This is why LinkedIn is betting big on letting people share videos

If you've been on LinkedIn recently, you may have noticed that some users are making and sharing videos, basically turning the social network into a more professional version of YouTube or Facebook Live.

Following this initial testing period, video will soon be available to all users. On iOS and Android, the LinkedIn app is getting a "video" button that will let you record a new video or upload one you've already taken. The new feature will be available to many users on Tuesday, and the company will roll it out globally over the next few weeks.

The feature will allow users of LinkedIn, which is a Microsoft subsidiary, to share details of their professional lives in a way they couldn't before, the company said.

When some people try to describe their jobs, "text cannot capture the work," said Pete Davies, a group product manager at the company. But when you can record those kinds of jobs, he added, "we find they make for stunning visuals."

Earlier this month, a NASA employee used LinkedIn to record a rocket launch. Last month, HotelTonight's CEO used it to give business advice.

There are any number of places to post a video online. A key reason to post it on LinkedIn, though, is to share it with your professional audience, said Peter Roybal, a senior product manager at the company. Just like any other post on LinkedIn, text or otherwise, you would share videos because you want them to be noticed by your professional network.

"Of course [users are] going to share content that is most relevant to the people they're connected to," Roybal said.

LinkedIn users have been eager to have access to the video feature, he said. After some users figured out Roybal was in charge of LinkedIn's video feature, they started tagging him in their posts, begging for access.

Meanwhile, with the likes of Apple and Facebook reportedly investing millions and even billions of dollars in original video content, one might wonder if LinkedIn is planning to follow suit. Davies didn't rule it out, but said there's "nothing immediate" in the works.

Technically, "we're getting original content" already, he said.

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