LinkedIn Shuts Down Stories Feature No One Knew Existed

Did you know that LinkedIn had a Stories feature?... Well, we did, because that's our job, but many people didn't. So if you answered no, you're not alone.

At this point, the news that LinkedIn even had this feature might come as more of a surprise to you than the fact that on Tuesday, they put out a blog post announcing they will be shutting down operations on their short-lived experiment with Stories at the end of September.


💀RIP LinkedIn Stories 2020-2021

For most of you, the end of LinkedIn Stories will probably go unnoticed. But if you're a company that invested in paid ads via Stories, listen up! Any ad campaigns scheduled to go live after Sept. 30th will be discontinued.

So, what's next for video content on LinkedIn? Well, you can of course use video in your feed, but beyond that, the Microsoft-owned company says they plan to focus on "a short-form, rich interactive video format that is unique to our platform and that better helps you reach and engage your audiences on LinkedIn."

Listen, we're all for new video components or ideas and think they are an extremely valuable tool for people and businesses alike—when done right. But let's face it, we love LinkedIn, but it's not used in the same ways as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, and the dozens of other apps that have copied…woops…we mean added…a Stories feature. Stories done on these apps tend to be informal and personal, which doesn't align quite well with LinkedIn's professional landscape.

In a social media realm of its own, LinkedIn (and its users) sometimes walk the tightrope between balancing professional and personal online etiquette, which can be a challenge. I'm sure at some point, we've all seen someone post something on LinkedIn that was better suited for Snapchat or Instagram.

We definitely commend LinkedIn for trying something new with Stories, even though it didn't work out. Most people overshare on social media as it is. I think we can all agree that it's best to keep LinkedIn reserved for posts related to your profession.

LinkedIn senior director of product Liz Li expressed a similar sentiment when addressing the end of Stories, saying LinkedIn "assumed people wouldn't want informal videos attached to their profile, and that ephemerality would reduce barriers that people feel about posting."

She added that "Turns out, you want to create lasting videos that tell your professional story in a more personal way and that showcase both your personality and expertise." So, with that said. Hopefully LinkedIn churns out a new video feature soon that is unique to its platform and more suited to its professional audience. After all, video is the wave of the future!

We want to hear from you! Are you sad to see LinkedIn's Stories feature go? Did you even know it existed? Follow us on our socials and let us know in the comments. 👍