Linkedin launches Stories feature in bid to lure in brands
Linkedin has become the latest social media platform to roll out a Stories feature as it looks to bolster its offering for brands.
The professional networking site has rolled out a new function that will allow users to publish photos and videos up to 20 seconds long using the mobile app.
The company said the posts, which will only be available for 24 hours, will allow brands a new way to engage with customers.
The worldwide rollout, which follows a successful US launch last month, marks Linkedin’s efforts to cash in on increasing demand for video content – the fastest growing format on its site.
The move follows similar Stories functions already available on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
Tom Pepper, Linkedin’s head of marketing solutions for the UK, Ireland and Israel, described the new tool as a “short-form, light-touch way of communicating”.
“Linkedin Stories offers an authentic way for brands to share daily news and highlights with their audience, which is particularly important at a time when many of us are still working remotely,” he wrote in a blog post.
“A Stories post can be more visual and dynamic – a fantastic tool in helping brands to stay relevant and connected – as well as a good way for marketing teams to trial new creative forms of communications, or give a glimpse ‘behind the scenes’ to where the magic happens.”
In September fashion houses including Christian Dior Couture made use of the new function to post behind-the-scenes shots from Paris Fashion Week.
Other brand uses cited by Linkedin include announcing competition winners, showing the ‘making of’ new products and hosting Q&As for audiences.