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No matter what industry you are in, chances are you’ll be pretty aware of LinkedIn! LinkedIn (and even more recently, Twitter) has recently jumped on the stories bandwagon that’s been paved by other social media giants. Snapchat first created the ‘story’ back in 2013 and since then Facebook, Instagram, Youtube have all hopped on the story game!
Stories are hugely popular in the social media space, so popular in fact that over 500 million people use stories every single day on Instagram alone.
The appeal of stories, that disappear after 24 hours, is that they are more relatable and real than the polished content that appears in the Instagram grids, or the Facebook feeds. They are more ‘real-time’ updates and give the viewer a deeper and more personal experience with the social media account owner.
So why has LinkedIn launched Stories?
Are you thinking “should I be personal or professional?” or wondering if there’s any point even using them. LinkedIn are encouraging ‘members and organizations to share images and short videos of their everyday professional moments’ in their LinkedIn stories. You may be thinking but surely more professional polished content will represent your business more effectively than amateur snaps on a smartphone?
Well, think again.
At Wriggle Marketing we are the social media experts and here’s our reasons why you need to be utilising LinkedIn Stories for your business.
People like people
You know more than anyone that your business is so much more than a fancy logo or a corporate-sounding ethos. Behind your business is actual real people, and your audience do value seeing that side of your team.
Whether it’s showing off who’s made the best cake in the office or if it’s a staff member whose birthday is being spent at work, stories show off your business in a much more personal light. LinkedIn is the perfect place to build connections in this way. LinkedIn Stories builds that all important trust, and allows your customers to see just how approachable your business really is.
Market research at your fingertips
Have a great idea of a new product or service that you think people will love? If you don’t have all the market research you need yet... Why not ask your audience on stories! Encourage a conversation and get real feedback from people who care about your brand. Market research from stories is significantly cheaper than conducting surveys or focus groups and a lot quicker to gather information from.
Easily provide more value
Thought-leadership is so important on LinkedIn. Having stories on LinkedIn now delivers a whole new, more ‘snackable’ format of sharing professional advice and tips. Sit down your managing director for a company update over stories, share a bit of industry news from an industry expert in your business, or simply share a weekly team tip that your audience will find value in.
Drive more sales
25% of users ‘swipe up’ on Instagram stories. This is essentially clicking a link to wherever you decide to take them. That can result in a lot of sales that you will not have otherwise had. When this feature migrates over to LinkedIn (it’s currently in progress), this can result in more users travelling to your website, or your profile, or your direct messages.
The beauty of stories is that it’s a more casual and less intimidating way of striking up a conversation. With more users using stories, LinkedIn stories could soon become a very useful sales and lead generation tool.
Outrun your competitors
Chances are your competitors are only just finding their feet with LinkedIn Stories as they are pretty new on the scene. However, if they are big on other social media platforms, it’s likely it’ll not take them long to adapt. Businesses post an average of 2.5 stories a week on Instagram, and over a third of the most viewed stories are from brands. If you don’t keep up you’ll be left behind.
Whether you’re recruiting, launching a new product, or wanting to increase awareness of your brand, there’s no harm in experimenting with this new digital channel to reach more people in your audience!
While user adoption rates for LinkedIn Stories are growing, the number is still low enough that you can stand out from competitors and grow your organic reach!
Related Articles: https://www.wrigglemarketing.co.uk/blog/lights-camera-action-a-beginners-guide-to-video-marketing/ https://www.wrigglemarketing.co.uk/blog/is-tiktok-here-to-stay-or-is-it-just-a-fad/
https://www.wrigglemarketing.co.uk/blog/what-is-multi-channel-marketing/
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