LinkedIn is ???? ????? ????testing a short-form video feed, following in the footsteps of so many other apps that are trying to be like TikTok.
TikTok, home to over a billion users, has sent social media apps scrambling for years. Instagram, YouTube, and even Netflix have tried to mimic TikTok's winning formula: the app's vertical video feed and the way it happens to spark trends and conversations on the daily.
LinkedIn confirmed to TechCrunch that it is playing around with a video feed, which was first spotted by strategy director Austin Null. In a post on LinkedIn itself, Null showed a short demo of the feed, which looks a lot like that of TikTok or Instagram Reels. The vertical feed, currently in beta, appears in the app under a new "Video" tab. The videos are like other LinkedIn posts, which users can like, comment under, or repost.
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It is unclear when the feature is rolling out to the wider LinkedIn community. Karina Hsu, a founder and startup builder, also shared the demo on X, writing, "[it] feels like TikTok for work - currently a mix of inspirational podcast clips + current events."
LinkedIn has grown its own influencer community in recent years, with podcasters, career coaches, and business-owners regularly posting a variety of content on the app and building massive followings. The company told TechCrunch that users are primarily seeking more videos for learning and development purposes. TikTok, a place where more and more young people go to learn, is also home to plenty of career-related content. Now, LinkedIn is hoping to step in by going down the vertical-video path.
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On the other hand, the platform has unsuccessfully tried to imitate popular features in the past, like LinkedIn stories — a Snapchat/Instagram facet which didn't much make sense for a professional network.