Earlier this summer, professional social network LinkedIn made headlines with the addition of a new feature previously reserved for personal social networks such as Snapchat and Instagram. This is the story’s feature.
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“STORIES” APPLIED TO THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD
With this update, stories enter the professional world and open up new opportunities for LinkedIn to make the content on the platform more interactive.
This is indeed the main idea behind this update: to allow the sharing of more instant and lively content, in order to further humanize the platform. LinkedIn stories have the attention of many professionals right now and can help you send a message that sets you apart from your competition. We take stock of the best practices to have, as a Freelancer , on LinkedIn stories . For a freelancer, this is a golden opportunity to create a relationship with his clients, even remotely !
HOW DO LINKEDIN STORIES WORK?
Let’s start with the basics. LinkedIn Stories are only available on the mobile app, not yet on desktop. These appear at the top of the home screen, in the usual form of a round dot in the colors of your profile picture. Their operation is identical to usual uses, to encourage their use. It is therefore possible to post photos and videos – with a maximum duration of 20 seconds in the case of videos. To this can be added text and GIFs to enhance the photo or video. You can also :
- Mention accounts and pages to increase your interactions
- To ask questions.
Each story is then visible for 24 hours and “tiles” with each other for the time of their broadcast, as on other social networks offering the same type of service.
An indication at the bottom left of the screen indicates the audience who will be able to see your stories. By default, this will be your entire network. You can change this privacy setting in the settings and choose the visibility settings for your stories that best suit your potential audience.
STORIES, YES, BUT WE ARE ON A PROFESSIONAL NETWORK
If this new functionality aims to make the network more human, trendy and attractive for young people, it should not deprive you of the fact that this network remains a professional network. The first rule is therefore to keep comments related to the professional field. Exit political opinions, jokes and other funny images. Only post about your professional life.
Attention, you can obviously be funny and it is even encouraged to attract attention. You just have to be careful not to go too far. A simple little rule can be to ask yourself if you would do the same with your colleagues in front of you or not. In general, if this seems limited to you, it is because it is.
BEST PRACTICES FOR USING LINKEDIN STORIES
First, don’t get sucked into functionality. The important thing will always be your social positioning and the image you want to radiate through your personal branding. First think about your target audience and the type of content that would interest them.
That said, LinkedIn stories are still little used and this is therefore a golden opportunity to stand out:
- Use successions of original stories to capture attention
- Post at different times and see which times work best
- Take advantage of all the feature options (questions, GIFs, text)
- Mention the people you hang out with, or those whose attention you catch
- Research and apply the basic rules of shooting so that your photos and videos are of high quality.
STORY IDEAS TO GAIN VISIBILITY
LinkedIn stories are an opportunity to create a discussion that showcases your skills and shows what it’s like to collaborate with you. Many topics are relevant for this network, here are some inspirations:
- Announcement of new articles on your blog, new collaborations, new achievements, etc.
- Presentation of your process, the backstage of your activity to humanize your relations
- Live coverage of events where you speak or participate
- Sharing news, opinions, advice, quotes
- Facilitation of masterclasses or question-and-answer sessions to bring your community to life
- Etc.
Let your creativity flow. LinkedIn stories are a great way to stand out, so be sure to ask yourself the following question with every post: What does this story say about my qualities, accomplishments, and skills?
Also Read: When Do We Use Social Media As A Communication Tool?
