LinkedIn Stories
LinkedIn Stories are here! Read that again! LinkedIn is the latest social media platform to embrace the disappearing Stories format. The professional networking site unveiled its latest redesign that makes the company’s months-long testing with LinkedIn Stories official. Launched on September 24th, the company is rolling out the stories feature to all its users in the US and Canada, with plans to push it out to everyone in the next few weeks.
How is this feature different than other social media platforms? LinkedIn’s version of Stories is a lot like what you’d find on Instagram or Snapchat. Take a photo, decorate it with text or a GIF, and upload it to your profile. All your professional connections will be able to view your story for 24 hours (don’t worry, though, you can change up your privacy settings to control who can view your Story. LinkedIn will place all your connections’ Stories at the top of your main feed, just a friendly reminder that it’s there.
Why would you want or need this feature? The company says there are some benefits to consider. Senior representatives at LinkedIn have revealed that early tests of the feature have shown that some people are more willing to post when they know it will disappear after 24 hours, rather than live on their LinkedIn profile forever. LinkedIn members have found sharing to be intimidating and the company is betting on this new feature sparking more conversations from people who just don’t really share content on a platform like LinkedIn.
Christopher Slater
Christopher Slater, a social media strategist at 316 Strategy Group, notes that Stories can help coworkers feel connected at a time when many people are still working from home and may otherwise feel disconnected from colleagues. That said, he says the intention is to keep things professional….with the occasional appearance of your friendly feline of course. Slater also noted that the LinkedIn Stories will feature a rotating “question of the day” that’s supposed to help keep folks on track.
“LinkedIn is different. You’re not meant to share the same content you would on other platforms like Facebook and Snap.” Slater says. “That doesn’t mean you can’t share a picture of your favorite feline but the goal is to keep these LinkedIn conversations similar to what you might have at your work.”
LinkedIn is different. You’re not meant to share the same content you would on other platforms like Facebook and Snap. ~ Christopher Slater
LinkedIn Adds Additional Features
LinkedIn didn’t stop there, though. Besides Stories, LinkedIn launched other updates as well. The site’s search features have been overhauled to include the ability to find online courses and new filtering options. LinkedIn messaging is taking a nod from Facebook with emoji reactions and video calls from the chat feature. Video calling will be rolled out to LinkedIn users later in October.
If you’re one of the 710 million users using the LinkedIn platform, we encourage you to embrace these new changes and step out of your comfort zone. Story features are not going away anytime soon, give it a try. You’ll be glad you did!
Questions about social media strategy, search engine optimization, or website design? Contact 316 Strategy Group for more information.
