By Dany Ortiz, on 12 April 2021
Stories have changed the way people publish and interact with social media. Starting with Snapchat and then Instagram and Facebook, stories increase engagement and are a very flexible content type. Even WhatsApp has its version of stories. LinkedIn has jumped on the bandwagon with their introduction of LinkedIn Stories. Read on to find out what they’re all about, how to publish a story on LinkedIn and how they can benefit your social media marketing strategy.
How to Post a LinkedIn Story
Like on other platforms, LinkedIn stories appear as bubbles at the top of the page. They also disappear after 24 hours and come with tagging, stickers, text, and other features you’re familiar with. You can post a 20 second video or a photo and both businesses and individuals can participate. The fact that LinkedIn stories disappear within 24 hours, means they’re not attached to your professional profile forever.
At the moment, LinkedIn stories are available in most countries, with China being a notable exclusion. The stories feature is only usable through the LinkedIn mobile app. So how do you post a LinkedIn story? Let’s go through the steps.
Post a LinkedIn Story in 5 Steps
- Open the LinkedIn app and tap your photo with the plus sign in the upper left hand corner
- Record a video or snap a photo (tap the volume button to mute sound)
- Upload your video or photo
- Add stickers or text (use the ‘Question of the Day’ sticker to answer LinkedIn’s daily question)
- Tag or mention users with the @ symbol
You can tap cancel to delete content if you like.
How LinkedIn Stories Can Benefit Your Business
LinkedIn stories are a new way to share professional moments and connect with your audience in a more lightweight way. They are an excellent medium for creating quick and impactful content which people can interact with without requiring too much time or effort. Perhaps most powerfully, stories place your content at the top of people’s feeds giving you prime realty for connections to discover you and engage with you.
So what types of content should you post and how can LinkedIn Stories benefit your business?
Start with Strategy
You may be tempted to create spur of the moment stories but a concerted strategy is recommended. This is your professional network, and while stories can take a more spontaneous approach, keep your content focused and relevant. What do you want to achieve with your stories? Who are you speaking to? LinkedIn stories help you craft and share your unique brand and build industry authority—two things you want to plan and orchestrate with care. Define your LinkedIn goals and then create your roadmap.
Browse and Engage with Stories
Looking for some inspiration? Check out what your connections are sharing in their stories. What type of content is compelling for you? What makes you want to join the conversation? By viewing others' stories you can see what has or hasn’t worked for them and you can duplicate that content with your own (even better) version or twist on the original.
Share a Milestone or Anecdote from Your Workday
A common topic for regular LinkedIn posts, sharing professional milestones and/or anecdotes allows you to connect with other users in a very human way. Now instead of just a bland LinkedIn update or drawn out text post, you can share a quick, temporary video celebrating your achievements or describing an interesting experience. These days bite-size is better, and stories are the perfect content type for delivering that short form content.
Ask a Compelling Question
People love giving their opinions so encourage them to chime in on a topic relevant to your industry. This gets people engaged in conversation as opposed to more passive scrolling and liking alone. This story could also be your answer to the LinkedIn question of the day, followed by asking your audience for their thoughts. You could also ask for input on product development which gets people involved in something concrete. These types of stories build more human relationships and highlight you as an engaging personality.
Share Thoughts on Latest News
You need to tread with care here as some news topics lead into sensitive territory. That being said, you can find news stories that somehow connect with what you offer and then give a more objective view on that issue. If you are indeed an authority on a certain topic, others might actually want your unfiltered opinion as they value and trust your input. Just be aware: current event topics generate plenty of engagement, both positive and negative!
Share a Product or Teach a Skill
This is where your expertise or products can really shine. With short, 20 second clips you can give users quick tips and insights into what you offer. The sky's the limit here and you can get really creative with how you deliver your content. Stories are also the perfect medium for teasing or highlighting new products.
Introduce a Colleague or Client
Use stories to take the spotlight off yourself and introduce a co-worker or client. Let them say hello and share their thoughts. Or maybe highlight a customer using your product and/or sharing their experience of it. This gives social proof or third party validation which builds more trust with your audience. This could evolve into a weekly series of introductions that creates more diverse and exciting content that doesn’t just feature you day in and day out.
LinkedIn stories is one of the most biggest developments on the platform in recent memory. It’s an obvious evolution considering the popularity of stories across other platforms and now gives LinkedIn users a more exciting way to generate engagement and share their professional experiences. Using stories is also a great method of separating yourself from the competition who aren’t yet utilizing the feature. Like with any marketing effort, start with strategy and an action plan and then deliver compelling content that builds your authority and most importantly, starts a conversation.
