LinkedIn Live - Pros and Cons

Are you leveraging the power of live video to connect with your audience in real-time??

In today's fast-paced digital world, where real-time interaction is essential, more than 80% of viewers prefer live video content to other forms of media. Platforms like LinkedIn Live, a potent tool for executives and businesses looking to boost their brand presence, create meaningful relationships, and build thought leadership, have emerged as a result of this change in consumer behaviour.

But is LinkedIn Live the right fit for your business? It's important to comprehend the pros as well as the possible drawbacks of live video streaming before hopping on board. LinkedIn Live provides unparalleled opportunities to engage with your audience on a personal level, but it also requires a strategic approach to maximise effectiveness.

In this blog, we'll go over everything you need to know about LinkedIn Live, including how it works, its benefits, and whether it fits with your business goals.?

What is LinkedIn Live?

LinkedIn Live is a live streaming feature within the LinkedIn platform, designed to help businesses and professionals connect with their audience in real time. Ever since its launch, LinkedIn Live has grown to be a popular choice for people who want to interact with their network through webinars, product announcements, panel discussions, and much more.?

Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn Live has been designed specifically for a professional audience, making it an exceptional platform to share industry insights and company updates and foster meaningful discussions.

Here are the pros and cons of using LinkedIn Live:

The Pros of Using LinkedIn Live

Embracing LinkedIn Live can provide numerous benefits, particularly for executives seeking to make an identity for themselves in their industry. Here are some of the key advantages:?

1. Enhanced Engagement:?

Regular video content doesn't generate as much interest as live video. LinkedIn Live facilitates more dynamic conversations by enabling real-time interaction between you and your audience through comments and reactions.?

Additionally, once you stream the video live, it stays accessible on the LinkedIn event page, eliminating the need to send recordings to attendees after the event. This continuous availability is excellent for building and maintaining the reputation of a business or individual.

2. Professional Audience:?

Professionals make up the majority of LinkedIn's user base, in contrast to other networks with more diversified audiences. This increases the likelihood that decision-makers, business executives, and prospective customers will see your content. Moreover, you can precisely invite the right people to attend the event, ensuring that your message reaches the most relevant audience.

3. Increased Visibility

One of the key advantages of LinkedIn Live is that live events are automatically added to your profile or company page. This allows profile or company page visitors to learn more about the individual or brand.?

As LinkedIn's algorithm generally favours live videos, going live on the platform can greatly increase the visibility of your brand among your connections and followers. This enhanced visibility can help your content reach a wider audience and encourage ongoing interaction long after the live event has ended.

4. Cost-Effective Marketing:?

LinkedIn Live allows you to reach a large audience at a low cost. With minimal investment, you can leverage the platform to run product demos, host Q&A sessions, and share valuable content that resonates with your audience.

5. Flexible Broadcasting:

LinkedIn Live offers the flexibility to record, edit, and stream a pre-recorded video as if it were live. If you're too busy or unable to organise a live event in real time, this is particularly useful. You must understand that, despite enabling polished content, this strategy does not facilitate real-time engagement, so you will not be able to respond to viewers' questions in real-time during the broadcast.

The Cons of Using LinkedIn Live

While LinkedIn Live offers a range of benefits, it’s important to consider the potential downsides.?

1. External Platform Dependencies:

Using an external platform like Zoom, Streamyard, or alternative options is necessary to stream live on LinkedIn, which can add further complexity. These systems may pose challenges, like setup difficulties, compatibility problems, or technological hiccups, which could affect the broadcast's quality and flexibility.

2. Limited Audience Interaction:?

LinkedIn Live is an engaging platform, but it might not be as good as Facebook or Instagram, which offer more tools designed to encourage participation, such as Q&A stickers and polls.

Unlike platforms like Zoom, LinkedIn Live does not allow you to see your viewers, making it difficult to gauge their responses accurately. Furthermore, the only way for the audience to ask questions on LinkedIn Live is by typing them in; this can restrict the audience's ability to communicate and be spontaneous.?

3. Preparation and Planning:?

You must set aside time for planning and preparation to host a productive LinkedIn Live event. You might not get the desired effect from your live session if you don't have a defined strategy and content plan.

4. Streaming Delay

LinkedIn Live often experiences a 30–40-second delay, meaning your broadcast may not be seen by the audience in real-time. Timing and coordination throughout the event may become more difficult if you have to go live on your streaming platform 30 to 40 seconds early to make up for it. The responsiveness of your audience's real-time interactions could be affected by this delay.

5. Time Zones and Availability:?

Since LinkedIn is a global platform, managing different time zones can be challenging. It can be difficult to schedule your live event at a time that works for everyone in your target audience, and you risk missing out on important viewers.

6. Pressure to Perform:?

Unlike recorded videos, live streams leave no room for error, making it essential to deliver flawless content in real-time. This can be extremely difficult because the stakes are higher and mistakes are instantly apparent to your audience—especially for those who are unfamiliar with the live format. The immense pressure to execute perfectly may hurt both your confidence and the broadcast's overall quality.

Best Practices for LinkedIn Live

To make the most out of your LinkedIn Live sessions, it’s essential to follow some best practices. Here’s how you can ensure a successful broadcast:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Let’s go over some frequently asked questions from executives about LinkedIn Live- Pros and Cons.

1. Can we go live directly on the LinkedIn platform?

Unfortunately, straight live streaming is not supported by LinkedIn as of August 2024. To go live on LinkedIn, you need to use external tools such as Streamyard or Zoom. Although this requirement might change in the future, these third-party platforms are now required to broadcast live on LinkedIn.

2. Who can use LinkedIn Live??

LinkedIn Live is available to members and pages that meet specific criteria set by LinkedIn. These consist of maintaining an engaged and active following and a track record of adhering to LinkedIn's community guidelines. Access to LinkedIn Live is typically granted to those who demonstrate consistent, high-quality interactions within the platform.

3. How can I increase my LinkedIn Live viewership??

To boost your LinkedIn Live viewership, start by promoting your event in advance through posts, emails, and direct messages. Make sure the right individuals are invited; you may invite up to 1,000 people every week via LinkedIn for events, so make the most of this opportunity to increase attendance.?

Reaching out to your audience and encouraging them to spread the word about the event can also help you enhance viewership and broaden your audience.

4. Can I record and share my LinkedIn Live session later??

Yes, LinkedIn automatically saves your live stream as a regular video on your profile, company page, and LinkedIn event page. Anyone unable to attend the live session can watch the recorded video at their convenience.

5. What are the best practices for hosting a LinkedIn Live event?

A clear agenda, testing your equipment in advance, interacting in real-time with your audience, and providing a summary or important takeaways following the event are a few examples of best practices.

6. Is LinkedIn Live suitable for all types of businesses?

LinkedIn Live is especially useful for thought leaders, industry professionals, tech businesses and business-to-business (B2B) enterprises.?

7. What tools can be used for LinkedIn Live?

To stream on LinkedIn Live, you can use external tools like Streamyard and Zoom. Other popular alternatives include Restream, OBS Studio, Socialive, and Wirecast, all of which are compatible with LinkedIn Live for seamless broadcasting.

Conclusion

We hope this blog has given you insights into the pros and cons of LinkedIn Live and best practices. While it’s a powerful tool for engaging with a professional audience, it’s not without its challenges.?

If you're prepared to go into live streaming, LinkedIn Live provides a special way to interact, spread the word, and develop your brand. However, like with any marketing plan, you must balance the benefits above any potential disadvantages to make sure it supports your overarching business objectives.

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