---
type: trekresearch-brief
created: 2026-05-29
question: "For LinkedIn in 2026: hard short-form video requirements the algorithm rewards (aspect ratio, resolution, hook timing, captions); what triggers the templated-AI/engagement-bait down-rank; and newsletter-distribution mechanics (notification leverage, cadence, realistic cold-start numbers)?"
confidence: 0.80
dimensions: 5
mcp_servers_used: [tavily]
local_agents_used: []
external_agents_used: [docs-researcher, community-researcher, contrarian-researcher]
---

# Coverage-Gap Feature Specs — Video · De-AI · Newsletter Distribution (2026)

> Generated by trekresearch (standard external swarm: docs + community + contrarian)
> on 2026-05-29. Topic 3 of 3 for the linkedin-studio remediation. Feeds the Phase-2
> video gate, short-form de-AI gate, and newsletter-distribution surface.
> **The de-AI signal is covered in depth in Topic 1 (D8); this brief carries the
> video + newsletter specs and a short de-AI cross-reference.**

## Research Question

For LinkedIn in 2026: hard short-form video requirements the algorithm rewards (aspect
ratio, resolution, hook timing, captions); what triggers the templated-AI / engagement-bait
down-rank; and newsletter-distribution mechanics (notification leverage, cadence, realistic
cold-start numbers)?

## Executive Summary

**Three of the audit's proposed coverage-gap features rest on wrong premises, and building
them naively would bake new false claims into the plugin.** (1) A **hard 9:16 video gate is
wrong** — LinkedIn's audience is desktop-heavy; 9:16 is mobile-only and **crops on desktop**;
the broad-distribution picks are **4:5 / 1:1**, with 9:16 a mobile-only opt-in. The plugin's
internal contradiction ("4:5 preferred" vs "deprioritized") resolves toward **"4:5 preferred."**
The "3-second hook" is **imported TikTok folklore**, not a LinkedIn rule. The one video spec
**safe to enforce is captions** (80–85% watch muted; +12% watch-time per LinkedIn; caption
text is indexed) — but framed as best-practice, not "LinkedIn requires SRT." (2) **Native
video reach is DOWN ~36% YoY** (per-video views, Socialinsider 1.3M); the "video is king
2026" narrative is hype from a benchmark misread — so the video gate must be a **quality
gate for users who choose video**, never copy that positions video as top-reach. (3) The
newsletter **"triple-notification" framing is oversold** — LinkedIn's own FAQ says the three
channels are **deduplicated** (one notification per event); the real benefit is
"**bypasses organic feed ranking**," not three guaranteed touchpoints; and the **one-time
launch invite** makes a sub-~1–2K-follower newsletter premature. **Key caveat:** aspect-ratio
performance has **no rigorous comparative study** — encode as heuristic, never a hard gate;
date every claim ("as of 2026-05"). (Confidence 0.80 — high on captions / video-decline /
newsletter mechanics; medium on aspect-ratio + cold-start ranges.)

## Dimensions

### D1. Video upload specs (official, enforceable) — Confidence: high

**External findings (LinkedIn Help, primary):**
- Aspect ratio accepted **1:2.4–2.4:1**; resolution **256×144–4096×2304**; duration **min
  3s desktop / 2s mobile, max 15min desktop / 10min mobile**; file **75KB–5GB**; **10–60fps**;
  **192Kbps–30Mbps**; **MP4 the safe default**. [linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a548372; .../a1311816]
- **Official-source conflict:** the member troubleshooting page lists MOV/AVI as *supported*;
  the Pages spec says LinkedIn "no longer supports AVI, QuickTime, or MOV." **Resolution for
  a gate:** enforce MP4 as the safe default; **warn-only** (not block) on MOV/AVI.

### D2. Aspect ratio — 9:16 is NOT a clean win — Confidence: medium (no rigorous data)

**External findings:**
- LinkedIn runs an official **full-screen vertical video experience** (video tab + carousel)
  that **vertical (≈9:16) fills uncropped**; landscape is letterboxed. BUT you **cannot
  directly post into** that surface — placement is algorithmic. [linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a6290168]
- The contrarian + spec-guide consensus: for the **main feed** on a **desktop-heavy
  professional audience**, **4:5 and 1:1** are the broad-distribution picks; **9:16 is
  delivered mobile-only and crops to 1:1 on desktop** — a real degradation. The only official
  numeric 9:16 target (720×1280 rec / 1080×1920 max) is scoped to **ads**, not organic.
  [aspectratiocalculator.com/linkedin-aspect-ratios/; LinkedIn recommendation post]
- **No peer-reviewed or official study compares 4:5 vs 9:16 vs 1:1 engagement.** The
  "vertical takes more feed real estate → more engagement" claim is uncorroborated heuristic.

**Resolution:** the plugin's contradiction resolves toward **"4:5 / 1:1 preferred for broad
distribution; 9:16 mobile-only opt-in / for the video tab."** Fix the file that calls 4:5
"deprioritized." **Do not build a hard 9:16 gate** — make aspect ratio guidance, not enforcement.

### D3. Hook timing + captions — Confidence: high (captions) / low (3-sec hook)

**External findings:**
- The **"3-second hook" is cross-platform folklore** (TikTok/Reels), absent from
  LinkedIn-specific algorithm analyses; LinkedIn's only official "3 seconds" is the *minimum
  video length*. The real LinkedIn-native reason the opening matters is **muted autoplay**.
  [dataslayer.ai/blog/linkedin-algorithm-february-2026-whats-working-now; sproutsocial.com/insights/linkedin-video/]
- **Captions are the one spec safe to enforce:** ~80–85% watch muted; LinkedIn's own data
  ~**+12% watch-time** with captions; **caption text is indexed for search/discovery** and
  factored into distribution. Both **SRT upload and native auto-captions** are first-party
  (auto-captions in 10 languages, opt-in, reviewable). [opus.pro/blog/linkedin-video-caption-subtitle-best-practices; linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1327025; .../a552177]

**Resolution:** enforce a **captions** quality gate (BLOCK is defensible at 80% muted),
accept SRT OR auto-captions, label it "best-practice / algorithmic signal" (not "required").
Replace any "3-second hook" rule with **"front-load value for muted autoplay."**

### D4. De-AI / engagement-bait down-rank — Confidence: high (cross-ref Topic 1 D8)

**External findings (see Topic 1 D8 for full sourcing):**
- **Officially confirmed:** LinkedIn VP Laura Lorenzetti (2026-05-19) — active program
  suppressing generic AI posts/comments + automation + attention-bait video; mechanism is
  **reach-suppression (down to first-degree), not deletion**, via ML trained on human-
  annotated "original thinking vs lacking substance." Engagement-pod crackdown officially
  confirmed too (Sachdeva, 2026-02-16). [entrepreneur.com/business-news/linkedin-is-fighting-back-against-ai-slop-and-ai-comments]
- **Engagement bait** ("Comment YES", "Like for Part 2") → post-level throttle; genuine
  open questions are **not** penalized. The line is *real answer* vs *reflexive token*.

**Resolution:** **build the short-form de-AI gate** targeting the signals LinkedIn *named*
(personal substance, original thinking, concrete specifics, genuine voice) — not an
unverified SEO "tell-list." Add a soft engagement-bait check (block mechanical-response CTAs,
allow genuine questions).

### D5. Newsletter distribution mechanics — Confidence: high (mechanics) / medium (cold-start)

**External findings:**
- **Official, solid:** all members can create newsletters (**max 5, 2-week cooldown**); on
  first edition LinkedIn **auto-invites all connections/followers to subscribe** (and on each
  new follow thereafter); editions are **also posted to the feed** + resurface via engagement
  + appear in interest/trending sections; **lowest-friction subscribe** (no typing — LinkedIn
  has the email). [linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a517925; .../a522525; .../a517914]
- **"Triple-notification" is OVERSOLD / contested:** LinkedIn's FAQ states the in-app / push /
  email channels are **deduplicated** — "if you receive an in-app or push notification, you
  should NOT expect to also receive an email for the same." So it is **one notification per
  event via the subscriber's preferred channel**, not three guaranteed touchpoints. Delivery
  failures are reported; one creator measured **~2–3% click vs 8–10% on their own email list.**
  The defensible benefit is **"bypasses organic feed ranking,"** not "triple notification."
- **One-time launch invite → follower floor:** the mass "invite all followers" fires **once,
  at any size** — launching sub-~1–2K followers permanently spends the blast on a tiny base.
  Practitioner floor: **500+ min, 3,000+ ideal.** Defensible plugin gate: ~**1–2K floor**
  (aligns with the existing ~1K `/monetize`/`/outreach` unlock).
- **Realistic cold-start (don't inflate):** true zero-audience start ≈ **0–100 subs months
  1–3**; viral "0→9K/7-days" and "0→10K" case studies **were NOT cold starts** (leveraged
  existing audiences / 12-month grinds). Cadence: **weekly common among top performers;
  biweekly a safe default for original analysis.**
- **Honest downsides to disclose:** subscribers are **non-exportable** (platform lock-in — lose
  them all if LinkedIn kills the feature); LinkedIn **outranks your own site** for the same
  article (no canonical) — harmful if building an owned property; **no read/open/unsubscribe
  analytics**; per-subscriber reach **decays** as the list grows.

**Resolution:** the newsletter-distribution surface must teach the **honest** version:
notification-bypass-of-feed (with the dedup caveat), the one-time-launch-blast + follower
floor, realistic cold-start floors, and the lock-in/no-canonical/no-analytics downsides — NOT
the audit's "triple-notification leverage" framing.

## External Knowledge

### Best Practice (official)
Enforceable/teachable from LinkedIn's own docs: video upload limits; captions (SRT + auto);
the full-screen vertical experience exists but isn't directly postable; newsletter mechanics
(5-max/2-week cooldown, auto-invite, feed resurfacing, dedup notifications). Everything about
*reach magnitude* (video, aspect ratio, newsletter click rates) is practitioner-sourced.

### Alternatives / contrarian
The "video is king 2026" and "triple-notification leverage" narratives are **both refuted**
— the first by a benchmark misread (views −36% YoY per video; +36% is the platform aggregate),
the second by LinkedIn's own dedup FAQ. Documents/carousels lead video on engagement (~7% vs
~6%). Build features on the corrected premises.

### Known issues
Aspect-ratio guidance has no rigorous data — heuristic only. Newsletter data is non-portable.
The MOV/AVI support conflict is unresolved in LinkedIn's own docs. Date every claim.

## Synthesis

1. **"Close the coverage gaps" ≠ "build what the audit sketched."** The audit named the
   gaps correctly (no video enforcement, no de-AI gate, thin newsletter distribution) but
   sketched two of the fixes on hype: a 9:16 gate and "triple-notification leverage." The
   research says build a **captions/aspect-guidance** video gate (not 9:16-mandatory) and an
   **honest** newsletter surface (bypass-feed + caveats), not the sketched versions. This is
   the same disease the whole remediation treats — features must rest on verified premises.

2. **The de-AI gate is the highest-confidence Phase-2 build** (D4 + Topic 1 D8): officially
   confirmed, named-executive, with a stated mechanism. It is also the **single most robustly
   triangulated 2026 down-rank signal** the audit flagged as unguarded on short-form. Prioritize it.

3. **The newsletter follower-floor reconciles two findings cleanly:** the one-time launch
   blast + the existing ~1K `/monetize`/`/outreach` unlock → gate the newsletter behind a
   ~1–2K floor framed as "wait until you can spend the launch blast well." Below it, the
   plugin should steer the user to short-form/document content to *build* the base.

## Open Questions

- **Newsletter email-delivery behavior** — genuinely contested (FAQ dedup vs third-party
  "always emailed"). *Carry as: state the dedup behavior from the FAQ; note delivery is not
  guaranteed; a one-edition live test would resolve it.* Not a blocker.
- **Aspect-ratio engagement** — no rigorous data exists. *Carry as heuristic; never a hard gate.*
- **Dedicated vertical video feed as a primary surface** — if LinkedIn promotes it, the 9:16
  calculus could flip. *Re-check before finalizing the video gate copy.*

## Recommendation

For Phase 2:

1. **Video gate = quality gate, not reach-push.** Enforce MP4 + within-limits (warn on
   MOV/AVI); **enforce/strongly-recommend captions** (SRT or auto); make aspect ratio
   **guidance — 4:5 / 1:1 preferred, 9:16 mobile-only opt-in**; fix the "4:5 deprioritized"
   contradiction toward "4:5 preferred"; drop any "3-second hook" rule and any "video
   maximizes reach" copy. Add a one-line note that per-video reach is declining and
   documents out-engage video.
2. **Build the short-form de-AI gate** (highest-confidence build) on LinkedIn's named signals
   (substance / original thinking / specifics / voice) + a soft engagement-bait check.
3. **Newsletter-distribution surface = the honest version:** "bypasses organic feed ranking
   (one deduplicated notification per subscriber per edition)"; one-time launch-blast +
   **~1–2K follower floor**; realistic cold-start floors (0–100 subs months 1–3); disclose
   non-export/no-canonical/no-analytics/per-subscriber-decay. Steer sub-floor users to build
   the base first.

## Sources

| # | Source | Type | Quality | Used in |
|---|--------|------|---------|---------|
| 1 | [Video sharing troubleshooting (specs)](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a548372) | official | high | D1 |
| 2 | [Video specs for Pages (MOV/AVI conflict)](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1311816) | official | high | D1 |
| 3 | [Full-screen vertical video](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a6290168) | official | high | D2 |
| 4 | [Aspect Ratio Calculator — LinkedIn 2026](https://www.aspectratiocalculator.com/linkedin-aspect-ratios/) | community | medium | D2 |
| 5 | [Add Closed Captions (SRT)](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a552177/add-closed-captions-to-videos-on-linkedin) | official | high | D3 |
| 6 | [Auto captions for videos](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a1327025) | official | high | D3 |
| 7 | [OpusClip — caption best practices (80% muted, +12%)](https://www.opus.pro/blog/linkedin-video-caption-subtitle-best-practices) | community | medium | D3 |
| 8 | [Socialinsider 2026 benchmarks (video −36% YoY)](https://www.socialinsider.io/social-media-benchmarks/linkedin) | community | medium-high | D2, D5 |
| 9 | [Omni Lab — video views down 36% YoY](https://www.omnilabconsulting.com/blog/linkedin-video-views-down-36-yoy) | community | medium | D2 |
| 10 | [Entrepreneur — LinkedIn fights AI slop (Lorenzetti)](https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/linkedin-is-fighting-back-against-ai-slop-and-ai-comments) | official (reported) | high | D4 |
| 11 | [Manage a newsletter (5-max, cooldown, auto-invite)](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a517925) | official | high | D5 |
| 12 | [Newsletters overview (triple notification wording)](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a522525) | official | high | D5 |
| 13 | [Newsletters FAQ (dedup; resurfacing)](https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a517914) | official | high | D5 |
| 14 | [The Lime One — follower floor for newsletter](https://thelime.one/blog/how-many-followers-do-you-need-for-linkedin-newsletter) | community | medium | D5 |
| 15 | [The Science Marketer — newsletter pros/cons (lock-in, click rates)](https://thesciencemarketer.com/p/linkedin-newsletter-pros-cons) | community | medium | D5 |
| 16 | [InfluenceFlow — newsletter cold-start ranges 2026](https://influenceflow.io/resources/linkedin-newsletter-strategy-complete-guide-to-building-an-engaged-subscriber-base-in-2026/) | community | low-medium | D5 |
| 17 | [dataslayer — LinkedIn algorithm Feb 2026](https://www.dataslayer.ai/blog/linkedin-algorithm-february-2026-whats-working-now) | community | low-medium | D3 |
