Dive Brief:

• B2B social media platform LinkedIn is bringing video into its news feed for the first time. The company asked more than 500 influencers to create 30 second videos that are now appearing in users’ news feeds.
• The videos, which come from leading business thinkers such as LinkedIn Executive Chairman Reid Hoffman and edX CEO Anant Agarwal, contain content on trending professional topics and news such as leadership, diversity, workplace culture, and innovation.
• LinkedIn is using an app called “Record” that allows users to create videos on the platform, according to Techcrunch. "[T]he ability to create video content is currently only available to Influencers," LinkedIn wrote in a blog post.

Dive Insight:

All the social media platforms are getting into video, and LinkedIn doesn't plan to get left behind. 

While LinkedIn's first foray into video is limited to an exclusive group of influencers, the feature suggests a broader roll-out to all users could be on the horizon, with LinkedIn saying the tool is "currently only available" to influencers. 

“When an Influencer you follow posts a video, that video will appear directly in your feed," Jonathan Sherman-Presser, LinkedIn's senior product manager, wrote in a blog post. "From there, you can dive in to see what other Influencers have to say about that topic, weigh in with a comment, and respond to comments from other members.”

While only influencers can create video content, all LinkedIn users can follow influencers and engage with the content in the influencers’ profile, the news feed or the video. “We encourage you to share your thoughts by commenting on videos and inviting others to join the conversation by sharing the videos with your network," Sherman-Presser said. "By doing so, you have the opportunity to engage more deeply with the people and topics that matter in your industry.”

For LinkedIn, which was recently acquired by Microsoft for $26.2 billion in a move that surprised the business world, the influencer videos seem like a play to take advantage of the growing popularity of video, especially on mobile devices and social media. If successful, the influencer video program is an area where LinkedIn could attract users and eventually add sponsorship or another form of advertising.