The idea for a series of monthly LinkedIn live stream video events which would go on to be called the B2B Comms Breakdown, was born over tea and large slabs of cake in a café on a May bank holiday last year.
Fuelled by caffeine and sugar, Ayo Abbas and I sketched out content goals, target audience and what we thought would be a workable format. But a year of live streams later, did it work, and what lessons have we learned?
Our LinkedIn live stream content goals
💥 Build visibility and brand awareness with the right audience
💥 Develop connections and expand our network
💥 Repurpose the live video to create content to use on different channels
💥 Have fun
Did we meet our content goals?
The simple answer is yes. LinkedIn now gives you enhanced video stats, including a breakdown of who is viewing based on filters like location, industry and seniority. This tells us we are reaching the right people.
Doing regular lives has opened doors: new connections, speaking opportunities and work. People mention that they’ve seen us and found our events useful, making networking easier.
We’ve repurposed the live streams into a variety of content: Video clips, written LinkedIn posts, podcast episodes, blogs, and material for our newsletters.
And yes, we have fun, which makes it a lot easier.
Bonus benefits of regular live streaming
💥 Doing a monthly live online event keeps us on our toes because you have to think on your feet. It is good public speaking practice and helps develop those skills.
💥 The engagement, particularly during the live, is a boost and keeps us motivated. It means you can engage with your audience in real time.
💥 It keeps us creative, thinking of different ways to promote each event and how to repurpose the content.
Lessons learned about LinkedIn live streaming
💡 You can’t be reliant on the algorithm to give your LinkedIn-sanctioned livestream event visibility. Because you have to use an external platform to stream onto LinkedIn, it counts as a weblink, and we all know how much the LinkedIn algo loves weblinks.
It means you have to work even harder to boost the reach of promotional posts, use the invites option liberally and promote off the platform.
💡LinkedIn video data disappears after 180 days which we didn’t realise until too late, so the lesson is to note the stats regularly, not just wait for an annual review. Ahem.
💡 LinkedIn streaming can be glitchy, so doing a simultaneous live stream to another platform, such as Instagram or YouTube, is a good idea to give people viewing options.
💡 Not many people understand or know about LinkedIn live video events, so it is worth explaining when you promote.
Content strategy lessons
💡 Make sure you are looking at performance data that reflects your goals.
For example, social media impressions are a fairly shallow measure of reach; a large number of impressions doesn’t necessarily equal engagement.
Yes, we want visibility, but that is meaningless if it doesn’t translate into engagement, connections and leads. We judged our live stream performance based on things like views, total viewing time, attendees and comments.
💡 Don’t just rely on numbers. Record anecdotal evidence (from the start), such as reader/viewer feedback and other tangible results. It can be a powerful endorsement that content is delivering.
💡 LinkedIn looks like it will be focusing on video content and is rolling out a TikTok-style ‘next-up’ short-form video interface. This likely means it will push the visibility of video content in the coming month, so short-form video as part of a LinkedIn content strategy might be a good bet.
What have you learned from reviewing a content strategy?
If you enjoy this type of content, you might like to sign up for my fortnightly newsletter which is packed full of tips, ideas and some exclusive content I don’t publish elsewhere. Sign up is quick and easy and you can do that here.
One thought on “Lessons learned from reviewing a live stream content strategy”