Complete guide to using LinkedIn Live

LinkedIn the real-world professional network has recently launched LinkedIn Live. This feature allows individuals to broadcast video content in real-time. Live streaming has revolutionized how people connect online and interact with each other. Facebook, Youtube, and Instagram have gained notoriety by going Live and LinkedIn has sought to leverage its live streaming. As of now, LinkedIn has launched the beta version, which means the feature is available only for selected users. However, LinkedIn does have a contact form to apply to become a live video broadcasting.

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Everything about LinkedIn Live

Video content or video marketing is the most versatile way to drive engagement. Online video is 600% is a more effective marketing tool than any other content. A recent survey by Marketing Land says that LinkedIn users are 20 times more likely to share videos than other posts. To leverage this, LinkedIn has geared up it’s live streaming! If you have been notified that you have access to LinkedIn live then there are a few points to be considered.

Live Streaming on LinkedIn is only available with third-party broadcast tools.
You can choose the tool that best supports your requirements and budget.
You must go live within 30 days of getting the access otherwise you will be removed from the beta testing version.
No selling or promotional streams.
Live streams should not be less than 10-15 minutes.
No meta streams- Which means don’t talk about how to use LinkedIn on LinkedIn.
LinkedIn Live: Third-party broadcasting tools.
To go Live you must have a third-party broadcast tool. Be notified that you are responsible for the costs and other associated fees in acquiring your desired third-party tools.

Here we will help you with the best tools that can connect you to LinkedIn Live. However, most of the tools offer you free trial periods for using their platform:

Socialive
Restream.io
Wirecast
Switcher Studio
Wowza Cloud
StreamYard
Brandlive
Brandlive
Easy Live
Live U

How to use LinkedIn Live?

Are you curious about using LinkedIn live? You are not alone. This post will provide you with essential pieces of information on how to use LinkedIn to live technically and how to leverage your LinkedIn live.

Live streaming through LinkedIn help people comment, like, and share live videos in real-time. Marketers, entrepreneurs, and professionals can use this feature for podcasts, conferences, webinars, office team meetings, Q&A sessions, and product & services announcements. Moreover, the video host is provided with the option to moderate the comments in real-time.

Technical aspects of using LinkedIn Live

Here are the technical aspects of creating your first LinkedIn live video:

Device– Make sure you have two devices available with you before you go live. You need one device for live streaming your video and the other one to monitor the comments in real-time.

Third-party broadcasting tool – Signup with a third-party broadcasting tool to start your video. You can choose your platform as per your requirements and the names of the platforms that support LinkedIn live are mentioned in this article. After choosing the platform, authenticate your LinkedIn account with the tool. Synchronize into the device you are supposed to go live.

Internet connectivity– Test your internet connectivity before you go live. The upload speed should be at least 10 MBPS otherwise your video won’t stream rightly. Test your internet connection using speedtest.net.

Server Error– In case of server error, please check for the following ports are open:

TCP port 1935 + 1936
TCP port 2936

Lighting– Check the lighting of the room where you have planned to conduct your live streaming.

Camera quality– Use high pixel camera for clear resolution.

Audio– Make sure the volume is maximum with no background sounds.

Start streaming – Once again check all your equipment and device setup and start live streaming.

End Live streaming– To stop live streaming, hit the end broadcast button. LinkedIn will save your video in the news feed and recent activity page so that users who missed your live video can still view it.

Leverage your LinkedIn Live Streaming

Once you are done with the technical aspects of the video you are good to go with your live streaming. To entice your viewers and gain new connections from your live video, you have to leverage your live video with new strategies that will help you drive more engagements. Here are great ways to leverage and lure your audience.

Choose a relevant unique topic

Choose the right topic that resonates well with the users of the platform. Your content should be relevant for your connections (audience). Say if you have student connections, then your topic should be of the students. Define and create content for your target audience. You can create a live video on Q & A session for your student’s connections. This will rightly bring more students notified of your live streaming which will ultimately gain traction.

Schedule your video

Planning and frequency are imperative for live videos. Set a schedule for your live streaming videos that will happen at a specific time of a day, week or month. This will allow the users to follow you rightly and expect your videos at the scheduled time. You can make a series for your specific topics and broadcast your series one by one on a particular schedule.

Promote in advance and post in multiple platforms

Planning your live video and promoting your content in advance is a great idea to get many views. Posting your next live video updates such as time, day and month will help users not to miss your live streaming. Another awesome way is to update your live video on other social media channels like Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, and LinkedIn will help promote your live streaming across multiple platforms. Once you have planned your live video, invite your friends, community, connections, and followers so that they will get notifications on your live streaming.

Include strong CTA

Include a stellar call-to-action in your description and in the video itself. The CTA should be intriguing that will provoke the users to watch your video and take action. Use clear and compelling CTA’s to entice your audience.

Description matters

The description of your videos is important. Write a brief description of your video which contains all the relevant information of your videos. Add the right keywords and speaker names. Add a couple of hashtags, links and video highlights. Do not forget to add the hashtag #LinkedinLive. The right description will help your video go viral.

Optimize your LinkedIn account

To get more views and traffic to your video, you will have to optimize your LinkedIn profile. Whether you are an individual or an organization, you have to fill all your profile information. Incomplete profiles or pages are less likely to get noticed. Write a perfect profile description and add relevant information and links in your description. For more authenticity upload the right banner and logo of your business if you are an organization.

LinkedIn page Analytics

Now it is time to track and monitor all your efforts. Review your LinkedIn page analytics to know the performance of your LinkedIn page. You can measure and evaluate the effectiveness of your posts and videos using LinkedIn analytics. This analytics overview will also show the demographics of your audience and the most performing posts. It will provide you insights on clicks, likes, reach and overall engagements of each post.