LinkedIn reported a 231% year-over-year increase in attendance at its virtual in-person events. Building on this success, LinkedIn is launching an audio-only live event.
The increase in attendance correlates with an increase in the number of virtual live events on LinkedIn, as events are created each year by 150%.
That number will likely continue to rise as LinkedIn adds the ability to create audio-only live events.
Audio live events will allow attendees to actively participate in the conversation rather than just be part of the audience.
LinkedIn states in the announcement:
“This month, we’re taking a big step forward and building on the success of LinkedIn Live by launching a new interactive event experience that engages our members more actively in the conversation.
Actively engaging in conversations at events can help you make new connections, elevate your professional brand, and inspire your peers. In our new experience, you can participate in live conversations “on stage” by raising your hand and joining speakers to help guide and add to the discussion. “
See below for an example UI for LinkedIn Audio Events:
The audio event will be rolled out first as a beta test, with thousands of users hosting events on a variety of topics and themes.
While the ability to host audio events during the beta period will be limited, all LinkedIn members will have the option to listen and participate.
The hosting feature will be expanded to more users in the coming months. LinkedIn plans to launch an interactive video campaign later this spring.
More about LinkedIn Virtual Live Events
LinkedIn launched virtual in-person events in May 2020 in response to the many in-person events cancelled during the pandemic.
Throughout 2020, LinkedIn rolled out several updates aimed at improving attendance at in-person events.
For example, it introduces a Events tab on LinkedIn page, which lists virtual and in-person events hosted by the company.
LinkedIn also makes it easier to discover virtual events without actively looking for them.
LinkedIn now highlights personalized activity recommendations in the My Network tab and new weekly activity summary emails.
Additionally, LinkedIn helps promote virtual events through notifications.
When a company posts an event on its page, LinkedIn will automatically notify followers who are most likely to attend.
Benefits of Hosting a LinkedIn Virtual Event
LinkedIn allows companies to host virtual events for free, as well as collect leads from events.
This allows companies to attend virtual events without extra budget pressure.
Companies can choose to put money into it, if they so choose, by promoting virtual events LinkedIn Advertising.
If the leads you might get from hosting a LinkedIn virtual event are valuable to your company, this can be a cost-effective way to grow your listing.
Expect to hear more about LinkedIn’s virtual events this year as companies work to make them more interactive.
source: LinkedIn Pulse
Featured image: Screenshot from LinkedIn.com/Pulse, January 2022.
