Open on a claim, not a credential

The hook that works on LinkedIn is a specific statement about how something actually works — a number from your own pipeline, a decision you reversed, a thing the industry says that you think is wrong. Introducing yourself first is the fastest way to lose the scroll, because everyone in the feed is also introducing themselves.

Avoid the two failure modes of the platform. The first is the motivational post read aloud, which says nothing and everyone recognises. The second is the corporate explainer, which is accurate and unwatchable. What performs is a practitioner talking about their own work in plain language.

Thirty to ninety seconds is the range. LinkedIn's feed rewards dwell time and comments, and a tight sixty-second video that provokes a real reply beats a three-minute one that gets scrolled.

Format for a muted, mobile feed

Shoot 4:5 or 1:1 rather than 16:9. Vertical-ish formats take more of the mobile screen, and most LinkedIn video is watched on a phone. Burn in captions — LinkedIn's auto-captions exist but are inconsistent, and the hook needs to be legible from the first frame regardless.

The post text above the video is not a formality; it is where the argument lives. Write the first two lines as a standalone hook that works even if the video is never played, because a meaningful share of impressions never become views.

Then be present in the comments for the first hour. LinkedIn's distribution is unusually sensitive to early conversation, and a reply from you restarts the video for everyone who follows the thread.

LinkedIn-specific mistakes

Broadcast production values. A polished brand video with a music bed reads as an ad and gets treated like one. A phone camera and a real opinion outperform it consistently.

Burying the point at 45 seconds. If the useful sentence arrives late, write the video again starting from that sentence.

Adding an external link in the post body. It suppresses reach; put it in the first comment or ask people to reply for it.

Talking about your product instead of your practice. The audience will follow someone who explains how they work; they will not follow a demo.