LinkedIn is experimenting with video and wants to introduce a short-form video option similar to TikTok. In this way, the social network for professionals will join other platforms that have launched their own spaces for short-form video, including Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and even Netflix.

The first person to get a glimpse of the new format on the platform is Austin Null, director of strategy at an influencer agency called McKinney, who shared it via his LinkedIn with a post in which he said, "I told you guys once LinkedIn as a product catches up to the other platforms, it's over 👀💯. I have to get on with my video schedule, I guess 😂." The post was accompanied by a video in which you can see how, in the navigation bar, there is a new "video" tab. Once inside, the interface becomes very similar to TikTok's, allowing users to swipe through one video after another.

Currently, videos can already be posted on LinkedIn, but with the difference that this new format aims to drive engagement and discovery of short-form professional video content. Although the platform has confirmed the addition of this new format to Techcrunch, it still needs to provide details on the process by which it decides which videos to show in users' feeds.

LinkedIn is challenging TikTok in the video race 

LinkedIn has noticed a significant increase in career-related videos on TikTok. It is increasingly common to find content creators focused on providing advice and sharing experiences about the world of work on this platform. With the introduction of the video option on LinkedIn's professional network, users will have a new space to share their videos and reach a wider audience.

For now, this feature will be available only to some users, and more details are expected to be announced when it will be available to all.

The B2B marketing landscape is constantly evolving, and one trend set to take hold by 2024 is the rise of video. A recent survey reveals that 69% of B2B marketers plan to increase their budgets for video content, the highest percentage across all categories.

This commitment to video is no coincidence. 84% of B2B marketers already use video in their strategies, second only to articles and short posts. This shows that video has become a dominant medium in B2B marketing.

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TikTok is testing a new ‘Nearby’ content feature that could become a great ally for brands and help small traditional businesses to better position themselves through social media. This would be integrated into the social network as a new feed, adding to the two existing ones. 

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The content that will be shown in this ‘Nearby’ feed will vary according to our own location, showing us the publications of users made near where we are. In this way, users will be able to access a new way of discovering content and news related to their interests and from businesses close to them.

Tik Tok is the main place for inspiration and discovery

TikTok has become the social network par excellence for inspiration and discovery. In fact, young people are choosing TikTok and Instagram for queries ahead of Google and Google Maps. Moreover, they have become the social network of choice for 40% of young people when looking for places to eat.

In view of this, this new functionality would be an even greater boost for the social network itself, but also for the brands present on it. For example, in the same way, that the ‘For you’ feed often recommends fashion and clothing store content to a user, the ‘Nearby’ content feed will do the same, but with publications from businesses of this type that are close to the user.

Expanding with new feeds 

The short-form video app’s Nearby feed isn’t the only new feed that it’s currently testing. TikTok is testing a dedicated 'Shop' feed that lets users browse and purchase products from a number of different categories, such as clothing and electronics. 

The feed is currently being tested in Indonesia. The 'Shop' tab serves as a hub for products being sold in TikTok Shop, a shopping feature that enables merchants and creators to showcase and sell products directly on TikTok. TikTok did not say when or if it plans to bring the Shop tab to more markets.

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Tik Tok won't expand its e-commerce functionalities to Europe. The Chinese social networking titan intended to launch its online shopping service in Europe in the coming months, but has decided to stop the project.

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In China, ByteDance, Tik Tok’s parent company, was able to triple its sales year after year, selling more than 10 billion products on its e-commerce integration using Tik Tok, mostly via Live Shopping. But it has not been able to replicate this success in the West. 

The new functionality to buy and sell from TikTok landed in the West a few months ago under the name of TikTok Shops, initially exclusively in the United Kingdom. Thanks to this tool, the social network allows brands or influencers to broadcast live videos and sell their items, which can be purchased directly from the app, while it takes a commission for each purchase. But the experience did not yield the same results it did in Asia. 

According to the Financial Times, Tik Tok sales in the UK using live shopping via its platform failed to reach the expected levels, and the platform itself - Tik Tok - also failed at enticing influencers to use the Live Shopping functionalities. This, despite the company offering cash incentives to encourage brands and well-known individuals to sell through the app. 

Tik Tok social selling turned into labor complaints

In addition, a Financial Times investigation last month revealed that there was a mass exodus of staff from the company's e-commerce team in London, complaining of an aggressive work culture imposed by the company's Chinese leadership. The newspaper called it 'culture shock'.

Following this, the manager in charge of TikTok Shops in Europe, Joshua Ma, was replaced, and now, a few months later, it appears that European expansion plans are at a complete standstill.

The company has assured that it will focus on the UK and has also launched its e-commerce in Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. 

The post Tik Tok freezes the expansion of its e-commerce functionalities appeared first on Cross-Border Magazine.