10 Tips on how to use LinkedIn Stories

On Thursday 13th June, LinkedIn rolled out LinkedIn Stories to the majority of Australian active members. As a LinkedIn Trainer, I shouted hallelujah! as we were the fourth country to be added to the Beta Testing for this feature and our USA neighbours haven't had a look in yet. Which I'm pretty sure is a first. I mean geez we are still waiting for Pro Finder and it's been over 3 years!!! But I digress. So this feature is being tested in Brazil, Netherlands, UAE, Australia and this week France.

What made this exciting news even more special was having set aside an hour on Thursday morning to be part of an exclusive group to hear all about this new feature directly from the LinkedIn team creating it.

They started the training with 'Announcing LinkedIn Stories - Share your everyday professional moments' and went on to emphasise the most important word 'Professional'.

It was great to see some very familiar faces on the Zoom chat. A few I've never seen before and a couple that I've only heard of through reputation, but one thing we all had in common, was a love of LinkedIn and businesses built around this platform.

Tiffany Huang and Shiva Kumar from LinkedIn led the training and patiently answered our barrage of questions, fired at them both though the chat directly and verbally at the end of the briefing. Thank you both for your invitation and your time, I'm sure we all really appreciated being a part of it.

So without further ado, here's the Top Tips that I gleaned from this briefing session....

LinkedIn Stories Tip 1 - authenticity

Make it real, make it authentic. 'An authentic and creative way to engage with your Community'. Share your everyday professional moments.

* Show your professional side with a human touch

• * Apply your creativity at work- there are heaps of creative editing apps available
• * Grow your community

LinkedIn Stories Tip 2 - Relevant

Make it relevant to your work. Things you care about but your network will care about too. Nothing too personal or private.

LinkedIn is a professional network and they really want to keep it that way. Use Stories to add human element to your brand and give people snapshots of your team members or perhaps office space.

LinkedIn Stories Tip 3 - Limited @ Mentions

You can @ tag a person but at this point you cannot @ tag a Company Page, however, this is coming. Plus unlike Instagram, if someone has @ tagged you, you cannot then forward that story to be shared with your network.

Again, LinkedIn acknowledges this would be handy but it's not available at this point.

LinkedIn Stories Tip 4 - Limited Viewing Range

There are 3 fundamental levels of limitations on LinkedIn Stories

• Only your first connections (and those who follow you but aren't connected) can see your stories.

Funny thing with this point, is that my analytics showed me a couple of 2nd connections had viewed my story, so have to find out what happened with that. See Tip 6.

• It's only visible via mobile app at this time (although viewing on Desktop is coming) but the creation and editing will only occur on mobile
• Only your first connections in the five trial countries will be able to view your LinkedIn Stories. So if you have been connecting with the majority of people in your network in the USA, UK & India for example, then the majority of your network won't see your stories. Keep that in mind when viewing analytics.

LinkedIn Stories Tip 5 - Make every second count

Each photo or image will be shown for 20 seconds and you will be only able to upload a video that is less than 20 seconds in length. However, you can upload up to 100 stories a day so if you were to upload multiple stories in a day you will extend the length of your story. For example, if you upload 2 videos and 1 image that will give you a total of 60 seconds 'screen time'.

But be warned, LinkedIn emphasised they do not like spam. So uploading 100 stories each day, every day, sure sounds like spam to me and I can bet your network will get mighty sick of you.

Also keep in mind that if you are uploading in the late afternoon or evening in Australia most of us are going to bed so you are wasting valuable viewing time thinking that your overseas network are going to view it overnight.

Another element to consider is people can choose to unfollow you. But, this will result in them following ALL your content as it's all linked up. If they unfollow your stories, they will unfollow all your content. And this leaves you being out of sight & out of mind.

LinkedIn Stories Tip 6 - Optional Follow up

As you can see when you look at your analytics, there is the messaging icon next to each 1st connection that watches your story.

Note that any 2nd connection does not have that option and the option to connect is also noticeably missing.

Are you going to use this to follow up? Might be a great touch point opportunity if you can see they are your direct target market.

LinkedIn Stories Tip 7 - No Sound is the Default for Video

Just like videos in your News Feed the sound coming through on your videos is in the off position as a default. The quickest way in order to hear the sound is to adjust it on your phone ie. click louder or softer once to activate it.

But my question is; will people know to do this?

My advice to combat this from the outset, is to film your video in portrait mode and add captions.

Then when people click on your stories along side the others, as it rolls through the carousel, YOURS is the one that is going to stand out as they can watch it anywhere, anytime and with no sound. The most simple App I've found on the market to make videos directly into and have really accurate captions is Brivvio. You can even add your own logo in the top right (although I need to make mine a little bigger). Check it out in your App Store.

LinkedIn Stories Tip 8 - Engagement is Private

When someone engages with your story, the 'comment' is sent as a private message.

It's interesting to note that when LinkedIn holds a thumbnail of that image in the message thread [see image on the right from Mireille - who was also at the briefing] if it's your story. However, someone sends you their story the thumbnail disappears [see image on the left. Jo also attended the briefing]. I find this a bit limiting in terms of marketing and pushing out your story to more people. If they don't see it in that first 24 hours, then it's fairly useless.

LinkedIn Stories Tip 9 - Add Inbuilt Stickers and Text

Although I'm not a big fan of stickers per se, the LinkedIn staff on this training call mentioned this feature a couple of times.

It sounded like to me that if we use what they are giving us at this time, these stickers will become better and we'll get more of them.

So I'd advise using what you find appropriate and over time there will be new ones added.

The stickers that are trending and most used appear at the top. As an example, there is a sticker for 'Black Lives Matter' and 'Pride'. Check in regularly as it you can discover more stickers the more they trend.

LinkedIn Stories Tip 10 - This IS a test, keep your expectations in check

The stories feature is in Beta Testing and the staff at LinkedIn pointed out that like any new product there is always bugs so lower your expectations right now so you don't get disappointed.

They are testing for bugs, usability, interest in the feature, what people want etc. So at this rollout point it's very, very basic. You don't have the ability to pin a story to your profile, archive stories, shuffle the order, no clickable links, hashtags don't aggregate and at this point there is very limited analytics.

WOW Jillian that all sounds pretty crappy, so why would I bother?

Well, here's the good news, like any new shiny object, people use it for a while then forget about it which can give you a distinct advantage. Although there will be an initial uptake people will get sick of creating yet another way to post on LinkedIn which will open the door wide open for those who are dedicated and consistent. And just like everything on LinkedIn, LinkedIn will show you some love back. That's right, algorithms!!!

For those who 'tap' onto your story, they are signal-ing to LinkedIn that you are a priority to them. So the algorithm will make sure your content shows up for them. To test this further, I'm going to be monitoring to see if Stories gets your posts in front of more eyeballs within your first connections as a result.

What is LinkedIn recommending for your stories?

And how does it differ from other social media platforms?

The essence of LinkedIn Stories is sharing professional human stories. Professional yet authentic moments are what they want. Who you are behind your profile? A glimpse into your professional life behind the scenes.

Here's LinkedIn's advice for content ideas for your LinkedIn Stories (summarised directly from their slides in this exclusive briefing).

#WorkFromHome - Share your current office set up

For those of us lucky enough to be able to continue business as usual from our home during the WFH national mandates, share your working situation with your network!

• At-home office set up
• Favourite or most productive spot at home
• New co-workers - spouses, children, pets etc
• Virtual Meetings

#NewNormal - Share how your daily working life has changed, and open a dialogue with your network

• How are you feeling about returning to your office if you've been working from home?
• How has your office life and culture changed in 2020 and do you think these changes will be permanent?
• What new trends and changes have you seen in your industry in 2020?
• Do you have any predictions for the future of your industry, company or role in the long term?

#DailyGrind - Connect with your network over your coffee or tea break

Use the coffee breaks in your day to update and engage with your network

• Your favourite coffee/ tea mug
• Having a social coffee with your colleagues
• Coffee catch up & meetings
• Supporting your local cafe and give them a shoutout
• Tag a LinkedIn member you'd most like to grab a cuppa with
• Tag your go-to office mate for a virtual coffee

#RiseAndShine - Greet your network to start your day by engaging your community

Musing, advice and morning moments are all welcome on Stories

• A part of your morning routine; surfing, yoga, checking your calendar, walking your dog, meditation. Whatever is authentic to you.
• Helpful habits; how do you set yourself up for success? Personal goals, staying organised, scheduling breaks, clearing your head.
• Looking forward; letting your network know what is new and exciting in your world, especially if it's relevant to your network.

#TeamBuilding - Share social moments between your team

Even within the same organisation, different team members have their own personalities and traditions. How do you socialise with your colleagues. Share in the moment.

• Virtual parties and events
• Charity initiatives
• Team lunches or dinners
• Happy hour! (that could be dangerous) ??
• Offsite workshops
• Sports teams or group training sessions
• Holiday or birthday celebrations

#TagTeam - give a spotlight to those you work with or that inspire you

Give the spotlight to those you work with or that inspire you as we all have professionals in our lives and it's nice to recognise them.

• Tag your mentor, your supportive team, your manager, your boss
• Tag a team member you can't do without
• Tag someone in your network you want to reconnect with
• Tag someone in your network you'd most like to get a coffee with - even if they're outside your network (you can change a setting to not be tagged outside your first connections by the way).

#CheckItOut - Share your favourite work-related media sources

Use LinkedIn Stories as a way to spread educational or entertaining items that help you stay on top of your professional game and encourage your network to do the same

• Books, magazines, journals and articles
• Podcasts, Ted Talks, Webinars and Webcasts
• Industry relevant accounts to follow for news and insights
• Favourite productivity playlists
• Documentaries, News Programs etc.

#TipsAndTricks - Share your professional tips and tricks to spread industry knowledge

Spread your knowledge to your network and encourage the use of Stories as a resource for giving and reviewing help:

• Helpful advice relevant to your role such as the best advice you were ever given
• Industry insights that your network would find valuable
• News items on trending topics that your network will find useful

#SearchingFor - Spread the word about new opportunities (direct quote here as this is not my area of expertise)

"They say your network is your net worth ... and we all know this is true when it comes to job opportunities! Whether you're looking for a job or have an open position, announce it to your network and see how our responses increase!"

The LinkedIn's guide for Do's and Don't regarding your Stories.

Now you have the full story about LinkedIn Stories, devise a plan that is going to be right for you and your network and start getting creative (without duplicating all your Instagram stories). I've been seeing this a lot and the videos even mention Instagram ??. The better your initial Stories are the more people will be excited to see your next one up in their feed again. So get out those creating apps and give your connections insight into the authentic business person you are behind your LinkedIn profile.

What's your story?

Jillian Bullock award winning and certified LinkedIn Ninja is working along side a small group of Aussie independent LinkedIn Trainers to help you make to most of LinkedIn Stories.

If you would like to kick-butt with your lead generation strategies on LinkedIn, without the use of banned bots and inauthentic spam techniques, then let's chat.

People are not numbers and I'm here to help you create authentic and genuine connections on LinkedIn, converting them into long term customers or referral partners.

#LinkedInNinja #leadgeneration #business #Australia