There’s no doubt Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories have a valid place in the finance content marketing mix given more than 500 million people watch each platform every day.
Now there’s a new competitor for financial marketers to consider in the mix: LinkedIn Stories, which launched in Australia on 18 June 2020, following launches in Brazil, France, the Netherlands, and the UAE.
What does LinkedIn Stories do?
Just like Facebook and Instagram stories, LinkedIn Stories lets you post videos up to 20 seconds long which remain on your profile for 24 hours before disappearing. You can add photos, videos, stickers, and text.
LinkedIn Stories: a product of COVID-19?
We can’t say for sure that LinkedIn Stories wasn’t in the pipeline pre-COVID-19, but we do know that engagement with LinkedIn has been skyrocketing.
“We’ve seen engagement on our platform spike, not just over the last three or four months, but over the last 12,” Matt Tindale, manager, LinkedIn Australia, told Mumbrella Pro. In the second quarter of 2020, LinkedIn’s revenue grew by 24%.
As LinkedIn’s popularity has grown, the ways in which it engages with its users have expanded. Initially, a platform on which to show off your CV and make connections, LinkedIn then transformed into a reliable source of professional content, and more recently, a place for social interaction—intensified by the massive number of people working remotely, due to COVID-19.
LinkedIn’s content now receives 15 times more attention than its job ads do, and in the past year, overall content creation has grown 60%. Meanwhile, conversations between connections have increased by 55% since March 2019, and the use of LinkedIn Learning has exploded, with four million hours watched in March 2020.
“We saw 350 billion feed views last year; video has increased significantly; LinkedIn Live has seen demand increase,” said Tindale.
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LinkedIn Stories: same, same but different
On the surface, LinkedIn Stories offers finance content marketers advantages similar to those offered by its competitors. It’s fun, fast, interactive, compelling, and immersive.
Unlike its competitors, LinkedIn Stories focuses on professional matters—which means it’s ideal for finance content marketing.
Unlike its competitors, LinkedIn Stories, like all things LinkedIn, focuses on professional matters—which means it’s ideal for finance content marketing, setting a tone that’s reliable and trustworthy, yet relaxed and personal.
LinkedIn Stories: strategies for financial marketers
Given the newness of LinkedIn Stories, it’s an opportunity for savvy finance content marketers to jump in early and grab all the attention.
But, be strategic. You might approach a trending topic, but with an unusual perspective or eye-catching edge. For example, engagement with LinkedIn articles on working remotely has grown by 52%, while publication of articles on the topic has increased by 391%; how can you leverage that interest without disappearing into the crowd?
One technique is to go behind-the-scenes. With face-to-face interaction off the table for so many months, there’s a real hunger for authentic content. “Interesting content will drive usage, showcasing real-life stories and behind the scenes updates,” Steven Ghoos, managing director, Lion & Lion Singapore and Hong Kong, told marketing-interactive.com.
At the same time, don’t forget that LinkedIn first and foremost is a space for professional connections. It’s important to strike the right balance between being relaxed and personal, yet informative and insightful—and remembering that you’re telling a story, rather than running an ad or giving a company update.
Ready to become an early adopter of LinkedIn Stories in Australia? Need a hand getting the tone right? Get in touch.
