LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 722 million users worldwide. It’s a great platform for establishing connections, building your professional brand, and sharing content. One popular type of content on LinkedIn is video. Videos allow you to communicate and engage with your connections in a more dynamic way. But how long does it actually take to post a video on LinkedIn? There are a few factors that determine the time it takes.
Uploading the Video File
The first step is uploading your video file to LinkedIn. The time this takes depends on the length and size of your video file and your internet connection speed.
For reference, here are some average video upload times based on file size and internet speed:
File Size | 10 Mbps Upload Speed | 25 Mbps Upload Speed | 50 Mbps Upload Speed | 100 Mbps Upload Speed |
---|---|---|---|---|
10 MB | 1 minute | 30 seconds | 15 seconds | 8 seconds |
50 MB | 5 minutes | 2 minutes | 1 minute | 30 seconds |
100 MB | 10 minutes | 4 minutes | 2 minutes | 1 minute |
500 MB | 50 minutes | 20 minutes | 10 minutes | 5 minutes |
1 GB | 1.5 hours | 40 minutes | 20 minutes | 10 minutes |
As you can see, upload time ranges from seconds for small files with fast internet to over an hour for large HD video files with slow connections.
Processing by LinkedIn
After you finish uploading, LinkedIn needs to process and encode the video file. This usually takes between 5-10 minutes for a typical 3-5 minute video. The processing time may take longer for very long or high resolution video files.
LinkedIn encodes the original source file into multiple resolutions and formats to optimize delivery across different devices and connection speeds. This encoding step requires significant processing power and time.
Adding Details and Posting
Once your video is uploaded and processed, the last step is adding details like a title, description, tags, sharing settings, and posting the video. This step takes 1-2 minutes to complete.
You’ll want to take the time to add a compelling title and description to get more views. Tagging properly improves discoverability and leverages SEO.
Configuring your sharing permissions is also important. You can choose to share publicly, with your connections only, or with a targeted group or category. The default is sharing with your connections.
When you’re ready, hit the “Post” button to publish your video to your profile and activity feed.
Total Time
Combining the estimated times for each step, the total time to post a video on LinkedIn is:
- Upload time: Variable based on file size and internet speed
- Processing time: 5-10 minutes (longer for high resolution videos)
- Adding details and posting: 1-2 minutes
For a typical 3-5 minute 720p or 1080p video with a 50 Mbps internet connection, the total time would be:
- Upload time: 1 minute
- Processing time: 5-10 minutes
- Adding details and posting: 1-2 minutes
- Total time: 7-13 minutes
So in most cases, you can expect it to take 7-15 minutes to fully post a video on LinkedIn.
Optimizing Upload Time
Here are some tips to optimize and reduce your video upload time:
- Use the optimal encoding settings to reduce file size. H.264 encoding at 5-10 Mbps produces good results at reduced file sizes.
- Compress your video to remove unnecessary audio channels and reduce resolution if not needed.
- Use an internet connection with higher upload speeds if available.
- Upload overnight or when internet usage is low.
- Use an Ethernet cable for faster and more reliable connection vs WiFi.
- Test your actual upload speed using a site like speedtest.net to better estimate upload time.
Optimizing Processing Time
Some best practices to optimize and speed up processing time by LinkedIn include:
- Keep your video length to 3-5 minutes maximum. The longer the video, the longer the processing time.
- Record and export at 720p or 1080p resolution. Higher 4K resolutions take much longer to process.
- Use common 16:9 aspect ratios. Odd or vertical aspect ratios take longer.
- Have a static title screen at the start and end. This helps LinkedIn detect scene changes for encoding.
- Allow 48-72 hours for processing if you want your video live as soon as possible.
Scheduling Posts in Advance
To work around the 7-15+ minutes it takes to post videos, you can schedule video posts in advance using a social media management platform.
Platforms like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Buffer allow you to upload and schedule videos to be posted automatically at your preferred date and time.
This enables you to upload videos in bulk when convenient and space out the posting over days or weeks when followers are most likely to see and engage with the content.
Just be sure to allow a buffer window for processing time by the scheduling service and LinkedIn before your desired post date.
Live Video
LinkedIn also supports going live with video in real-time. Rather than uploading a prerecorded video, you can broadcast live footage directly from your mobile device or desktop streaming software.
The setup time to prepare your live scene, device, and streaming software will take 5-20 minutes. Then you can “Go Live” and LinkedIn will immediately broadcast your live video to your connections.
The benefit of live video is real-time engagement and commentary with your audience during the broadcast. But you don’t have the ability to upload and schedule live videos in advance.
Conclusion
Posting videos on LinkedIn typically takes between 7-15 minutes total from start to finish. This includes variable upload time, 5-10 minutes for LinkedIn processing, and 1-2 minutes to add details and post.
You can reduce upload time by optimizing encoding settings, file size, internet speeds, and when you upload. Keep videos short and use recommended settings to optimize LinkedIn’s processing time.
Consider scheduling video posts in advance using LinkedIn’s tools or third-party social media management platforms. For live engagement, go live to broadcast real-time footage to your connections.
With the right optimization and scheduling, you can easily share video content on LinkedIn to boost engagement and demonstrate thought leadership!