh without feeling repetitive or most importantly, too salesy.

Here's how it works. First is the top bun. You start with a video that's relevant to your audience, but not directly tied to your business. For example, if you're a marketing specialist, you could create a video about creator burnout. This is the kind of content that keeps you connected with your audience, but on a personal level, then you have the patty.

This is the meat. These are videos that directly relate to your product or your service. Then you have the bottom bun. You wrap it up with another indirectly related but valuable video. Maybe you address a challenge your audience faces like how to generate inbound leads without relying on referrals. And the beauty of this approach is that it balances value with promotion.

You're not overwhelming your audience with a bunch of sales pitches, and you're also not leaving your business goals out on the table. Step number five, tailor your content to your brand. Let's be real. Your video content strategy depends on who you are and what you're trying to achieve. A personal brand might approach this differently than a company page.

So let me give you a few ideas tailored to different scenarios. For personal brands, you might focus on showcasing your expertise personally. Think about direct to camera videos or behind the scenes. And if you're managing a company page, your focus could shift to team spotlights or product demos, or even event coverage.

And if you're camera shy, don't worry, you can still share tutorials and customer success stories and highlights from your company culture. Number six is don't skip the text. Here's something that might surprise you. Longer text descriptions actually help video performance on LinkedIn. I know it sounds counterintuitive, but hear me out.

Take the time to transcribe your video into your post description. You want to format it nicely, short paragraphs, add headers, even bullet points to make it easy to read. This not only helps with accessibility, but it also gives context to people who might not have time to watch the whole video. You do have to be aware about the word count limitations on LinkedIn posts though.

So depending on the length of the video, that whole transcript might not actually fit into the post description, but in that case, just post an excerpt. And encourage readers to watch the video to get the whole story. Step number seven is track your successes. Finally, we got to talk about analytics. We got to talk about metrics.

Each LinkedIn video type has its own success benchmarks. Feed videos are great for sparking discussions and attracting connection requests. Short videos are really perfect for driving profile visits. And for live videos, you want to monitor conversion rates like email signups and direct inquiries. On the whole, you want to keep an eye on your profile visits, your connection requests, and your direct messages.

Those are often the most clear signs that your videos are actually working for you on LinkedIn. Okay, so let's do a quick review. Number one, understand LinkedIn's video formats. Number two, start small, the short videos. Number three, how to decide what your video topics are actually going to be. Number four, use the hamburger method to plan your content.

Number five, tell your content to your brand. Six, don't skip the text and seven track your successes. So that's it a step by step guide to mastering. LinkedIn video. Remember, you don't need to tackle everything at once. Start small, experiment, and build on what works. LinkedIn might not be the trendiest video platform out there, but it's a goldmine for connecting with professionals and actually growing your business.

And with that, stay creative and I'll see you in the next one.

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That's where we share all the latest resources, articles, books, and videos that we recommend to help you build and improve your creative practice, personal brand, and business. That's philipvandusen. com slash Muse, M U S E. Thanks again for listening. Bye for now.