LinkedIn have decided to stop using their stories feature
LinkedIn has been around for a long time and gained a lot of popularity.
It’s an excellent platform to connect with people who work in the same industry as you do, but also to connect with potential employers and future employees.
As it turns out, LinkedIn is not only useful when you are looking for new jobs – your current employer might be happy about it too! The company can use this tool to reach out to their employees so they stay up to date on news from the company etc., while at the same time using LinkedIn as a social network where they can post personal announcements.
One of the features to do so, is the use of LinkedIn stories; or at least, it was. LinkedIn have decided to discontinue this feature because it wasn’t used enough.
The stories function, which LinkedIn introduced to compete with Instagram and Snapchat, has been one of the things that haven’t been utilized enough in recent months.
In the near future, you will no longer see stories on LinkedIn and you cannot post new stories anymore. The existing posts will be removed from your feed without any option to restore those in case you want to take screenshots or download them as an image first.
Why LinkedIn decided to stop using this feature
LinkedIn also announced that they are planning a major overhaul of how members can showcase their expertise on the platform, which is one of (if not the) most important aspects of LinkedIn nowadays where professionals seek out each other and look for good opportunities based on their expertise.
LinkedIn stories were a short form video format, which could be found at the top of the LinkedIn app, and allows users to post small videos to the platform.
“The Stories feature was introduced with the understanding that today’s professionals are looking for different ways to express themselves online,” says LinkedIn in a statement. “We learned a lot from this experiment, and we’re taking these insights to continue creating great social media experiences that improve life at work.”
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6450015887375972288
This is why LinkedIn now has decided to stop using their stories feature and focus on other aspects of the network that will help them grow by making it more functional, pleasant and professional.
Why this does not come as a surprise
To me personally this doesn’t come as a very big surprise. LinkedIn isn’t the same platform as Instagram. The content there is more curated. It is longer, and usually more staged on Instagram, it is a lot more spontaneous and the interaction between the influencers themselves and their users is far more interactive than it is on LinkedIn.
We should also keep in mind that LinkedIn is used differently than Snapchat or Instagram. The business network is primarily utilized at work, or on our way to work, and the type of content that performs well is often very intelligent. And more often, it’s longer.
I personally think that LinkedIn lacks the content creators to take the stories feature to the next level
There aren’t enough experts and content creators who enjoy creating spontaneous and interactive material for the platform. Professional updates are not things that you do on a daily basis. And, as opposed to Instagram this makes a big difference.
How LinkedIn stories could have been used
The stories feature would have been perfect for short interviews and discussion topics, but it hasn’t been used that way much. Furthermore, I also think that the platform could have benefited from more. How do I say this well, support and examples on how to use the stories feature for LinkedIn.
Last but not least, I think it’s a big missed opportunity for content creators and professionals, in general, who haven’t used the feature stories would have opened up the possibility for more personal, and quick and responsive content on the platform. And next to that, showing us a less polished version of our professional selves.
We shouldn’t forget that stories were the absolute prime real estate on any app or websites because it’s right at the top of the page, and only a few people used it. So I think that this is one of the biggest missed opportunities for any content creator or business manager out there.
At the same time, it will also make LinkedIn more static again and promoted. Current status as a business search engine, more than anything else. Keyword stuffing and long term SEO content will remain at the top of the list of what works well on LinkedIn. And I personally think that is a pity.
Learn to embrace new features
Social media platforms continue to copy each other. LinkedIn though has not announced any clear plans yet, but they did mention that they will focus on video to show off expertise and knowledge a lot more in the future. We will see upcoming changes at LinkedIn very soon.
The only thing we know, is that video is here to stay. But stories, will have to take a pause for now. Maybe we will see them back on the platform in a few months/years, once more.
