5 tips on how to use LinkedIn stories for your business

You probably already use Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to show off a bit of the “behind the scenes” of your company, but what about LinkedIn?

Stories, also known as content that disappears after 24 hours, have been everywhere on social media for some time now. Now, even LinkedIn has joined the craze and launched their own version, stories are currently only available in the LinkedIn app. Stories offer a relaxed, unpretentious way to share updates without it having to be perfect or attached to your profile forever.

”We started asking ourselves what stories might look like in a professional context,” says Pete Davies, Senior Director of Product Management at LinkedIn. He explains why having a lightweight and fun way to share an update has as much of a place on LinkedIn as it does anywhere else.

”I’d hope that most of my interactions in the break room or passing people in the hall are similarly ephemeral and light. The same holds true for cubicle and coffee shop banter around the world: sometimes we want a way to just make a connection, have a laugh with our colleagues and move on,” says Pete Davies.

Stories are usually more “off the cuff”, and therefore resonate with viewers in a more authentic way, and that approach can be a major brand-builder. According to Facebook 62% of people have indicated that they become more interested in a product or brand after seeing it featured in a story.

So, how do you start embedding it in your marketing to build meaningful relationships with your professional community? Here are five tips on what to post on your brand’s LinkedIn stories:

1. Give professional tips in a fun way
There is no place like LinkedIn to build meaningful professional relationships and promote good leadership. LinkedIn posts might not leave that much room for creativity, but LinkedIn stories are a great way to start lightweight conversations related to work- life.

For example, you could share a unique perspective from your own workday or one of your employees' workday, host a take-over, share social media tips, walk through a product demo or teach your followers a skill.

Check out our case study about how one of our clients, the Norweigan fashion brand Bik Bok, uses employee generated content (EGC) here.

2. Go behind the scenes
Everyone likes to look behind the curtains. Welcome your community to see what happens beyond the feed post and document your everyday activity.

This also allows people to see that you are more than a brand; showing a more human side of the company creates greater trust. Snapshots of your team prepping for a big event, a tour of the office, sneak peeks of upcoming announcements etc. are all great great ways to showcase what’s going on at your company.

3. Share your customers' stories and testimonials
Sharing your customers’ stories gives your audience the social proof needed to consider your brand for business, and stories are a great way to package snippets of your customer case studies.

When you plan to publish a case study on LinkedIn, don’t forget to follow it up with a story on LinkedIn, tagging the featured customer for more reach and clicks.

4. Share brand news and product updates
Moving to a new office? Releasing a new feature? Share that news as a story! Sharing brand updates and product announcements is a great way to keep your audience constantly engaged and top-of-mind.

5. Share your achievements
Big or small, share your achievements with your network and be proud of them! When you share your achievements, you’re automatically portrayed as a brand that’s good at what they do.

Stories are also a great way to start a conversation. Share a story that you have seen with someone in your network or find value in watching stories from others in your professional community.

While the principal functionality of stories remains the same across different platforms, the usage and strategy varies. Marketers should reconsider their LinkedIn strategy and give stories more amount of significance to reach more of their audience.

So, what are you waiting for? Post a story today!

Interested in EGC or UGC? Let us help you! Click here to get in touch with Flowbox.

More information:
Olivia Carloni, Marketing Intern, Flowbox
olivia.carloni@getflowbox.com