LinkedIn Is Testing A New Stories Format Called ‘LinkedIn Stories’

LinkedIn is looking to get in on the Stories action and join the likes of Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and many others.

In a recent blog post, Pete Davies, the head of content products at LinkedIn, announced that the company is currently testing a new Stories format internally called LinkedIn Stories.

The testing comes as a result of the Microsoft-owned platform looking to provide users with “every format and feedback opportunity they need to make” conversations on the platform as productive as possible. Over the last few years, this approach has led to the launch of new features like Newsletters, Live Video, Trending News, and Reactions.

In the post, Davies shared how he thinks a Stories format could work for LinkedIn, stating the following:

“We’ve learned so much already about the unique possibilities of Stories in a professional context. For example, the sequencing of the Stories format is great for sharing key moments from work events, the full-screen narrative style makes it easy to share tips and tricks that help us work smarter, and the way Stories opens up new messaging threads makes it easier for someone to say, “and by the way… I noticed you know Linda, could you introduce me?” 

He also noted how most people are comfortable with the Stories format:

“We’ve also found there’s an entire generation growing up with Stories as a way of speaking; they’re more comfortable starting conversations with a full-screen ephemeral format than posting updates and prefer sharing content that lives as a moment in time rather than as an item in a feed.”

This actually isn’t the first time that LinkedIn has tried out a Stories feature. Back in 2018, it started testing Student Voices, a Stories feature for college students as a way to help them build their personal and get in front of recruiters by sharing their academic experiences, career fairs and class projects through the content format.

Insights & Analysis:

I’ve shared this plenty of times before, but I love the Stories format and think that all platforms should have some type of Stories feature considering the popularity of the content format.

With the professional setting that LinkedIn is, an official rollout of LinkedIn Stories would almost certainly change that due to the nature of content that is typically shared via Stories being casual, fun, and lighthearted. This would likely lead to users sharing content that they typically wouldn’t share in a LinkedIn post or article, but that could be a good or bad thing, depending on who you ask. 

As we’ve seen with Instagram and other social media platforms who have the feature, Stories on LinkedIn has the potential to bring people closer or at least make them feel that way and with LinkedIn’s main focus being building connections and networking, that aligns well.

I could also see Linkedin Stories being beneficial to thought leaders (i.e. a Gary Vaynerchuk) or anyone on the platform that typically share their opinions and insights in their respective industry space. Stories give them another format to share even more of expertise.

Not to mention, there is a rising trend of short-form video. Since a lot of Stories content tends to be video, LinkedIn potentially would be able to take advantage of that trend without having to roll out a fully dedicated short-form video feature. 

All in all, I think it’s great that LinkedIn is experimenting with Stories. Whether it’s a success or not, it’s good to see platforms continue to experiment and test new features.

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SOURCE: LinkedIn