Whether you use LinkedIn live on your own personal page or your company’s profile, it’s a feature that can have a great impact on your marketing strategy.
In fact, the platform boasts that those who live broadcast see 7 times more reactions and get 24 times more comments than just posting a regular video.
In a 2020 announcement, LinkedIn wanted to provide users with a “solution that enables you to stay connected to your communities and meet your customers wherever they are”, so it absolutely makes sense to take advantage of the platform’s live feature.
Let’s take a look into LinkedIn live in more detail…
What is LinkedIn Live?
LinkedIn Live is the platform’s live streaming feature where users create content through a third-party tool and then broadcast it to their network.
Similar to other platforms like Facebook and Instagram, LinkedIn live’s video content is viewed in real time and viewers can interact with you directly.
What’s great is that streaming live videos to your network can drive higher levels of engagement and lead to building deeper connections in a way that businesses have not been able to do before.
To begin using this feature, you will need to apply and state where you will be streaming from; personal or business page.
Once this has been approved, decide which third-party streaming tool you will use and connect this to your LinkedIn.
Then, you will be required to come up with a title and a brief description of your live – be sure to be accurate so that your viewers are aware of what to expect during the stream.
Finally, ensure your setup looks professional through camera position, lighting and audio quality.
Now you know what LinkedIn live is, let’s have a look at 5 ways you can use this feature as part of your marketing strategy.
5 Uses of LinkedIn Live for Marketing
Interview Industry Experts
If you have already built valuable connections with experts in your given industry, interviewing them in your live stream can be a very effective marketing strategy.
The reason being, is that these experts should already have a lot of influence over your target audience and the insights they will be able to share will be of value.
Moreover, they could share your live stream with their connections too, which ultimately will increase your reach overall.
Virtual Events
Given the global climate today (since the pandemic), events have been forced to be online.
By hosting your virtual event in a livestream, you can ensure you have attracted the right audience for your business as it will be shared within your professional network; as well as sending personal invites to your first degree profile connections.
Positively, those who attend will be able to engage with you in real time, rather than simply recording a video and then posting it later where it may not be viewed.
To help you further on this topic, check our 2 videos on why you should be running free events, and how to get more people to come to these events here.
Thought Leadership
One of the main reasons that businesses try to gain exposure on LinkedIn is to be positioned as an industry leader.
As such, hosting a live video allows you to discuss current affairs within your industry and share your thoughts on current trends and issues.
By doing so, you can offer solutions to these issues as well as hosting a panel for thought leaders to come together, thus sharing valuable expertise for your audience and building trust with them – they want to know that you know what you’re talking about.
And you may even find you attract a new audience which will again expand your reach for the better.
Demonstrate Knowledge
Similar to thought leadership, live streaming on LinkedIn gives you the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge.
Rather than pre-recording a video which can be edited, during a live stream there is no room for mistakes – all eyes are on you!
So, by speaking about industry specifics in real time, you can show your audience that you have the knowledge to share actionable tips to help people achieve specific goals.
Announce News
Lastly, LinkedIn live is a great way to announce any news you may have.
For instance, you could share a new product or service, or announce new team members that have recently joined your business.
As a result, you will be able to educate your audience more about your business, its culture and the solutions you can provide so that they can make an informed decision if to do business with you or not.
In the case of announcing a new product or service, doing it in real time means you can get direct feedback from your audience, answer questions as well as conduct a live demonstration.
The Final Word
There you have it – LinkedIn live is without a doubt an effective marketing strategy for you to position yourself as an industry leader and build trust with new and existing audiences.
After all, building trust is key if you want to generate quality leads and secure more business.
On the topic of leads, here’s how you can convert more of them into sales:
In the meantime check our LinkedIn Management services.