LinkedIn Stories is the career network’s latest step towards reaching a younger demographic. This feature can help your company reach this audience as well.
Stories published in September may be new to LinkedIn, but they are not new to social media. Posts first popularized by Snapchat have been copied as Instagram and Facebook Stories, YouTube Stories, and most recently Twitter Fleets.
Short-form social video is more popular than ever. Instagram Stories counts 500 million daily active users worldwide. More than 10 million people log into TikTok every day in the US. LinkedIn’s parent company, Microsoft, even tried to buy TikTok last year.
But will the ready-to-use format meet young professionals on LinkedIn?
According to a post from Gil Mark, LinkedIn’s senior product manager, LinkedIn Stories “ignited hundreds of thousands of new conversations across the platform.” Read our guide to see if they can create something for you or your business.
What are LinkedIn Stories?
LinkedIn Stories are image or video posts that disappear after 24 hours. Unlike regular posts posted on someone’s feed, stories can be viewed simply by clicking on someone’s profile photo icon. For now, LinkedIn Stories are only accessible from the mobile app.
Source: LinkedIn
Other things to know about LinkedIn Stories include:
- Once a story is published, it can be seen by links and followers—however, they can share your story with their 1st degree connections. Via LinkedIn messaging.
- LinkedIn Page stories are public by default.
- People viewing the LinkedIn story can reply with an emoji or message if they have a 1st degree connection. Pages are not yet responding.
- Option to add “Scroll Up” testedbut currently not available.
#LinkedIn Trying to add scroll up links in Stories 👀 pic.twitter.com/MSXcSGpBg1
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) September 3, 2020
- As with other platforms, LinkedIn Stories try to create a space for less formal posts and instead “water cooler moments” this is now less so with remote working. “Through testing around the world, we’ve seen members adopt this format to connect with peers and friends more personally and less formally,” LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said in a blog post..
- Stories are currently available in the USA, Canada, France, Australia, Brazil, Netherlands and UAE. Plans to release the feature worldwide are underway.
LinkedIn Stories ads
In December, the platform began testing LinkedIn Stories ads in a closed beta with around 600 advertisers.
Story Ads look like this: full screen ads between member and LinkedIn Page stories. Like other LinkedIn ad formats, these ads can be targeted to accounts based on: company name, job title, industry, etc.
Additional reporting and retargeting options will also be available to help advertisers optimize campaign performance.
Search for LinkedIn Story ads that will be available later in 2021.
How to use LinkedIn Stories
Here’s how to post LinkedIn Stories to your profile.
1. Open the LinkedIn app.
2nd. plus icon next to the profile photo If you haven’t already, allow LinkedIn to access your photos, camera, and microphone (as you see fit).
Source: LinkedIn
3. Record a video or take a photo by holding down the gray button. Or tap the image icon to upload a photo or video from your photo library.
4. Tap the T and folded circle icons in the upper-right corner to add text, stickers, or @mention relevant LinkedIn members.
Source: LinkedIn
5. Tap Share the story publish.
You can save a LinkedIn story within the 24-hour window it was posted. Open LinkedIn Story, tap the three dots (…) in the upper right corner and Download icon.
How to view your LinkedIn Stories insights:
one. profile picture.
2. Tap the icon. eye icon in the lower left corner.
3. Select the Story you want to see information about. You will be taken to an analytics page.
LinkedIn Story insights can only be viewed within 24 hours of a story’s publication. From the Analytics page, you’ll be able to see:
- Total unique views
- audience list
LinkedIn Story features
If you plan to upload a photo or video as a LinkedIn Story, these are the recommended features.
images
- Resolution: 1080 wide x 1920 height (in pixels)
- Supported file types: PNG and JPG
- Aspect Ratio: 9:16
videos
- Length: up to 20 seconds
- Resolution: 1080 wide x 1920 height (in pixels)
- Frame: 30 FPS, square pixels
- Supported file types: H264, MP4
- Aspect Ratio: 9:16
10 ways to use LinkedIn Stories for business
Not sure how to use LinkedIn Stories for your business? Here are a few ideas to get you started.
Try the Question of the Day sticker
Need a daily LinkedIn Stories prompt? Try the Question of the Day sticker.
Use the story to post your own answer or ask people in your company for answers and share their answers.
Source: LinkedIn
Host a Q&A
Skip Reddit and host Ask Me Anything with LinkedIn Stories. Invite your CEO or a resident expert to take questions from customers or employees.
Announce updates
Have some personal or professional news to share? A quick glance at a new product launch? Different store hours due to COVID related regulations? A message from your CEO? All of the above may be eligible for LinkedIn Stories.
Source: LinkedIn
While it’s still useful to post important updates as a post, doing so means taking a chance with LinkedIn’s algorithm. Post them as a story and they may have a better chance of getting noticed in the LinkedIn Story section of the news feed.
Share tips and information
Share flyaway ideas, “what I learned today” cookies, and study tips for demonstrating thought leadership and personality with LinkedIn Stories.
Offer behind-the-scenes looks
Show clients or potential recruits what it’s like to work at your company. Share some of the benefits of the business, such as the cutting-edge equipment you use and the office ping pong table. Or clarify exactly what you’re doing for all the Boomers out there (1000th time, here’s what the social media manager did, Mom).
Source: LinkedIn
Host employee takeovers
The rise of remote work can leave employees feeling disconnected. Invigorate the community spirit by hosting regular employee turnovers. Connect different teams, departments or locations with each other and what they do. Show off projects, work-from-home setups, or share some personal facts.
Promote your LinkedIn Live
Live broadcasts exploded on LinkedIn in 2020. In October, the platform saw a 437% increase in LinkedIn Live streams over the previous year.
If your company is one of the thousands currently live on the platform, consider using LinkedIn Stories to promote and preview the post.
Source: LinkedIn
Learn how to use LinkedIn Live.
Post job postings
Virtual recruitment has become the norm. Nearly 70% of professionals surveyed in LinkedIn’s Future of Hiring Report believe it’s permanent.
While many companies are turning to this tactic, a LinkedIn Story is another way to make your job posting stand out. Since LinkedIn Stories feature in the news feeds of those who follow you or your page, you have a good chance of reaching people who are interested in your business.
Highlight the Showcase Page
Warn your customers and employees of a new or existing LinkedIn Showcase Page. There’s a high chance that many of your followers will want to follow it – if they know it exists! Tell them where to find it and what kind of content they can look forward to seeing.
Learn more about LinkedIn Showcase Pages.
Promote company values
Show your audience what your company cares about. Publish diversity statistics. Share the measures your company is taking to combat the climate emergency. Raise awareness for a cause close to your business. LinkedIn Stories can be a good place for timely updates on these corporate initiatives.
Source: LinkedIn
Read our guide on true social media activism.
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