LinkedIn Stories available in the Netherlands

May 14, 2020

|

Reading Time 3 minutes

By Shannah de Ruijter

After the stories feature on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and WhatsApp, LinkedIn could not be left behind. Since May 13, LinkedIn has started testing the stories feature. The Netherlands is the first country in Europe to try out this feature. What exactly does the LinkedIn Stories feature entail?

LinkedIn Stories work the same as stories in other social media channels. You place images in your story, which is then visible for 24 hours as a highlighted circle at the top of the news feed and your account. As long as your story is visible, you can see exactly who viewed it and how many times. The story is automatically removed by the platform after 24 hours.

The Benefits of LinkedIn Stories:

• According to LinkedIn, this feature adds a personal touch to your professional LinkedIn page;
• It offers a creative and informal way to give your network a behind-the-scenes look at your day-to-day operations. This can provide inspiration to other entrepreneurs;
• It's a new way to grow your community. You can actively connect, maintain relationships and share content.

The difference between the LinkedIn stories and the stories of other social media channels is that LinkedIn is focused on the business side, that is, on the B2B market. The other social media channels focus mainly on the B2C market. 

What can you share in your LinkedIn Story?

As you may understand, LinkedIn stories are not for videos and photos of informal private activities. Think: cooking or shopping. You share this on the other (B2C) social media channels. LinkedIn has shared some tips to get more insight into what content you can share in your story: 

• Photos and videos of your current (work) projects;
• How does your home business work;
• Learnings you obtained from a book, podcast, interview, webinar, etc;
• On-the-scene reporting;
• Behind the scenes, such as video meetings with colleagues;
• Breaking (business) news;
• Tips, for example, on how to use online marketing in times of crisis;
• Creative projects you get involved in outside of work.
• Do you have a business Instagram profile? Then you probably share posts here that are also suitable for your LinkedIn Stories. 

How do LinkedIn Stories work?

How LinkedIn Stories work is not much different from stories in other social media channels. It just doesn't look exactly the same. 

At the top left of the screen is a circle with a plus sign in it. 

When you click on the plus sign, the Stories camera comes into view:

• At the bottom of the screen you will find the round button to take photos or videos;
• For a photo, click once;
• For a video, hold down this button. A video in your LinkedIn story can last up to 20 seconds;
• To the left of the round button is the photo folder, through here you can add existing photos;
• LinkedIn Stories also features the familiar stickers you can add to your content;
• You can also tag colleagues and/or other connections in your story. 

When you have finished customizing your LinkedIn story, you can share it. You do this by clicking the "share your Story" button.

All your connections and followers can now view your story for 24 hours.(Note! This only applies to your Dutch connections and followers, as this feature is not yet available in other European countries). It is also possible to share your story with someone via private message. The interesting thing about the stories feature is that only first-degree connections can respond to your story. After posting your story, you can track the statistics of your story via Story Analytics.

The Do's and Dont's of LinkedIn

LinkedIn provides some Do's and Dont's for LinkedIn Stories:

Do's:

• Make sure the content you post is relevant and has a professional context;
• Be sure to create content that is constructive and educational;
• Provide interaction by actively asking questions to your network about the latest (professional) news and current topics.

Dont's:

• Do not post overly informal personal and private moments;
• Don't post content that could negatively impact your career;
• Share excessive information about your products and services.

According to LinkedIn, now is precisely the time to make great use of LinkedIn Stories. This way you can stay connected despite the Corona crisis and working remotely. In fact, LinkedIn is seeing a 20% growth in conversations between colleagues and a growth of three times more engagement on posts than before. 40% of LinkedIn members say they now read the news more often and 30% say they check their social media more often. 

Want to learn more or have questions about LinkedIn Stories?

If so, please contact with us!