Is Tiktok-ification coming to fund managers’ LinkedIn content?

I never want to see a fund manager mime-dancing to a Britney Spears track on LinkedIn. Despite some parts of the social media universe, where ‘extreme’ content begets sticky eyeballs, that’s a step too far for the investment management community.

That said, there seems to be a trend towards short-form videos on LinkedIn, and the internet more generally.

There’s an assumption that humans are less patient, have lower attention spans and are scrolling through their feeds ever faster. Intuitively that feels right; if a video (or article or LinkedIn post) doesn’t make an immediate impact, I’m moving on.

And when I asked this question of ChatGPT (“What are the latest trends in LinkedIn video marketing”) the first answer it came up with was “a growing emphasis on short-form video content”.

Indeed, LinkedIn itself recommends marketers keep videos for brand awareness at under 30 seconds and advertising videos under 15 seconds. But, in the world of B2B investment marketing, we see content of well over a minute (sometimes much more) for market updates, insights into a topic or complex explainer videos.

To be fair, different video lengths make sense for different purposes. But short-form content probably has more impact and higher engagement. It certainly seems to be the direction a lot of content creators are going.

The challenge for us as marketers of complex investment services is – how do we get our messages across quickly. We’re not selling soap, lawn services or cars.

Our marketing messages are communicating ideas, insights, expertise and intellect. That requires proof statements, evidence and data. And, in the hands of lesser mortals, that generally means ‘more’: longer articles, longer videos and longer podcasts.

That’s where the expert copywriter – or expert script writer – comes in handy. In the words of one famous person or another:

“If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.”?

It’s hard to be concise. It requires a talent to distil the complex into the simple; long into short – and still retain the essence of the message. And it takes time too!

Another famous person, also misattributed widely, crafted perhaps the most famous short story of all time:

“For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

So perhaps LinkedIn video is going to become ‘tiktokified’. But it’s going to need some talented scriptwriters to really make the shorter content pop. If that sounds like a challenge you or your team is facing, let me know…I know someone who can help.

Are you still reading? You made it through 425 words and two minutes – thanks and well done; you have above-average patience!