LinkedIn launched its own live streaming service, LinkedIn Live, in February of 2019. Since then, the platform has been operating in beta testing mode: Access was granted to a number of individuals and organizations who’ve submitted applications. Epiphan Video has been lucky enough to join this beta program, and we’ve been streaming our weekly live show to LinkedIn for about a month now.
We caught up with Christina Minshull, the Client Solutions Manager for Enterprise Tech Partnerships at LinkedIn, to ask her some burning questions about the live streaming platform for professionals.
Why live stream on LinkedIn?
As a platform, LinkedIn is focused on content and conversation. The company want to give its members an opportunity to share what they want and need, help others, and take help. In order to achieve that, LinkedIn launched its native video platform about 2 years ago. Since then, the number one feedback has been “give us live video!” LinkedIn listened to its audience and launched LinkedIn Live back in February 2019.
What makes LinkedIn Live different from other platforms is the professional context. LinkedIn was able to cultivate a very trustworthy environment on their platform, which is something the organization is very proud of. It caters to the professional audience, which implies a very different mindset compared to other social media platforms. Since all posted content is linked back to the professional ID, people are very cognizant of what they put out and how they present themselves. This has the potential of making the content presented on LinkedIn Live more credible and more valuable to the audience.
This also affects the quality of the conversation. The incoming viewers are not anonymous. Instead, they are professionals who bear responsibility for their words and their engagement. They have come to the platform because of genuine interest and to join the conversation. This means that for businesses, LinkedIn Live has the potential of becoming a very powerful marketing tool.
What kind of live content in LinkedIn looking for?
LinkedIn Live is still accepting applications to be a part of beta-stage testing. All interested members and organizations can apply.
The members and organizations most likely to be approved are those are excited to go live regularly with interactive and timely content. The goal is to gather a very diverse group of individuals and organizations to provide their expertise in the LinkedIn Live experience as well as to show different work cultures.
Streams around events, cultural moments, major announcements, breaking news and interactive formats like Q&As or AMAs are all great ways to connect with an audience and build a brand.
“Our mission at LinkedIn is to make professionals more productive and successful,” says Christina Minshull, “and we are looking for quality live content that is also aimed at that.”
3 tips from Christina on live streaming
Good Internet
Be sure to run a speed test before going live. Ideally, you want to have at least 10 Mbps of upload bandwidth.
Promote before and after
Think about your marketing strategy prior to and after going live. Be sure to announce when you will be going live to your followers. You can then use the VOD version as marketing collateral.
Have a moderator
Live shows can get hectic, so having an assistant look at comments and make sure the show runs smoothly is always a good idea.
Going live on LinkedIn Live
The platform is leveraging third party broadcast tools that enable users to go live. Currently, these tools are: Wirecast, Switcher Studio (iOS mobile only), Socialive, Restream.io, and Wowza. For example, for our live broadcast we sent our program output from Pearl-2 to Wirecast, which then streamed directly to our LinkedIn page.
Currently, you can stream for up to 4 hours on LinkedIn Live. After the live stream is over, it becomes a native video on LinkedIn. From there, you can socialize the link in follow up materials or promotions. Direct sponsorship of the content remains unavailable in the beta. Analytical information such as number of views, watch time, and unique demographics including the Companies, Roles and Locations of viewers is available.
In conclusion
We are very excited to be a part of the LinkedIn Live beta program. Be sure to follow the LinkedIn Marketing Solutions Blog for more information on the product’s roll-out. And be sure to watch our Live @ Epiphan episode with Christina Minshull.
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