As a brand advocate and trainer for LinkedIn, Think Bespoke was invited to attend the Australian launch of LinkedIn stories. As part of this session, the LinkedIn stories Product Manager. Tiffany Huang, walked us through the features, how and why you might use it and provided some thought starters for content creation.
The LinkedIn stories feature was rolled out in Australia in June 2020, having been tested in Brazil, Netherlands and the UAE.
Much like the stories feature on Instagram, the content type is designed to be slightly less daunting and formal than a LinkedIn post or article. A story only sits on the platform for 24 hours and then it disappears.
It has been designed to encourage authentic connections and allows users to show their personalities with everyday moments of their working lives. The idea is to give you a glimpse behind the scenes of a profile.
Where do I find LinkedIn stories?
On the mobile app, click on the Home button and you will see them at the top of your feed. You will see stories created by any of your 1st degree connections.
How do I create a LinkedIn Story?
You can create and load stories via the mobile app, by clicking on the + sign at the top of your home feed.
You can load a photo, a 20 second video or you can take a photo or video directly within the app.
Why would I create a LinkedIn Story?
The stories functionality is particularly useful for those that get a bit caught up with the permanency of a LinkedIn post or article. This type of LinkedIn activity often tends to be very curated and thoughtful. Giving people a behind the scenes insight into your working day helps people get to know you. Human beings are designed to connect with human stories. It helps build trust.
When a user views a story, they respond to it via a direct message (rather than a like or a comment)
You will be able to see how many views your story has had, by clicking onto “your story” and seeing the number of views at the bottom left of the screen.
You are capped at 100 stories a day (but please don’t do that!).
Fun LinkedIn Story Features
You have the ability to add:
- Pre-loaded stickers
- Text
- @mentions of connections (at this stage you can’t @mention a company page)
- You can download your story to save it
- You can send it in a private message to make sure someone sees it.
Ideas for LinkedIn Story Content
Remembering that LinkedIn is a professional networking and content platform, you should always ensure content is appropriate, considered, valuable and relevant. Please don’t overshare, remember to respect confidentiality, privacy and security and don’t get too personal! Here are some of the ideas from LinkedIn about what you might like to share:
- Things you do at work
- What working from home looks like for you
- Your team mates
- Images of virtual meetings
- Predictions about the future of work
- Coffee breaks
- Your morning routine or habits
- Helpful hints or advice
- Team events
- A great book, resource, article, podcast or TED talk
- Tips and tricks that are industry or role related
What are the benefits of using the LinkedIn Story feature?
We have found in the past that the LinkedIn algorithm has tended to bump up your reach and visibility when you make the most of a new feature. It’s a great way to start a conversation on LinkedIn and to connect in an authentic and visual way. It will encourage your connections to directly message you. As the story only stays on the platform for 24 hours it is less intimidating than a post or an article. This feature is definitely better suited to the more ‘social media savvy’. We expect those who’ve used the story feature over on Instagram and Facebook, will be more likely to use it on LinkedIn.
Could this be the demise of serious conversations on LinkedIn? We hope not, and welcome any new feature that enable users to spend more time on the most powerful professional networking platform in the world.