LinkedIn has officially added Stories to their mobile newsfeeds. It’s a move that the B2B platform is hoping will get more eyes on their feeds more often, but that will also appeal to a younger demographic to start looking to LinkedIn as the platform where they can safely post content about their professional lives and careers.

According to eMarketer, Stories have proved to be successful on Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook—with 4 out of 10 Instagram users and 34 percent of US Facebook users watching other people’s Stories in the past month. The new format gives B2B marketers and influencers the opportunity to test more in-the-moment content, while putting in less production effort and budget, but still driving value.

Here's why adding the engaging, fleeting format is the right move for LinkedIn and how marketers could benefit from them in their influencer strategies.

1. Stories are more authentic and native to how users and influencers post nowadays.

Facebook last reported that Instagram has a whopping 500M+ daily active Stories users a day with Facebook having 300M+ and although they won’t break down the numbers, the growth of the format seems to be pushing consumers and influencers to post less and less in feed. And brands agree. In 2019, IAB reported 51 percent of marketers surveyed were using Story advertising, up from 42 percent in 2018. B2B influencers using Stories on LinkedIn provide marketers the opportunity to humanize their brands by having influencers broadcast to their audiences in a native and engaging way. 

2. LinkedIn is becoming more and more of a content platform vs. simply a "jobs board."

LinkedIn is trying to become the destination for consumers and influencers to post content about their professional lives on a safe and secure platform to trusted audiences. According to the 2020 “US Digital Trust Survey,” Facebook ranks last in digital trust among users, while LinkedIn was ranked the most trusted digital platform. The Stories format is an easier, more accessible way for both newer users and influencers to begin posting content on the platform regularly. That means more eyes on branded content, and quickly scaling influencer activity on LinkedIn.

3. Stories are a more engaging format for marketers and influencers to choose from on LinkedIn.

Coming into play after LinkedIn Live successfully launched, the possibilities of this new marketing tool are endless. Whether it’s showcasing events and conferences in a new way, posting more in-the-moment low budget videos, or amplifying an exciting corporate update—LinkedIn Stories provide a new avenue to engage B2B audiences that has been proven on other platforms. 

4. It brings the fleeting format to B2B audiences.

Stories don’t have to solely be used for B2C audiences—there are so many creative ways for B2B influencers to engage their audiences with Stories. Like B2C, B2B influencers now have the opportunity to post in-the-moment content that will automatically feel like it’s more urgent because their followers will know it’ll disappear after a while. It gives B2B influencers the freedom to test out more real time situations that they might have not been able to in an in-feed post like real-time personal updates, in-the-moment reminders, quick professional tips, shorter and scrappier content series, quick fire webinars, timely company announcements, and more.

5. Stories can be a great new testing ground for B2B influencers and marketers to see what works with their organic audience.

No need for proofreading and rounds of approval like you do with an in-feed post! Stories can be an informal way to conduct more tests to see what your audience responds to before marketers invest in a content series or influencer campaign. The best way to see if LinkedIn Stories will be successful with audiences is to try it early and start to test the format on personal channels first.

It’s clear that Stories are becoming the most native way that users and influencers post on social and brands aren’t the only ones noticing, but platforms are as well. Twitter and Pinterest have both come out with news of testing the format on their feeds. By adding Stories, LinkedIn is keeping up with how people regularly share content on their other social media pages—and after all, B2B consumers are just people at the end of the day.

Alyssa Palermo is currently a Senior Strategist on the social practice at Ogilvy. She has 8 years experience under her belt working on digital strategies for top clients like Samsung Mobile, TaskRabbit, Google Play, Oxygen, Smirnoff, Nestlé Waters, Lacoste, and Aetna. Her core belief is that all digital content should stem from positive, strategic thinking.