LinkedIn reported attendance at virtual live events up 231% year-over-year. Building on this success, LinkedIn is launching audio-only live events.
The increase in attendance is associated with an increase in the number of virtual live events on LinkedIn, with 150% more events being created annually.
This number is likely to continue to climb as LinkedIn adds the ability to create audio-only live events.
Live audio events will allow attendees to actively participate in the conversation, rather than just being part of the audience.
In an announcement, LinkedIn stated:
“This month we’re taking a huge step forward and building on the success of our LinkedIn Live Broadcasts by launching an all-new interactive Events experience that allows our members to participate more actively in the conversation.
Being an active part of the conversation at an event can help you make new connections, strengthen your professional brand, and inspire your peers. In our new experience, you can participate in live conversation by raising your hand and join the speakers “on stage” to help guide and add to the discussion.”
See below for an example UI for LinkedIn audio events:
Audio Events will first launch as a beta test with a few thousand users hosting events across a variety of themes and topics.
While the ability to host audio events will be limited during the testing period, all LinkedIn members have the option to tune in and participate.
Hosting capabilities will be expanded to more users in the coming months. LinkedIn plans to launch interactive video events later this spring.
More on LinkedIn Virtual Live Events
LinkedIn launched virtual live events in May 2020 in response to the many in-person events that were canceled during the onset of the pandemic.
- See: LinkedIn Pages can now host live virtual events
Throughout 2020, LinkedIn has rolled out several updates designed to boost live event attendance.
For example, I introduced the Events tab on LinkedIn Pages, which lists virtual and in-person events hosted by the company.
LinkedIn has also made it easier to discover virtual events without actively searching for them.
Now, LinkedIn is highlighting personalized event recommendations in the My Network tab, and in a new weekly event digest email.
In addition, LinkedIn helps spread the word about virtual events through push notifications.
When a business posts an event to their Page, LinkedIn automatically notifies followers who are most likely to attend.
- See: LinkedIn makes finding virtual events easier
Benefits of hosting a virtual event on LinkedIn
LinkedIn allows companies to host virtual events, as well as collect leads from their events for free.
This allows companies to jump into virtual events without any additional pressure on their budget.
Companies have the option to put money into them, if they so choose, by promoting virtual events with LinkedIn ads.
If the leads you’re likely to gain from hosting a virtual event on LinkedIn are valuable to your company, this can be a cost-effective way to expand your roster.
Expect to hear more about LinkedIn’s virtual events this year as the company works to make them more interactive.
Source: LinkedIn Pulse
Featured image: Screenshot from LinkedIn.com/Pulse, January 2022.
