Hi, Jamie here,
Here’s my guide on how to host your own LinkedIn Live which can help you at whatever stage you are in your career.
Today’s issue takes about 3 minutes to read. Enjoy.
Marbella, Spain
Today I’m going to teach you how to use the power of LinkedIn Live to share your knowledge.
By doing this you can build your personal brand, reinforce your existing network and create new connections.
Unfortunately, many people don’t even consider this an option to them.
People think LinkedIn Live is only for ‘big names’
People are also reluctant to try because they:
Aren’t sure of what to talk about
Think they need marketing experience
Believe it requires advanced technical skills
Are afraid of speaking live to a large audience
But all of these concerns are easily overcome! You too can host a LinkedIn Live.
Here's how, step by step:
Step 1: Find a partner
This obviously isn’t a requirement to create a LinkedIn Live; You can fly solo if you wish.
But… In my opinion, this is the most important step of all.
It will not only allow you to work with someone through the event but it also allows you to reach a new audience.
I met Julia Koenig in Ecuador last year and we decided pretty quickly that we were going to host a LinkedIn Live together.
Though we weren’t 100% sure exactly what it was going to be about…
Step 2: Pick your topic
You’ll need to pick a topic which you can talk about with ease.
In my opinion, if you have done anything consistently for over 18 months, you have enough knowledge and can talk about it at length.
Other ways you can decide your topic:
What could you write a magazine article about?
What’s the best lesson you could share with an intern?
What could you talk about to your friends without preparing?
Don’t make the mistake of picking a topic that you want to become an expert in… People will see through your lack of experience quickly.
We chose the topic ‘How to become a Digital Nomad and work from anywhere’, and thought about some sub-themes to help structure the conversation.
We’d met travelling and working, and shared our experiences at length. Doing this on LinkedIn was a natural extension of our conversations.
Step 3: Create the event
You can easily create an event from the main LinkedIn feed page.
Scroll down to ‘Events’ and click the ‘+’ button.
(NB. If this isn’t available to you, you may not meet one of LinkedIn’s access criteria. Check here: https://www.linkedin.com/help/linkedin/answer/a568503)
Then complete your event details (date, time, speakers etc).
You can also choose to add a cover image to the event. Make sure you do it!
Julia created ours using her Canva account. Canva is a great tool with many free templates you can use.
Step 4: Promote the event
There are 2 ways that you can promote your event on LinkedIn.
Create a new post using the event link
Invite your network to the event directly from the event page
These two things will help create awareness within your network on LinkedIn.
You can then use other channels (email, messages, and other social media) to promote it further to your friends and personal network should you choose.
It depends on how big you want to go.
But do make sure you give yourself some time between creating the event and hosting it to allow yourself to generate some interest… And get some viewers!
Here’s a little secret. In your event, you won’t be able to see your audience. So the fear you may have of speaking in front of a large audience?… Not a problem this time.
Step 5: Set yourself up to stream
Here’s the part that might be new to you… But it isn’t complicated.
You can’t host an event directly from LinkedIn (like you can on Instagram or Facebook for example).
You need to use a streaming service and then connect this with your event. We used streamyard.com but there are many others out there.
The software is straightforward to use and will help guide you through what you need to do to create an event on LinkedIn.
I recommend you then test this out before the event.
You’re almost there…
Step 6: Go Live!
You’re ready to go live.
Start your event and let your brain take care of the rest!
Make sure you enjoy the experience and share as much of your knowledge as possible.
Remember: The event is for your audience, not for you.
Make it as valuable for them as possible.
TL;DR
Partner up with someone else
Create your event and add a cover image
Promote the event to your network and friends
Download streaming software, practice, and go live!
LinkedIn provides a platform for everyone to share their knowledge and promote themselves. And now you know how to utilise it. Good luck!
Oh… and if you’d like to see our finished item, you can watch it here!
If you enjoyed reading this newsletter, the best compliment you could pay me would be to share it with others using the links below.
Thanks, Jamie