Tech: Here's what to make of LinkedIn's native video rollout (LNKD)

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LinkedIn launched its mobile native video uploading feature more widely after an initial phase of testing that BI Intelligence reported on last month.

Users can record video directly from the LinkedIn app, or select video from their mobile galleries. Audience insights for uploaded videos including companies, locations, and titles of viewers will be available in the dashboard section of users’ LinkedIn profiles. The new feature is gradually rolling out globally over the next few weeks.

Native video uploading cuts out the circuitous process of embedding videos from third-party platforms, which is beneficial to anyone looking to distribute video on LinkedIn.

Making native video uploading more widely available positions LinkedIn to capitalize on the shift to video across social platforms. It also paves the way for new ad revenue and live video offerings:

• Overall shift to video. Enabling native uploading is bound to increase the amount of video content available on LinkedIn. And the more video there is on the platform, the more its users will seek it out. Influencers and business-focused publishers like Business Insider and The Wall Street Journal could start to use LinkedIn as a main distribution platform.
• Ad revenue opportunities. LinkedIn isn’t currently serving video ads, but doing so is a natural progression the company is evaluating, TechCrunch reports. This makes sense — by using natively uploaded videos as new ad inventory, the company would be able to increase its overall ad load without cluttering users’ feeds or profiles. LinkedIn’s 500 million members would undoubtedly entice digital advertisers to run campaigns on the platform.
• Live video functionality is a possibility. Earlier this year, LinkedIn hired Peter Roybal, a Facebook product manager who was involved with Facebook Live, which could be an indication of the company's interest in the live broadcasting space. There are appropriate use cases for live video on LinkedIn, such as broadcasting company recruiting information sessions, keynote speeches, and professional mentoring.

Trust is timely. In an era in which fake news is trending, and brands are pulling advertising from large publishers because they don’t want their messaging associated with offensive content, trust is a critical factor that brands consider when re-evaluating digital ad strategies.

Digital trust is the confidence people have in a platform’s ability to protect and promote the interests of its users.

The Digital Trust Report, a brand new report from BI Intelligence, examines consumers’ perception of major social platforms. It rates Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and LinkedIn on security, community, user experience, and content authenticity and shareability. These insights help brands and marketers make informed decisions about where to spend their marketing and branding dollars.

All of the information in this survey comes from our proprietary BI Insiders panel, made up of more than 15,000 specially selected and recruited Business Insider readers. This panel is designed to be a leading indicator of what’s next in digital. The panelists are business and tech savvy, they have buying power, and they’re highly engaged. The survey revealed some fascinating insights into how millennials and decision makers view today’s most popular social media platforms.

Here are some key takeaways from the report:

• Digital trust has been shaken by a proliferation of malicious content and data breaches, which has significant consequences for brands that use these platforms.
• The top platform won by a huge margin on most attributes. Content on this platform is more likely to be viewed as forthright and honest, which increases the persuasiveness of ads and marketing messages that appear alongside it. This also creates ideal conditions for thought leadership and branded and sponsored content to flourish.
• The second-ranked platform was bolstered by users' confidence sharing content they find there. Users were most apt to share content they found there, which, together with its massive audience and high engagement, makes it the right platform to maximize reach.
• The social platform that finished dead last did so because of its abusive comments section and extremely annoying ads. Still, this hasn’t dissuaded people from visiting, as evidenced by the time spent monthly and massive user base. This platform also resonates more with older generations.

The Digital Trust Report is only available with a subscription to BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service. To access this report, plus hundreds of other deep dives into the future of digital, click here.

SOURCE - PULSE.NG posted by Campus94