Getting videos to autoplay on LinkedIn can be a great way to catch viewers’ attention and increase engagement with your content. However, LinkedIn has specific requirements that must be met for videos to autoplay. In this article, we’ll break down exactly what’s needed to enable autoplay for LinkedIn videos.
What are the requirements for autoplay on LinkedIn?
For a video to autoplay on LinkedIn without the viewer having to click play, the video must:
- Be uploaded directly to LinkedIn, not embedded or linked from another site
- Be less than 10 minutes long
- Have no sound or be muted
- Not have calls to action like “Click here” or “Learn more”
These requirements apply whether you’re posting the video in your LinkedIn feed, on your LinkedIn Company Page, or as a LinkedIn Sponsored Content ad.
Why does LinkedIn have these autoplay restrictions?
LinkedIn put these autoplay limitations in place to balance user experience with engagement. Videos with sound or calls to action can be disruptive or annoying if they play automatically without consent.
However, short, silent videos tend to capture attention without being intrusive. So LinkedIn found this middle ground to allow autoplay in some use cases, just with specific rules.
Uploading Videos to LinkedIn
To upload a video directly to LinkedIn for autoplay potential, you have two options:
Option 1: Upload from your Computer
You can upload a video file from your computer to LinkedIn when creating a new post. Just follow these steps:
- Click the “Post” box on your LinkedIn feed
- Click the “Image & Video” tab
- Click “Upload” and select your video file from your computer
- Fill out the post details and publish
As long as the video meets the autoplay requirements, it will begin playing automatically when people scroll over it.
Option 2: Record Directly into LinkedIn
LinkedIn also gives you the option to record and upload a video directly within the LinkedIn platform. To do this:
- Create a new post and click the “Record a video” icon
- Record your video (up to 10 minutes) within the LinkedIn recorder
- Trim or edit if desired
- Add any post details and publish
Again, as long as the video is under 10 minutes and soundless, it will autoplay on its own.
Autoplay Requirements in Detail
Now let’s explore LinkedIn’s four autoplay requirements in a bit more depth:
1. Video Must Be Uploaded Directly to LinkedIn
If you want autoplay, you cannot simply embed or link to a video hosted on YouTube, Vimeo, or elsewhere. The video file itself must be uploaded to LinkedIn.
This gives LinkedIn control over the viewer experience and technical details like file formats and compression. Videos uploaded to LinkedIn are encoded into MP4 files during processing.
2. Video Must Be Less Than 10 Minutes Long
LinkedIn restricts autoplay eligible videos to a maximum length of 10 minutes.
Anything longer than that will not activate autoplay. The time limit helps ensure viewers aren’t forced to sit through excessively long content.
3. Video Must Have No Sound or Be Muted
To autoplay, videos cannot have audio tracks or the audio must be muted.
Having sound suddenly blare without warning would obviously create a negative user experience. So LinkedIn requires silent videos.
4. Video Cannot Have Calls to Action
Calls to action within the video like “Click here” or “Learn more” will prevent autoplay.
LinkedIn considers CTAs as disruptive or deceptive if automatically triggered without consent. So those phrases are barred.
However, you can include descriptive text, captions, titles, or basic graphics without issue. Just no literal calls to click, download, sign up, etc.
Autoplay Locations on LinkedIn
There are three primary LinkedIn destinations where you can post videos eligible for autoplay:
Your LinkedIn Feed
When shared directly in your LinkedIn feed for your connections, eligible videos will begin playing automatically as people scroll through posts.
LinkedIn Company Pages
Adding video posts to a LinkedIn Company Page will enable autoplay for followers of that Page when delivered in their feed.
LinkedIn Sponsored Content Ads
If you promote a post containing an eligible video as a LinkedIn Sponsored Content ad, it can autoplay for people targeted by the campaign.
So anywhere you can post video natively on LinkedIn is fair game for autoplay if you meet the requirements. But you cannot enable autoplay on a LinkedIn SlideShare presentation, for example, since those don’t support videos.
Do All Videos on LinkedIn Autoplay?
Given the specific autoplay requirements, the reality is most LinkedIn videos do NOT autoplay. Any video you see on LinkedIn outside of the feed (like on a profile or embedded in an article) requires clicking play.
And the majority of videos uploaded or shared in the feed don’t meet the criteria either. So autoplay on LinkedIn certainly isn’t guaranteed. But it can make a big impact if you get it right.
Here is a summary of which videos will autoplay on LinkedIn:
Video Type | Autoplay? |
---|---|
Less than 10 minutes long | Yes |
Longer than 10 minutes | No |
Contains audio/sound | No |
Uploaded directly to LinkedIn | Yes |
Embedded from YouTube, etc. | No |
Has calls to action | No |
Shared in LinkedIn feed | Yes |
On profile, Company Page, etc. | No |
As you can see, the videos that will autoplay are a relatively narrow subset.
Best Practices for Autoplay Videos
If creating videos eligible for LinkedIn autoplay, keep these best practices in mind:
Hook Viewers Quickly
You only have a brief window to grab people’s attention before they scroll past. Make sure the first 3-5 seconds are visually engaging to increase views.
Use Minimal Text
Written text can be hard to read quickly. Use mainly visuals to interest viewers, with minimal captions.
Highlight Faces
Content focused on real people tends to perform well. Highlight speakers, demonstrations, etc.
Tease Your Message
Don’t give away the full message upfront. Intrigue viewers to stick around and watch the whole video.
Watch on Mobile
Since viewing on mobile feeds is common, ensure the video translates well to small screens.
Call to Action in Text
You cannot have a CTA within the video. But include one in the accompanying text to direct next steps.
Following these tips will give your autoplay LinkedIn videos the best chance of watching.
Advertising to Boost Autoplay Video Views
While autoplay gives your videos a visibility boost, you may still want to invest in advertising to reach more viewers. Some options include:
Boosted Video Posts
You can pay to “boost” an organic video post and reach more people in their feed. Minimum budget around $50 per day.
Sponsored Video Ads
Create customized Sponsored Video ads and target specific demographics. More expensive but more powerful than boosting.
Sponsored Content
Promote your autoplay video in the Sponsored Content section vs. the main feed. Typically more affordable.
Test different approaches and audiences to optimize your video ad spending on LinkedIn.
Analyzing LinkedIn Video Performance
To determine the success of your autoplay LinkedIn videos, dig into the analytics:
Impressions
How many times your videos were shown in feeds. Higher is better.
View Rate
Percentage of impressions that resulted in watches. Look for view rates over 25-50% as a goal.
Completions
How many people watched your video to the very end. Maximize this completion metric.
Engagement
Likes, comments, and shares. This demonstrates how compelling your video content proved.
Follows
Any new followers you gained from the video. This shows it reached new audiences.
Analyze these metrics over time to refine your future autoplay video strategy for LinkedIn.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some common questions around autoplay requirements for LinkedIn:
Can you autoplay a LinkedIn video on a desktop?
Yes, autoplay works for LinkedIn videos in desktop feeds, not only mobile.
Do all mobile LinkedIn videos autoplay?
No, videos must meet the requirements of being under 10 minutes, silent, uploaded directly to LinkedIn, and no calls-to-action.
Does autoplay work on private LinkedIn groups?
Autoplay will only work when posting natively into LinkedIn feeds. Private groups do not enable autoplay.
Can you autoplay on LinkedIn Campaign Manager ads?
It depends – natively uploaded silent video ads less than 10 minutes can autoplay. But external YouTube videos, for example, cannot.
Do embedded YouTube videos autoplay on LinkedIn?
No, YouTube videos embedded on LinkedIn always require clicking play, they will not autoplay.
Conclusion
Autoplay can be a valuable way to capture attention with your LinkedIn video content. But it requires following specific criteria: direct upload, under 10 minutes, no sound, and no calls-to-action. Position autoplay videos thoughtfully within your LinkedIn feed, Company Page, and Sponsored Content ads. Analyze performance to make ongoing improvements. With the right approach, autoplay gives your LinkedIn videos an instant advantage for engagement.