How To Use LinkedIn Live Streaming To Grow Your Business (2023)

By Jeff Cobb.  Last Updated on August 13, 2024

How To Use LinkedIn Live Streaming To Grow Your Business

LinkedIn isnโ€™t the place to post your holiday pictures like Facebook or dancing videos like TikTok or Instagram. Itโ€™s a platform for growth-focused business owners, entrepreneurs, and professionals. 

And this is precisely why LinkedIn Live is the perfect live-streaming platform to grow your authority, increase brand awareness, and drive sales for your online courses and digital products.

So, if youโ€™ve been ignoring LinkedIn Live, Iโ€™ll show you why this is an untapped goldmine for marketers. I’ll also show you how to live stream on LinkedIn to grow your expertise-based business.

Letโ€™s dive in.

What Is LinkedIn Live?

LinkedIn Live is LinkedInโ€™s native live streaming platform that allows you to host events, podcasts, interviews, panel discussions, webinars, and other types of live videos.

It helps you engage your professional network on LinkedIn and establish your personal brand authority by sharing valuable content and answering your audienceโ€™s questions live.

Hereโ€™s an example of a LinkedIn Live video.

LinkedIn Live Video: Strategies for Intentional Collaboration, two women (Mary Massey)
Source

LinkedIn Live is perfect for eLearning professionals, online course sellers, and knowledge entrepreneurs because LinkedIn is a social network for professionals eager to learn new skills and grow their businesses. So, it already has a highly motivated audience actively looking for valuable content. 

By going live on LinkedIn and sharing your expertise, your chances of generating leads and sales for your premium courses and digital products are significantly higher than sites like YouTube or Facebook.

Any LinkedIn user can use the platformโ€™s live streaming features for free on their profile or company page. However, you must fulfill LinkedInโ€™s live streaming criteria to enable this feature, something weโ€™ll talk about it later in the article.

LinkedIn Live Benefits: Why Should You Live Stream On LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is among the top social networks with millions of registered users in the fastest-growing economies in the world, including 200 million+ users in the US, 100 million in India, and nearly 70 million in China.

According to LinkedIn, 300 million+ users watch videos on its platform annually. In addition, LinkedIn videos drive 3x higher engagement than plain text posts.

With LinkedIn Live, you get instant access to these users opening countless possibilities for brand awareness, business development, and sales. It is especially effective for live product demos and informational videos, two of the most profitable video types according to HubSpotโ€™s Video Marketing Playbook 2023.

bar graph showing "Which Types of Video Content Have the Biggest ROI (Top 7)?
Source

Letโ€™s quickly discuss some of the main benefits of LinkedIn Live for your eLearning business.

A Motivated Audience Ready To Buy

The millions of registered professionals on LinkedIn use it to grow their network and find new business opportunities. They understand the importance of skill development and have the resources to purchase your high-ticket online courses and digital products.

This is exactly why LinkedIn acquired Lynda, one of the worldโ€™s leading eLearning companies offering hundreds of professional courses, and rebranded it as LinkedIn Learning.

LinkedIn Learning - What do you want to learn today? Menu to "Identify the skills you need to advance your career"
Source

By reaching this audience through live content, you can build your credibility and route them to your course landing pages to drive leads and sales.

Free Live Streaming Platform

LinkedIn Live is a free live streaming platform with premium streaming features. It allows you to create unlimited streams up to four hours in length. 

So, if youโ€™re an expert and have actual value to share with your audience, you can stream as much content as you want without worrying about content storage, bandwidth, and other technical aspects of live streaming.

Even if people donโ€™t join you live, LinkedIn publishes the session recording on your LinkedIn timeline allowing your connections and LinkedInโ€™s wider audience to discover your content.

LinkedInโ€™s Video-Friendly Algorithms

LinkedIn helps relevant users discover your live videos through content suggestions and event intimations. For example, LinkedInโ€™s Events page lists ongoing and planned live events in various categories. Any LinkedIn user can browse through event listings to find relevant live sessions and sign up. In addition, LinkedIn suggests relevant events to users based on their professional skills, interests, and industries.

Less Competition

Despite being among the top social networks, LinkedIn Live still has significantly less competition than other live video platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Why? Because LinkedIn Live users usually create high-value content that requires more research and isnโ€™t as simple as a casual Facebook or TikTok video. So, naturally, when you go live on LinkedIn, your content stands out and has a greater chance of attracting viewers. 

Higher Audience Engagement

LinkedIn Live drives significantly higher engagement than other content types. Studies show that live streams get 7x more reactions and 24x more comments than recorded videos on LinkedIn.

So, not only is there less competition on the platform, but the reward for going live is also much higher on LinkedIn than on most other social networks.

How LinkedIn Live Works?

LinkedIn Live lets you stream live video content on your LinkedIn profile and company pages. It is among the three event types you can create on LinkedIn. The other two are audio events and external events.

When you create a LinkedIn Live Event, it is automatically listed on LinkedInโ€™s events page under the relevant topical category where anyone can find it.

However, LinkedIn Live only provides you access to its platform and audience. But you must use a third-party live-streaming tool like Restream, StreamYard, or OBS and connect it to your LinkedIn account to broadcast live video. 

Depending on your live streaming tool, you can host multiple guests, add information cards, use animations, and other engagement features in your live broadcast.

Once youโ€™re live on LinkedIn, your followers and regular LinkedIn users can join your live stream and engage with your content using LinkedIn comments and emojis or by sharing it with their connections.

After your live video ends, LinkedIn posts the recording to your LinkedIn timeline as a regular video.

How To Get Started With LinkedIn Live?

Excited about using LinkedIn Live to engage with your audience and promote your brand? Letโ€™s dive straight into the steps you must follow to use LinkedIn Live.

Step 1: Enable LinkedIn Live On Your Profile

LinkedIn Live is available to all eligible LinkedIn user profiles and pages.

Here are the eligibility criteria.

If you meet these conditions, LinkedIn automatically evaluates your profile/page to enable LinkedIn Live. You can find this option on your profile or LinkedIn company page.

But if you donโ€™t see it on your profile, there are a couple of ways to check if you are eligible to use LinkedIn Live.

Method 1: Go to LinkedIn Events and click Create an event.

LinkedIn Events page, arrow pointing at "create an event"

Inside, click the event format dropdown to see if LinkedIn Live is available on your profile/page.

LinkedIn Live, Create an event menu, arrow pointing at "Event Format", red box around "LinkedIn Live"

Youโ€™ll see LinkedIn Live in the dropdown if it is available to your profile. However, if you donโ€™t see it, use Method 2 to enable it.

Method 2: Go to your profile and click Creator Mode under the Resources tab. 

LinkedIn Live Resources menu, arrow pointing at "creator mode, off"

If LinkedIn Live is available on your profile, itโ€™ll be listed here.

LinkedIn Live checked "available" under Creator Tools menu

To enable it, first add up to five hashtags in the topics section to show your audience your specialties. This isnโ€™t mandatory but helps LinkedIn and your audience understand the nature of your content.

Next, click Turn on to get started.

LinkedIn Live menu showing "Creator Mode is On"

And just like that, LinkedIn Live is enabled on your profile/page. Next, you can create an announcement post to tell your network that youโ€™ll be making live content.

"Create a post" - announcement post saying "Hey LinkedIn! If you're new to following me, I talk about #seo, #contentmarketing, #copywriting, #saasmarketing, and #emailmarketing.

Youโ€™re now ready to use LinkedIn Live. Letโ€™s find out how to do it in the following steps.

Step 2: Create A LinkedIn Live Event

To use LinkedIn Live, you must create a live-streaming event on your LinkedIn page or profile. Hereโ€™s how to do it.

  • Log in to your LinkedIn account.
  • Click an Event from your LinkedIn timeline.
arrow pointing at Event tab from LinkedIn timeline
  • Start filling in event details by uploading your event picture.
Create an event, upload cover image
  • Next, choose LinkedIn Live from the event format dropdown.
"Create an event" menu, arrow pointing at LinkedIn Live as event format
  • Add your event name and date if youโ€™re scheduling it ahead of time.
red box around "Event name: B2B Copywriting Masterclass"
  • Now describe your event to attract relevant attendees and tell them what your event is about.
Description box with Speakers box
  • You also have the option to list your event speakers.
  • Next, decide who can comment on your event (anyone, connections, no one). 
Who can comment on your post?, arrow pointing at "Connections only"
  • You can also enable a registration form on your event if you want to collect your attendeesโ€™ email addresses.
box around "Use a LinkedIn registration form"
  • And finally, you can invite your immediate connections to spread the word about your event.
Invite menu, option to search by name

Thatโ€™s it! Youโ€™ve successfully created a LinkedIn Live Event.

But thatโ€™s only one part of the equation.

Step 3: Choose A Live Streaming Tool

As Iโ€™ve already mentioned, LinkedIn Live only provides you access to your LinkedIn audience. But youโ€™ll need a dedicated live streaming tool to process and broadcast your live content.

LinkedIn recommends Restream, StreamYard, SocialLive, Switcher Audio, and Vimeo as its preferred streaming partners. 

We also recommend Restream and StreamYard because of their ease of use and robust live-streaming features. Read the following detailed resources we created about these tools to help you decide if theyโ€™re the right fit for your business.

You can also use LinkedInโ€™s custom RTMP streaming tool to broadcast via Zoom, OBS, or any other live streaming software.

Step 4: Connect Your LinkedIn Account

Letโ€™s discuss both methods one by one.

Using StreamYard For LinkedIn Live 

You can use any live streaming tool that supports LinkedIn Live. For this example, weโ€™ll use StreamYard.

Hereโ€™s how you can configure your live stream.

  • Sign in to your StreamYard account.
  • Go to Broadcasts
  • Click โ€œCreateโ€ to configure a new broadcast.
StreamYard Broadcasts menu, arrow pointing at create button
  • Choose โ€œLive streamโ€ as your broadcast type.
Create menu, arrow pointing to "Live Stream"
  • Now, this is important. You must connect your LinkedIn profile or page with your StreamYard account to broadcast your content live. To do this, click the destination icon in the live stream section.
Create Live Stream menu, arrow pointing at plus icon "Add a New Destination"
  • Select LinkedIn Profile or Page from the dropdown, depending on how you plan to broadcast your stream.
StreamYard Create a live stream menu, arrow pointing at LinkedIn profile
  • This opens a popup where you must log in to your LinkedIn account and confirm its integration with StreamYard.
  • Once you grant the relevant permissions, LinkedIn appears as one of the streaming destinations in your StreamYard account.
Create live stream menu, box around "Select Destinations" showing LinkedIn profile as option
  • Since youโ€™ve already created an event on LinkedIn, click โ€œuse an existing LinkedIn Eventโ€ and choose one from the dropdown menu.
Use an Existing LinkedIn Event menu - cursor choosing "Flexis Inc"
  • Now, click โ€œCreate broadcastโ€ to finish the settings.
Use an Existing LinkedIn Event menu  - "Guide to a successful B2B strategy" cursor pointing at "Create broadcast"

Youโ€™re now ready to use StreamYard for live streaming on LinkedIn. When itโ€™s time to start broadcasting, just go to your StreamYard studio and click Go Live to start streaming.

LinkedIn Live test on StreamYard, arrow pointing to upper right corner, "Go Live"

You can find more details in our StreamYard guide.

Using OBS For LinkedIn Live

You can use any RTMP streaming tool to broadcast live video on LinkedIn Live. For this example, weโ€™ll use OBS, a free streaming tool.

Menu to "Set up your stream", stream settings, Pick a region
  • In the stream settings, click the dropdown to choose your region.
Pick a Region - US, Northeast selected

– Click Get URL

US, Northeast selected as region, arrow pointing at "Get URL"
  • This gives you your unique Stream URL and Stream Key. Youโ€™ll use them to connect your LinkedIn account with OBS.
 Stream URL and Stream Key (blurred out)
  • Now open OBS and click Settings.
OBS, arrow pointing at settings
  • Click the Stream in the left menu and choose โ€œCustomโ€ in the Service dropdown.
OBS Stream menu, Service: custom, fields for Server and Stream Key
  • Now copy/paste your Stream URL and Stream Key in the Server and Stream Key fields in OBS. 
  • Your LinkedIn Live account is now connected with OBS.
  • But to go live, you must first choose a video source by clicking the + icon in the Sources tab.
  • Choose your webcam from the selection menu.
OBS, Sources, arrow pointing at "+"
  • Now click Start Streaming to broadcast your content on LinkedIn Live.
arrow pointing at "Start Streaming" in Controls menu

Step 5: Start Streaming On LinkedIn Live

Once you start streaming from StreamYard or OBS, you can go back to your LinkedIn event page to see your live stream in action.

You can view and respond to the comments on your live stream on LinkedIn and share links to helpful resources or your landing page with your audience.

But youโ€™ll use your streaming software (OBS or StreamYard) to control your video sources and to modify your content in any way.

Step 6: End Your Stream

When you want to end your session, return to your streaming tool and turn the broadcast off. This automatically stops the broadcast on LinkedIn Live.

LinkedIn Live Best Practices: Tips To Grow Your Business With Live Streaming On LinkedIn

As youโ€™ve seen, using LinkedIn Live is pretty straightforward. The real challenge is to create high-value content for your live streams that build your brand image and drive conversions for your online course business.

Here are a few LinkedIn Live best practices to help you do that.

Invest In Your Live Streaming Equipment

Your live streamโ€™s audio and video quality has a direct impact on your contentโ€™s effectiveness. NPAW recently released its annual video streaming report which says higher video and audio quality is directly responsible for increased viewer engagement and content consumption.

To ensure your content quality up to the mark, you must invest in high-quality live streaming equipment. But that doesnโ€™t mean youโ€™ll need to spend a fortune.

Instead, you can easily find ideas for affordable and high-quality cameras, mics, lighting, and other necessary streaming equipment in our live streaming equipment guide.

Research Engaging Topics

If you want to attract viewers and make an impression on your audience, you must find engaging topics that your audience wants to learn about.

Here are a few ways to do that.

1. LinkedIn Groups: LinkedIn Groups contain your audienceโ€™s discussions on different topics related to your industry. Researching them will help you find your audienceโ€™s questions that you can turn into topics for your live streams.

Hereโ€™s an example.

LinkedIn Groups, Content Marketing Institute, chat shown with post from Lisa Dougherty at top

2. Network Research: There are two ways to use your professional network on LinkedIn to find relevant and engaging live streaming ideas.

Ask your connections: Youโ€™ll be surprised by the number of ideas you can generate by simply asking your audience what they want to learn about.

Competitor Research: See what your industryโ€™s leading content creators are talking about on LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs, and other platforms. Itโ€™s an easy way to find proven ideas.

3. Google Search: Search your topic on Google and scroll to the People Also Ask section to find your audienceโ€™s most frequently searched questions.

For example, if your topic is AI content, here are the questions your audience is asking.

Google search "AI content", People Also Ask options displayed

Also check the top-ranking sites on Google Search for your target keyword and explore their blogs to find dozens of ideas.

Plan And Schedule Your Event In Advance

If you want to create a buzz around your event and attract a wider audience, schedule your events 2-3 days in advance instead of going live instantly.

Why? When you create a LinkedIn Live event, LinkedIn shows it to relevant users who might be interested in attending.

In addition, it gives you the time to promote and market your event by creating LinkedIn posts about it and inviting your followers and connections to attend.

Promote Your LinkedIn Live Stream

Once you schedule a live stream, here are a few ways you can promote it to attract viewers.

  • Create a detailed post on LinkedIn building the case for your event and describing what it offers.
  • Use relevant hashtags in your posts to reach a wider audience.
  • Invite your immediate connections to attend the event.
  • If your event is a few days away, create buzz by posting 1-2 times about it on your LinkedIn timeline.
  • If you have guests in your live stream, ask them to invite their connections.
  • Post about the event on your Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media profiles.
  • Email your subscribers to attend the event (if you have a list).

Keep Your Videos Short

LinkedIn Live allows up to four hour long live streams. However, most experts recommend keeping your content under 40 minutes. 

This makes sense for several reasons.

  • If you want to live stream regularly (1-2 times a week), short sessions are easily manageable for you and your audience.
  • The most effective live streams focus on one topic at a time and answer a specific question instead of covering everything under the sun.

However, you may opt for longer live streams once a month or whenever you host an event with multiple speakers. But your routine videos should be short bite-sized lessons your audience can easily consume and implement.

Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile/Page

People want to hear from experts with real-world experiences. So, when you promote an event, most people view your LinkedIn profile/page to see who you are and why youโ€™re an authority to speak on the topic.

To answer these questions and make an impression on your audience, you must update and optimize your LinkedIn profile and company page.

Share your achievements, professional experience, awards, recommendations, and anything else that positions you as an expert and convinces people to attend your event.

Use CTAs To Drive Conversions

To convert your LinkedIn Live audience into leads and customers for your online courses, you need to use calls to action throughout your live stream. 

A call to action can be a link, a button, or simply a verbal request to your audience to visit your landing page and sign up for your list.

To make it more attractive for them, you can place a free lead magnet on a landing page of your website and offer it for free in exchange for the visitorโ€™s email address.

Once a viewer converts into an email subscriber, you can use different email sequences to convert them into customers of your online courses.

Why canโ€™t you just ask your viewers to purchase your courses during your LinkedIn Live session? You can, of course.

But most people donโ€™t buy immediately and need more convincing.

By getting them on your email list, youโ€™ll have the opportunity to contact them repeatedly and persuade them to purchase your courses.

Ready To Grow Your Business With LinkedIn Live Streaming?

LinkedIn Live gives you access to millions of growth-focused professionals looking for ways to enhance their skills and become more valuable for their clients and organizations.

As a course creator, this is the perfect place for you to share your knowledge, build your credibility, and attract leads and customers for your online courses via live streaming.

However, you must consistently create high-value content to make an impact on your audience. But once you establish your authority, selling on LinkedIn Live can be a game-changer for your business.

ABOUT YOUR HOST

Learning Revolution founder Jeff Cobb is an expert in online education and the business of adult lifelong learning. Over the past 20+ years he has built a thriving career based on that expertise – as an entrepreneur, a consultant, an author, and a speaker. Learning Revolution is a place where Jeff curates tips, insights, and resources to help you build a thriving expertise-based business.

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