With close to 600 million users worldwide, LinkedIn is a giant in the social media sphere. Its interactive platform targets professionals who wish to share industry insights and tout their companies’ accolades. It’s a place where people can network by sharing notable quotes from the world’s biggest and brightest business leaders, advertise upcoming conferences, and post jobs to attract prospective employees.
What LinkedIn doesn’t do—at least not until now—is offer live video.
The other social giants—Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook—have been enjoying the benefits of live videos for a long time now. In fact, in 2016, the live-video market was already raking in around $30 billion. By 2021, it’s expected to more than double, with projections estimating more than $70 billion.
Sure, LinkedIn may be a little late to the game, but that’s not always a bad thing. In fact, because LinkedIn has been slower to roll out its live video product, it’s been afforded the ability to learn from the mistakes of those that came before it. And let’s not forget that LinkedIn’s target audience is specifically different from those of other social channels; it’s built around businesses, branding, professional networking, and all things work-related. And it’s ready to hold its nose and dive deep into the live video world in 2019.
Just as social media users employ video to take live shots of the things that are most important to them, LinkedIn Live’s features will be set up to do the same, but from a professional point of view. The company expects the live features to be used for things like:
In other words, the intent is to replace cumbersome webinars with a mobile-friendly interface that can get video up and running, no matter where the important events are occurring. Companies that want to tout their internal cultures will likely utilize LinkedIn live as a way to reach out to prospective candidates to show them what it’s like inside their offices. Hiring managers may even begin conducting initial interviews using the LinkedIn video interface.
Companies will have the ability to choose who’s seeing the feeds they’re hosting. Company-exclusive options and other types of private events will be easy for organizers to access. Alternatively, some live LinkedIn video will be sent to all of a company’s followers as a means of boosting brand engagement.
At this point, it’s unsure just who will be able to use LinkedIn Live. Currently, it’s in an invitation-only beta stage. Soon, the company will open the application process to everyone, but only those who are approved through the application process will be able to move forward. For the time being, that might just mean big brands and top influencers.
People want to know their favorite brands on a personal level. They want to know who they’ll be talking to in interviews, what their co-workers in another country look like, and how the business operates on a daily basis. LinkedIn’s live video will enable audience members to look companies in the eye and gain a greater understanding of their vision, ask questions, and interact with their favorite brands in brand-new ways. This is a tool that’s built for all audiences—both internally and externally.
At Zero Gravity Marketing, we’re excited to see how LinkedIn’s new live video will change the way professionals interact with the platform.
There are tons of technological changes targeted at professionals coming down the pipeline this year. Stay up-to-date by checking out our blog or following us on LinkedIn!