Storytime on LinkedIn

Gone are the days when sharing a story could only happen on Snapchat, Instagram or Facebook.

In a somewhat unexpected move, LinkedIn is now considering permanently adding the feature into its platform.

Looking to inject dashes of authenticity, creativity, fun and light-hearted, conversational enjoyment into its already multi-faceted platform, LinkedIn recently announced it was now testing stories internally, and in the coming months, would test it with its members.

When we think of stories, we conjure images of silly filters, animated gifs, music and more in our minds, so it’s not quite an inclusion we’d ever expect LinkedIn to adopt. In fact, LinkedIn and Stories aren’t two words you probably thought you’d ever hear in the same sentence.

For now, we don’t know how stories on LinkedIn will look, what features it’ll include or when it’ll be rolled out.

While it may seem like a somewhat unoriginal or a copy of other platforms, the move reflects the way many social media users are communicating and connecting, so naturally, it was only a matter of time before LinkedIn leant into this trend.

As LinkedIn Senior Director of Product Management Pete Davies put it,

“There are more conversations taking place in the LinkedIn feed than ever before, with a 25% year-over-year increase in engagement.”

Stories first appeared on Snapchat way back in 2013 (yes, that’s a whole seven years ago). Instagram then jumped on the story bandwagon, followed by Facebook. This ‘copying’ drew criticism, but over time many users across these platforms have taken advantage of the feature.

(READ: Facebook Begins Launching ‘Cleaner’ Redesign)

So what would stories look like in a professional context? What kind of avenues and opportunities can this open?

“They [stories] spread for a good reason: they offer a lightweight, fun way to share an update without it having to be perfect or attached to your profile forever,” Pete says.

But can this exist in a professional climate?

Consider how you interact with colleagues in the break room. It could involve some light-hearted, quick and harmless casual banter or chat about the weekend.

“Sometimes we want a way to just make a connection, have a laugh with our colleagues and move on,” Pete says.

The move signals LinkedIn’s freshest approach to amping up its ‘cool’ vibes to generate more engagement in the platform, especially from its younger users.

“The sequencing of the stories format is great for sharing key moments from work events, the full-screen narrative style makes it easy to share tips and tricks that help us work smarter, and the way Stories opens up new messaging threads makes it easier for someone to say, “and by the way… I noticed you know Linda, could you introduce me?” Pete says.

What do you think? Will you share stories on LinkedIn? What kind of content will you share? Is this a feature you’ll use, or do you think it’s a waste of time and should be kept to Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat?

LinkedIn is now testing stories internally, and in the coming months, will test it with its members. No official date has been an announced.

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