The Latest At LinkedIn: Live Stream And Stories
August 28, 2021
LinkedIn, a professional networking platform with more than 660 million users worldwide, has recently expanded its offerings to include LinkedIn Live and LinkedIn Stories.
Invite-Only LinkedIn Live Continues To Gain Buzz
Pete Davies, Senior Director of Product Management at LinkedIn, noted in a recent blog post that LinkedIn has seen a 25% year-over-year increase in conversations, and live video is one of the reasons for that uptick in engagement. Although still in beta and available by invite only, LinkedIn Live has generated considerable buzz, with early LinkedIn Live adopter Hootsuite saying, “think of it like Facebook Live, with a more professional twist,” and other invitees commenting on the quality and authenticity the live videos offer for brands.
According to LinkedIn, “LinkedIn Live allows you to build deeper connections and drive more engagement with the world’s largest professional community. Live videos get, on average 7x more reactions and 24x more comments than native video produced by the same broadcasters.” The social media platform suggests LinkedIn Live should be seen by brands as another channel in multichannel strategies, ideal for showcasing innovation, promoting events, interviews and attracting new employees.
For now, LinkedIn Live is still invite only. In order to become “LinkedIn Live broadcasters” brands must complete applications for approval.
LinkedIn Stories Set To Launch in 2020
The incredible success of Instagram Stories, which has become a surprisingly reliable revenue source for Facebook, has led to several social media platforms following suit. Twitter is trying out a stories format called Fleets, and now LinkedIn is preparing to launch LinkedIn Stories over the next several months.
LinkedIn, known more for professional networking than the breezy nature of stories, may not seem like an obvious choice to launch stories. However, Davies indicated the format could offer two different benefits to the brand. The first is by offering colleagues and business acquaintances a “lightweight, fun way to share an update without it having to be perfect or attached to your profile forever.”
The value LinkedIn Stories can offer in a “professional context,” is the other benefit stories may bring to LinkedIn and possibly the most pivotal asset for the brand. Davies noted, “For example, the sequencing of the Stories format is great for sharing key moments from work events, the full-screen narrative style makes it easy to share tips and tricks that help us work smarter, and the way Stories opens up new messaging threads makes it easier for someone to say, ‘and by the way… I noticed you know Linda, could you introduce me?’”
In 2019, Instagram Stories pulled in $20 billion in revenue. The Instagram and LinkedIn platforms are very different, so the significance of LinkedIn Stories for digital marketers will likely also be different, but stories are clearly a form of communication valued by users, especially young people. With 61 million Gen Zers poised to flood the job market in the coming years, strategically targeting this demographic via stories, one of their preferred methods of communication, could be a win for marketers and LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Stories is still in testing, although in 2018 the brand did try out Student Voices, a stories option for students. Social Media Today speculates the new version of LinkedIn Stories, which will be available to all LinkedIn users, will look and function similarly to Student Voices. There is no date yet for the roll out of LinkedIn Stories.
Will LinkedIn’s New Tools Benefit Digital Marketers?
Both of LinkedIn’s new features could offer digital marketers the opportunity to reach LinkedIn users in new ways, providing increased visibility in multichannel campaigns. By providing new outlets for content marketing, brands may find increased engagement with LinkedIn audiences.
Are You Looking To Scale Your Advertising Reach?
To help brands engage consumers at scale, Digital Media Solutions® (DMS) has built and assembled the broadest, vertical-agnostic digital media distribution capabilities in the market.
