Instagram became more popular when it launched Instagram Story. Almost 500 million people used to watch Instagram Story every day. Over one-third of these Instagram stories are business-related. Professionals and companies have made good use of Instagram Stories to publicize their businesses. LinkedIn has also joined the bandwagon and launched LinkedIn Stories where it allows the users to upload stories for promotional purposes.
Similar to Instagram Stories, LinkedIn stories also run for twenty seconds. The story is accessible to people for twenty-four hours before it goes away. According to LinkedIn, the Storyvideo feature was to launch sooner. The head of Consumer Products at LinkedIn, Pete Davis, talks about the usefulness of the Linkedin Story features and how businesses can promote their product and services using the video feature.
The questions that might pop up in your minds would be,
The answer to the questions is a clear yes. LinkedIn Stories provide you with an opportunity to publicize your brand in a much different way. It also allows users to connect with their audience in a much friendly manner.
Before we move to the Linkedin strategies of using the LinkedIn Stories feature to promote your business, let us discuss what LinkedIn Stories are.
The feature allows the users to display their content to the audience through a slideshow or twenty seconds that would remain available for them for an entire day before the video automatically disappears.
The LinkedIn feature is similar to Instagram Stories or Facebook and Snapchat Stories and consists of similar functions. Users can ask questions, add stickers, introduce other LinkedIn accounts and use @ to mention a page.
LinkedIn Stories have been launched in Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Australia. If you wish to explore the feature, you only need to wait for some time since LinkedIn will soon introduce the Stories feature to more countries in the coming weeks.
There are numerous ways LinkedIn Stories can benefit businesses. It allows you to share information with your LinkedIn connections, whether they are professionals or regular followers. It also enables the user to publicize their brands among the followers to boost their business.
Since the LinkedIn platform is mainly used to connect to professionals, it is understandable that users would use the Stories feature for business purposes. Unlike Instagram and Facebook, where people use the feature for beauty tips for friends, family, and extended followers, LinkedIn Stories serve a purpose that directly affects businesses.
Rather than attracting people to watch the video to learn tips and home remedies, LinkedIn Stories allows the user to share content that connects the professionals on their LinkedIn account. This feature is mainly used for promotional purposes.
Recent studies revealed that stories had become a more convenient way of reaching the audience. However, it does not replace the LinkedIn feed posts. LinkedIn Stories only allows the users to broaden the scope of their content to reach a wider audience.
This style of material promotion allows the LinkedIn users to provide a much deeper look to the audience about their business. This feature is more beneficial for entrepreneurs, company owners, and business people who wish to boost their business trust factor with their future clients and potential customers.
The Stories feature for business provides a more robust opportunity to connect with people. A recent study revealed that 25% of Instagrammers swipe up while going through branded posts. A similar feature in LinkedIn allows businesses to boost their sales and promotions through LinkedIn Stories.
However, it may be possible that your Linked Stories might not boost your sales, but it is always promoting your brand and creating awareness about it amongst people. Another significant advantage is that the promotions will lead you to people whom you can directly connect for better opportunities.
Even smaller businesses make videos to circle in the market. These videos become a source of huge sales when they become popular among potential customers. Similarly, when companies use LinkedIn Stories, their business might not boost in the initial stages. Still, it will gradually catch the potential buyer's eye and increase sales with time.
The Stories feature easily gives instant gratification. It helps in promoting brands and is an excellent way of connecting with other companies. They allow the companies to get into an engaging relationship.
For businesses who already know the performance of this feature would not find it challenging to shift to the LinkedIn feature for business purposes. Following are five strategies that will help you boost your brands by using LinkedIn Stories.
Since LinkedIn Stories are accessible for a limited time – twenty-four hours- it is better to use them for communication less refined material to capture the target audience's attention.
Sharing real-time activities is an excellent way of attracting people towards your brand as it leads to an increased number of sales. The feature allows viewers to get a first-person perspective of the event.
From announcements to celebrations, sharing short clips of events to cover the entire event live, stories have made the whole experience exciting and life-changing. It is an ideal way of highlighting the happenings of your company.
It also generates an extra buzz around the brand. Consider asking the speaker or the event coordinator to share short clips about a new launch or product or a BTS look for additional details.
There is no doubt that customer reviews still hold a lot of value in the eyes of buyers. When people plan to buy any item, they always look for customer reviews before making the final purchase.
Customer feedback is still equally important. Sharing your customer's feedback is also a great way of gaining the trust of other potential buyers. Sharing the experience of your customers through the LinkedIn Stories feature will help boost your business.
Posting a short clip of customer reviews or posting a slideshow of the feedback sent by the customers is an excellent way of grabbing people's attention.
Sharing business updates with your followers is an excellent way of connecting with them. Loyal customers always keep a check on new updates and announcements. Posting something about your brand or product or a teaser about a new launch will help your brand become popular among users. People often share such information around their friend circle. This is an ideal way of promoting your business.
People use stories for all types of content. However, when it comes to promoting businesses, brands quickly become popular through LinkedIn Stories. If you are one of the few privileged brands who got a hand over this feature before others, you have additional time to use the feature to grab the target audience.
Use the LinkedIn feature to share announcements or trending news about your brands and post relevant information for your customers.
Like Instagram, LinkedIn Stories features also allow the user to engage in a Q & A session with its followers. You can hold a pep talk or have a Q & A session with your followers. You may also ask your followers to send some questions for Q & A sessions through direct messaging or LinkedIn feed posts.
LinkedIn Stories allows the brands to reveal the behind the scene stories with the customers and create brand loyalty.
Following are some of the Dos and Don’ts businesses must consider before using LinkedIn Stories for promoting their brands and businesses.
Form a strategy to attract followers to your LinkedIn Company page. Make sure you do a little research before posting LinkedIn Stories to be sure of what will attract the followers to your brands. It is essential to know the right strategy to attract people to boost your business.
It is essential to connect to your followers, whether through a Linkedin live video or a Q & A session. People always look forward to business that connects with the audience. Let your brand shine by sharing stories about your brands and yourself. It is an ideal way of promoting your business objective.
Before you spend hours perfecting your videos, make note that these videos are available for twenty-four hours only. Stories must not be perfect. They should be random and must contain enough information about the brand for the audience.
Since you are using the platform to promote your business, you must maintain a professional tone. Being too casual may not attract potential buyers to your brand. Create some boundaries for your LinkedIn Stories to make it easier for you to upload relevant content.
If you wish to promote your brand and connect with professionals, LinkedIn Stories is a fantastic platform to do so. You will be able to post videos and slideshows about your brands and businesses for people to view. You will also be able to reach out to professionals through these stories. The feature is an excellent way of promoting sales and improving brand awareness.
