LinkedIn Live: What You Need To Know For Launch

In the past few years, the most impactful change to social media marketing is the feature allowing users to go live.

Brands, influencers, startups, and media companies alike have used live video on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to engage audiences in real time.

Some of the best examples include:

• Buzzfeed’s Facebook Live when two reporters added rubber bands to a watermelon until it exploded. The video currently has 11 million views, over 17,000 shares, and 52,000 comments.

• Nasdaq’s Instagram Live for Stitch Fix’s IPO integrated live capabilities for the first day of Stitch Fix trading in both New York and San Francisco, which garnered a Shorty Award nomination.

• On Twitter’s Periscope, Red Bull live streamed their week-long exclusive party in Miami, allowing access to those who couldn’t attend.

These examples highlight how standing out from the competition lends itself to finding acclaim from communities and industry insiders.

Following in the footsteps of the social media giants, LinkedIn has now launched its beta program of LinkedIn Live.

Fortunately, I’m part of the beta program and am enthused to have access. LinkedIn encourages beta testers to go live weekly and create content that is 10-15 minutes long so that it differs from native video content. When live, the feature allows for real-time questions and engagement. By integrating this into the experience, LinkedIn Live promotes a two-way conversation with your community.

With LinkedIn Live, you will need to work with third-party video vendors like Switcher Studio to broadcast content. And, it’s beneficial to purchase tripods, selfie grips, microphones, and more for optimal sound and video content.

With the rollout of LinkedIn Live to a curated and small group of creators, it is still in the early stages, however, once it is released to the 600 million users on the platform, it will have an incredible impact on how LinkedIn is placed within social media strategy. Here are three ways you can craft content that will provide value to your LinkedIn community.

  1) Share exclusive experiences The power of LinkedIn lies in connecting with other professionals who are in similar industries. Luckily, social media gives you access to those who aren’t in your immediate circles. This can have a huge impact when attending trade shows and conferences where you can use social media to expand your network in hopes of finding new partnerships and opportunities.

With LinkedIn Live, you can stream content at events like these: happenings at your booth, the sessions you are attending, snapshots of the conference city, and quick interviews with those around you.

By giving your community a behind-the-scenes look at significant events, you can provide a valuable experience for those that can’t attend, as well as connect with those who find you through the event hashtags. And, if you happen to have access to LinkedIn Live by next year’s RampUp, you can always go live to show off the RampPups!

     2) Use Q&A to help companies solve pain points

Interactive video allows for a strong connection between host and audience. Using LinkedIn Live is an excellent opportunity to connect with your community over their business’s pain points. By answering questions in real-time, you can provide valuable advice to those watching your content.

Goldie Chan, the top LinkedIn video creator, a.k.a. the ‘Oprah of LinkedIn,’ was one of the first LinkedIn Live streamers who used the feature at Adobe Summit. “I did a LinkedIn live stream where I talked about community and the main issues around community and brand building (with rotating special guests from other Adobe influencers like TJ Gamble, David Rhodes, Ross Quintana, and Jeff Barrett). As each of my guests are experts in their own unique communities, it was an insightful way to get live questions and feedback from my audience that I could then discuss with my guests,” she shared.

By tapping into the needs of your audience, you can establish and expand your own thought leadership and build an audience who will regularly tune into your livestreams.      3) Create a digital talk show

Digital talk shows exist across YouTube, Instagram, and other channels. The format should find a natural place on LinkedIn where business influencers can invite guests onto their live broadcasts.

Gregarious Narain, who built Klout, a widely used influencer product, and the current partner of FoundersCraft, revealed how he’s using LinkedIn Live to share insights. “LinkedIn surfaces our connections in the business world. LinkedIn Live has an amazing potential to bring them to life, in full fidelity. I’ve taken to lassoing in various contacts and friends, all experts in their own right, to turn raw ideas into real conversations that benefit the community as a whole. This kind of dialog is real-time and completely authentic—precisely the kinds of conversations we’re still searching for. Most importantly, LinkedIn Live is reaching precisely the audience that matters most, my professional network and their connections. It’s the only live platform helping create true B2B value, in my opinion.”

As each social media network expands its product features and shifts towards a video-first mindset, learning how to master the capabilities is extremely beneficial for those who want to expand their personal brand and thought leadership. Until the product is live for the masses, start watching broadcasts from others to determine what aspects you’d want to emulate or how you can differentiate your content. In the meantime, keep posting native LinkedIn content to build a community that will be thrilled to watch your broadcasts when you’re ready and able to go live.