How to Use LinkedIn Video

Make this film: a sample company explains invoice delays to finance managers in a 30 second LinkedIn video, with one hook, captions, and a tall version for the feed.

Start with one problem your buyer knows

LinkedIn works best when the video says one useful thing very fast. Do not open with a company story. Do not open with a full feature list. Open with the problem your buyer already has in mind.

Here is the sample company. It sells invoice software to other businesses. Finance managers do not want a speech first. They want fewer late invoices, fewer approval chases, and fewer end of month scrambles.

So the goal is simple. Make the right person stop, watch, and think, “That is my Tuesday.” One LinkedIn post should start a conversation. It should not try to close the deal in 30 seconds. That keeps the film useful.

Write one message the feed can grab quickly

Start with one line that a buyer can understand in the first few seconds: Get invoices approved before Friday turns into Monday. It is plain, specific, and easy to scan in the feed. It names the pain without sounding dramatic.

A long list of features does the opposite. “Automates approvals, tracks spend, syncs records, supports workflows, exports reports” may be true, but it is not a hook. It is a cloud of words. On LinkedIn, people often see only the first line before deciding to keep going.

The trade-off is simple. A problem-led film is usually stronger than a product-led film. A problem-led film says, “You are not alone.” A product-led film says, “Here is the tool.” You can still mention the tool, but after the problem is clear.

Turn the idea into a short script

For LinkedIn, a practical starting point is 20 to 40 seconds. That gives you room for one problem, one fix, and one next step. If you go longer, people skim past before the point lands.

The sample company writes a script in three parts:

1. Step 1

   Say the problem. “Invoices do not get stuck because people are lazy. They get stuck because the process is messy.”

2. Step 2

   Show the fix. “Keep approvals in one place, so the right person sees the right invoice faster.”

3. Step 3

   Offer one next step. “If Friday keeps becoming Monday, it may be time to look at the chain.”

That draft is about 60 to 75 words, depending on how tight you write it. If it runs long, cut side stories, extra features, and jargon. Keep the sentence a buyer would repeat to a coworker.

Animation helps here because it can show a workflow fast without filming a live office scene. You do not need a desk set, a camera crew, or a person staring earnestly into daylight. You need a clear thought, a voice, and a few clean scenes.

Choose the right shape for the post

Use the shape that fits where the film will live first. Tall, like 9:16, usually makes sense for phone-first feed posts. Square is a safer all-around choice. Wide, like 16:9, is better for website use.

If LinkedIn is the main home, tall usually gives you more screen space on a phone. If the same film also needs to work on a website, square is often the middle ground. If you want one film for several places, shape comes before polish.

With Nine, films come in wide, tall, and square shapes, so one film can fit a website, a phone, and a feed. That matters if you want one core message with fewer rebuilds.

See One film, every format if you need help deciding between feed shapes.

Make captions, pacing, and sound do real work

Many people meet the video with the sound off first. So the on-screen words need to carry the idea on their own. Keep them short. Keep them readable. Put them where the eye can catch them quickly. Avoid tiny text. Avoid full paragraphs. Avoid anything that makes people squint at a phone.

For the sample company, the on-screen text is almost the same as the spoken line, just trimmed harder. Each scene gets one short sentence. That keeps the pace moving and helps the message land before the voice starts.

Use music and sound effects with care. Keep music quiet under the voice. Use one sound effect per key action, like a click when a form lands or a soft rise when the process clears. Enough to guide the eye. Not enough to become the main event.

Director says, “If your video starts with jargon, LinkedIn will politely keep scrolling.”

Work from a simple brief to a finished post

The sample company begins with a plain brief in a document: “We help finance teams stop invoice delays.” That is enough to start. From there, the script becomes a short film with voice, music, and sound effects. The first scene shows a stuck invoice. The second shows the approval path. The third shows the clean outcome and the next step.

The team reviews a private link. No account needed. They leave notes pinned to moments, like “slow this line,” “make this word bigger,” and “end one beat sooner.” That helps because the first draft is rarely perfect. Usually one line is too long, one pause is too slow, and the ending says too much.

Then they make small changes by hand in the chamber. They adjust colour, pace, framing, music, the size of the words, and where the film starts and ends. Every change can be undone, and every saved version is kept. That makes editing less scary when three people all have opinions about the final sentence.

If you want a film of your own, it comes with a plan. Plans and what they include are on pricing. If you want to know what Nine is before you go further, see What is Nine (nine.film)?

Write the caption so it helps the film

The caption should do three jobs. Say who the film is for. Say what problem it solves. Ask one clear question. That is enough.

For the sample company, a simple post might say: “For finance teams tired of invoice pileups, here is one way to shorten the approval path. What slows yours down?”

That works better than a long paragraph under the video. You want the film to do the heavy lifting. The post text should point the right people toward it. Keep it human, not pushy.

If you want the video to sit over a web page or a bit of your own footage, a transparent version can do that too. Nine can export that as ProRes 4444 .mov or WebM. That helps when the post needs a cleaner branded look.

Make the video useful again

The repeatable lesson is simple. One message. Short length. Clear text. A buyer problem that matters. If the first version has too many ideas, it will wander. If it has no clear next step, it will fade.

The sample company might make a second version later for sales leaders, or a separate one for operations. Same company, different pain point, different hook. That is usually smarter than trying to make one film speak to everyone at once.

You can also make another version for a different language. A film is made in the language of the words you give it, so the simple way to several languages is one film per language, each from its own translated script.

If you want more help with structure, see How Long Should a Short Animated Film Be? If you are starting from a document, see A film from a script or a document.

Quick answers before you post

How long should a LinkedIn video be for B2B? Start with 20 to 40 seconds. That is long enough to make one useful point and short enough to fit the feed.

Should I use vertical or square video on LinkedIn? Use tall for phone-first feed posts. Use square if you want a safer all-around choice. Use wide if the video is mainly for a website.

Do LinkedIn videos need captions? Yes. Many people watch with the sound off first, so the on-screen words must carry the idea.

What should the first few seconds say? Say the problem right away. Skip the company intro, skip the full product list, and skip the slow warm-up.

Can I reuse the same video on my website too? Yes, if you plan for it. A wide version often fits a website well, and a transparent version can sit over your own page or footage.