In Part 1 of the series on "How to Build a Winning B2C Strategy for Outdoor Brands," Viveka von Rosen talks about:
- Inbound marketing and the connection with LinkedIn (LI);
- The emergence of LinkedIn as a viable marketing channel for your B2C outdoor brand;
- Why outdoor brands should be creating and executing a strategy to utilize the LinkedIn platform for building a B2C e-Commerce presence; and
- Exactly what has changed in the LI toolset to better create and drive content for building outdoor brand B2C sales.
You can check out the original article "Why Your Outdoor Brand Should Be Using LinkedIn for B2C Now."
Selling your outdoor products and building Your Outdoor Brand
The change in consumer behavior and the channels that can be used to conduct sales is evolving as you read this article. While you navigate the changing relationship with your traditional dealer network, you have embraced the need to execute a B2C social selling strategy. However, the social platforms available have very different demographics and focus on the individuals engaged with them. If you are after a higher end, brand loyal demographic that will pay for quality, brand purpose and in the B2C space, then maybe it’s time to fully take advantage of the opportunities LinkedIn (LI) is providing outdoor industry brands e-Commerce.
Yes, LI has millennials, about 38% of their entire user base is in this category. But rather than obsess over just the millennial segment, it's time to take a much closer look at the overall demographics of LI subscribers. ComScore has published some insightful research that demonstrates the power this population holds for outdoor industry brands for developing a B2C strategy.
- LinkedIn members are loyal brand advocates, willing to pay more for a brand they relate to. Eighty-six percent said, “When I find a brand I like, I stick to it.”
- According to comScore’s 2013 Buying Power Index, LinkedIn members have nearly 2x more buying power than Facebook.
- Members are more than 2x more likely to trust information provided on LinkedIn than other social networks, which drives purchases.
- Behind every business is a collection of consumers that have a favorite outdoor interest and brands
- LinkedIn members are 93% more likely to have a college degree than the average online adult, fitting part of the 20% high spend consumers in outdoor gear
Additionally, recently, Buffer posted a terrific podcast that listed some of the more intriguing LinkedIn user demographics. They were:
- Twenty-nine percent of online adults use LinkedIn
- Fifty-six percent of users are male and 44 percent are female
- Fifty-one percent of users have a college degree
- Thirteen percent of millennials (15 to 34-year-olds) use LinkedIn
- Forty-four percent of users earn more than $75,000 a year
- Forty-one percent of millionaires use LinkedIn
