LinkedIn Live: the ultimate guide for digital marketing pros

(version française LinkedIn Live : le guide ultime pour les pros du marketing digital)

LinkedIn is finally opening the doors to streaming video more widely... But why and how do you create a LinkedIn Live video? Learn the best practices and tips in this comprehensive guide, based on questions from digital marketing pros.

At the end of April 2021, after a short year of waiting, I was finally granted access to the LinkedIn Live feature. Since then, I regularly use these live videos to discuss digital marketing and social networks with experts in their respective fields (TikTok, social ads, Twitch, podcasts, micro-videos...). These exchanges are followed and commented by a part of my network, live... and then replayed, LinkedIn Live videos being automatically transformed into classic LinkedIn publications.

Initially reserved for a few "happy few" based on criteria that could not be more vague, the LinkedIn Live feature is increasingly accessible, for a few weeks, to those who have requested it ... or not. In particular, the administrators of pages.

This second wave of "license to stream" has increased the number of questions from my colleagues in digital marketing. So much so that I decided to gather them... to answer them in this guide.

What is a LinkedIn Live video?

Launched gradually since 2019, the "LinkedIn Live" feature allows you to broadcast, from an authorized account, a live video stream on the professional social network with nearly 800 million members. And this, on a personal profile, a company, brand or institution page... And, since a few weeks, in a LinkedIn event as well.

Another peculiarity: unlike Live videos on Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., it is impossible to broadcast LinkedIn Live videos from the platform itself. The broadcast must go through a third-party tool (read below) before being posted on LinkedIn.

For the moment, organizing a Live is not monetizable. Entry is free for everyone. But, if you broadcast a live in an event of a LinkedIn page, it is possible to be "paid" in personal data, since LinkedIn proposes to add a registration form with up to 6 fields (including to access the "replay"). The export of the data of people who have clicked on "attend" can be done at any time. And synchronization with a CRM is also possible, via Zapier.

LinkedIn Live: what are the benefits?

The Microsoft subsidiary still claims that live videos generate on average 7x more reactions and 24x more comments than native videos, even though these figures date back to more than a year ago, when the novelty effect, in the midst of containment, was probably particularly engagement-generating.

Also, again according to LinkedIn, events that use a live video stream generate twice as much engagement as events without video...

Beyond these engagement statistics, which are impossible to verify anyway, the LinkedIn Live feature has some serious advantages. In particular, it allows, in an extremely favorable professional context, to :

• Create a proximity with its audience ("authentic" branding)
• Interact with your targets around more or less relevant content
• Demonstrate your expertise
• Promote job offers and, in doing so, work on the employer brand, by humanizing it
• Recruit new followers
• Boost traffic to website
• Present its latest partnerships, products and services
• Try to sell
• Tease certain parts of virtual or IRL events
• Record a video in live conditions
• ...

What are the different types of LinkedIn Live videos?

In concrete terms, how can marketers take advantage of LinkedIn Live and integrate it into their strategies?

It will obviously depend on their targets and the strategy of their (personal) brand, company or institution. Because ideally, before clicking on "Go Live", yes, three times yes, it is better to start by defining your targets, your editorial line, your publication rhythm, your goals...

Once determined, it is time to select one or the other relevant Live format, among which :

• Behind the scenes of a key moment
• Guided Q&A
• "Ask me anything" (AMA)
• Interviews
• Case studies
• Breaking news with commentary
• Demo/presentation of products, services, employees
• Keynote on a trend, a tool, etc.
• Different angles of an issue
• Part of an IRL event
• ...

Technically, a Live can last up to 4 hours. Technically...

LinkedIn recommends a duration of "more than 15 minutes" and I recommend "maximum 1 hour". This flexibility should allow you to adapt to the availability of your targets, the content format chosen and the expected level of interactivity.

But let's be clear: on LinkedIn as on other social media, more than the format of the Live, it's the content and the interaction it generates thanks to a conversational tone that make the difference. Even if this added value inevitably requires a precise and sexy title (what "promise" are you making to which targets?), an honest but catchy description, dense in keywords, a solid sequencing/summary and a final call to action.

More than the format of the Live, it is the content and the interaction/conversation it generates that makes the difference.

I imagine the timing and pace of Live is also important. But I haven't yet found any studies that would allow me to objectify my findings: lunchtime and a weekly rhythm seem to me the most promising.

How to access the LinkedIn Live feature?

Contrary to what I've sometimes read or heard, the LinkedIn Live feature is absolutely not reserved for Premium subscribers of the platform. Nor to LinkedIn "Influencers". It is simply not (yet?) accessible to everyone, even if LinkedIn is opening the doors more widely.

To be more precise: LinkedIn Live is accessible to all profiles and pages that respect the (common sense) rules of the platform (minimum audience, passive publications, profile settings, respect of the TOS ...) and that have had their request for access validated!

>>> Click here to request access to LinkedIn Live <<<

The rules are identical for profiles and pages. But be careful, the administrators of pages that have been granted access to LinkedIn Live are not allowed to broadcast content from their personal profile. And vice-versa: if you have obtained the precious sesame for your profile, you will have to reapply for the page(s) you manage.

On the other hand, from now on, if a page administrator has got the precious sesame, all the others having a role of super admin or content admin are also entitled to it (for the same page).

In all cases, patience and perseverance are required.

In all cases, patience and perseverance are required. LinkedIn claims to respond to requests, where possible, within "approximately three to four business days". In reality, it's best to insist and follow up with customer service. Or, even better:

• either you go through the "automatic" validation that LinkedIn allows if you go through one of its privileged technical partners (see the next section)
• create an event on LinkedIn to generate an automatic verification
• or you switch your profile to creator mode, to automatically access it... at the latest in the next few months (check in real time).

Which third-party video platform to choose?

Technically, broadcasting live on LinkedIn requires one of the "preferred" third-party platforms (Restream, Socialive, Streamyard, Switcher Studio and Vimeo). Or at least through a broadcasting tool simply "certified" by LinkedIn (see slides).

Which solution to choose? Honestly, having tested several, they are quite similar. In addition to being quite easy to use, especially when it comes to injecting the streaming key provided by LinkedIn to authenticate and synchronize the two tools. Or when you title and describe the live, which will generate a LinkedIn status.

Then, it's simple and, again, quite intuitive. These platforms allow you to manage the broadcast as if you were in a small TV control room, with countdown, screen sharing, transitions, effects, background, adding an introduction, subtitles...

In addition, most of these tools allow you to simultaneously broadcast on other social networks, even in "freemium" mode, to record and download the video right after the live broadcast, to recycle it.

For the more "techy" profiles or those willing to dive into LinkedIn's technical doc, it is also possible to establish a direct connection to an encoder or streaming software, relying on LinkedIn's custom broadcast tool (RTMP or RMTPS). This makes it possible to use OBS, Elemental, Xsplit, Zoom, Webex... Or your own workflow for streaming.

In the latter case, you won't be surprised by the maximum specs of LinkedIn.

There are two ways to launch the Live:

• If the destination of your Live is a personal profile, you can only trigger it spontaneously from the third-party platform you have chosen.
• If the destination is a page or an event, you can schedule it in advance, thanks to the LinkedIn tool or via Restream, Socialive, Switcher or Streamyard (not possible via Vimeo).

What hardware should I use for a LinkedIn Live?

Whatever the third-party platform used, a good computer with a webcam is enough, a priori. Or a mid/high-end smartphone. Or both, to broadcast from one terminal and check the stream and interactions through the other.

But the critical point is elsewhere. Without a stable internet connection of at least 3 Mbps upstream (test your connection), you risk being slow. And disappoint your audience if the sound, in particular, is of poor quality.

Beyond the purely practical aspects (and don't forget your glass of water), before launching a Live:

• the importance of lighting (favour natural light)
• the reasonable distance from the camera (max. 1 meter)
• the stability of the image (use a tripod if necessary)
• the quality of the image (the rear camera of your smartphone is better than the "selfie" camera)
• the clean and professional background, possibly "branded
• ...

Live videos: what are LinkedIn's tips?

Without making them mandatory, LinkedIn has also issued some "important recommendations," which can be found in the confirmation email and in the help center: 

• Avoid selling or promotional streams.
• Do not use pre-recorded content. All streams should be live and happening in real time, or you may confuse members and potentially betray their trust.
• Live stream for at least 15 min. Shorter streams won’t give enough time to build an audience base and encourage interactions. You can share shorter videos from your homepage.
• Avoid talking about how to use LinkedIn on LinkedIn. No meta streams.
• Avoid sponsor logos that dominate the video. If you must use sponsor graphics, keep them small.
• Don’t keep your audience waiting for more than one or two minutes with long “starting soon” screens.
• Keep your content professional. All live content is publicly visible and should be appropriate for a LinkedIn audience.

How to promote your LinkedIn Live video?

Don't dream! Starting a Live video will not automatically attract the millions of viewers you deserve. LinkedIn only sends a Live notification to a small portion of the followers of the profile or page that started it. In what proportion and based on what criteria? Mystery...

In short, it's up to you to do the work, starting 2 to 4 weeks in advance if possible. But don't panic... The promotion of your Live can be done like any other type of content, inside and outside of LinkedIn. You can specify the broadcast link. By mentioning the speakers. And by using relevant hashtags.

The only difference with the promotion of other content (but what a difference!) is the possibility, in a live event at least, to invite up to 1,000 first-level contacts.

This 1,000 invitations to the event is a global figure, to be shared with the speakers and, why not, by asking the participants. Via a comment or via a classic profile or page publication that encourages them to invite their potentially interested relations in turn.

These invitations to attend an event are all the more effective (about 30% acceptance rate, from experience) as LinkedIn then notifies the people who have reacted positively.

While it is finally possible to save an event directly in your calendar, reminder notifications are sent 7 days, 3 days and 15 minutes before the start of the broadcast.

Still on the promotional side, don't forget to "sell" the replay. LinkedIn publishes it automatically, in the seconds following the end of the Live. But you should ideally rewrite the status that accompanies the video (three small dots at the top right of the status and then "edit") to boost consumption of the replay.

This is also when you can retrieve the URL of the video and the recording, in the third-party tool, to recycle your long-form content...

How to analyze the results of a LinkedIn Live video?

Measuring the results of your LinkedIn Live videos in the light of your numerical objectives allows you to progress.

For profiles and pages, live video statistics are accessible like those of other publications. So in the "activities" section for profiles and in the main menu for pages (Admin access > Analytics > Updates).

But they are richer. By clicking on the number of views (min. 3 seconds), you have access to:

• volumes of public interactions (reactions, comments, shares)
• visibility stats (viewing time, total number of views and visitors, number of live visitors during peak activity)
• live audience evolution (retention curve)
• demographic insights

Finally, for broadcasts in LinkedIn events, a "Analytics" tab has just appeared. It is very similar to the one that allows pages to analyze their subscribers. It lists the number of registered participants and visits to the event page, as well as their evolution. And demographic characteristics of these two audiences (function, location, seniority, sector and company).

That's it, this LinkedIn Live marketing guide ends here. I hope it has met your expectations. If so, don't hesitate to comment, talk about it around you... and to stream!

Xavier Degraux

>>> ATTEND MY NEXT LIVE (IN ENGLISH), with Lynnaire Johnston and Michelle J Raymond, about the LinkedIn Company Pages (they just published a great book about it !)