Is LinkedIn for B2C Businesses?
A quick search on LinkedIn reveals there are 18,000 Butchers, 87,000 Bakers and 65 Candlestick Makers
Of course if you look at the high street you’d know the traditional high street is in decline, so this week we’re taking a look at 12 B2C business types and how they fair on LinkedIn in terms of numbers
We all know that on LinkedIn you’ll find Social Media Trainers like ourselves, Solicitors, Accountants, Graphic Designers, Web Designers, Photographers and all the usual types you’d find at a networking event
But what happens when we look for Hairdressers, Personal Trainers, Coffee Shops, Tattoo Artists and more
Let’s take a look below
1. Hairdressers (246,000 results)
Over 246,000 hairdressers are on LinkedIn
Whilst Instagram and Facebook may seem like the obvious place for hairdressers to market themselves. Let’s just say you have a LinkedIn profile where you specifically talk about your work with Professional Women and making them look and feel 100% for business presentations and award ceremonies
And off the back of this you become as the go to hairdressers in your local business district
Word spreads and not only are people coming to you for professional styling, but also bringing their whole family once a month
2. Personal Trainers (1,270,000 results)
Running your own business is one of the unhealthiest things to do (And that comes from someone who used to work in the music industry)
LinkedIn is full of people who eat pastries and Full English for breakfast several times a week, biscuits at every meeting and then several glasses of wine at evening networking meetings
Without someone to kick them into shape they’re going to get more out of shape every month
And perhaps that’s why there are over 1 million Personal Trainers on LinkedIn
Let’s say you’re a PT active on LinkedIn and you not only pick up 121 work with high-net-worth individuals, but you also start running bootcamps for their office as well
I say this from experience – I’m a qualified Fitness Instructor and if I wasn’t so busy running a marketing business, that would be my exact route to market
3. Restaurant Owner (472,000 results)
OK, this feels a little strange mentioning restaurants right after Personal Trainers
But every high street in the country has become reliant on night-time economy businesses and restaurants play a huge part in that
Whilst weekends are often busy for all restaurants with great service, great food and a great location. Even the best restaurants in town have lots of spare capacity at lunchtimes
So where better to start increasing your lunchtime traffic, than connecting with the professional services firms that are wining and dining existing and potential customers
Be at the front of their mind when they’re scrolling through LinkedIn. Suddenly when they suggest a restaurant in town, yours is the last one they saw
A lot of content on LinkedIn is text only – how gorgeous will your fresh out of the oven pizza look at 10.30am in the morning on LinkedIn
I’m feeling hungry now
4. Wedding Organiser (5,300 results)
LinkedIn is not a dating site
You’ve probably heard that a few times before and it certainly isn’t for me because I’ve not had one message on LinkedIn asking me out on a date
But what do you do when you meet that special someone and it’s time to start planning the day. You know from the day job it’s better to get some outside help
So, you need a wedding organiser and you’re faced with the following problem
– Your best mate didn’t use one
– You don’t know whether to trust Google or not
– You’ve never met a Wedding Organiser before at networking
But you do know that one Wedding Organiser on LinkedIn who you connected with a couple of years ago, you always see their posts, they have lots of LinkedIn Recommendations and they regularly engage with your posts
And that’s why over 5000 wedding organisers are on LinkedIn
5. Shop Owner (597,000 results)
Nearly 600,000 Shop Owners are on LinkedIn
And this shows the ever-evolving nature of LinkedIn as much as the ever evolving nature of the high street
I’m a bloke and I hate shopping and often I go for convenience
Whenever I see a gift that is perfect for a relative and it’s from an indie store, they get my money
That’s how shop owners can win on LinkedIn
But more importantly than that you get to check the real credentials of suppliers. Those people who’d normally knock on your door when you 1st open and you’re not sure if they’re as good as they say they are. There’s a lack of trust and LinkedIn can seperate the wheat from the chaff
LinkedIn recommendations are the 2nd most trusted form of testimonials in the world – only video testimonials better them and we all know how much people hate being on camera
So, use LinkedIn to build your team of suppliers around your bricks and mortar or e-commerce shop
6. Beautician (191,000 results)
I’m blessed with good genes, so my treatment doesn’t go much further than wash and clean … oh and eyebrow’s being threaded
But I know that for many their beauty treatments are a real highlight of the month
There are over 191,000 beauticians on LinkedIn
Similar to hairdressers we mentioned before, Instagram and Facebook may seem the obvious place for beauticians to market themselves
But let’s just say you have a LinkedIn profile where you specifically talk about feeling good for yourself and spending “me time” on yourself as much as you spend hours on your business
Suddenly you’re picking more and more clients up on LinkedIn
7. Tradesmen – Plumber / Electrician / Decorator (337,000 / 1,330,000 / 228,000 results respectively)
If you add up just those 3 types of tradesmen, that’s nearly 2 million tradesmen on LinkedIn
Now imagine you’re a business that is well known in the local area for residential work, but you want to expand into commercial work
LinkedIn is the perfect place to meet commercial office companies, property developers, builders and more
You treat LinkedIn like an online version of a BNI meeting and suddenly the work is flowing in
You no longer have to get up once a week for a 6am Networking meeting, but every day you spend at least 30 minutes a day on LinkedIn building your network
8. Taxi Driver (122,000 results)
I won’t mention the U word, if you don’t
I will mention however, the importance of marketing and being visible in a good way
I’m a non-driver so I rely on public transport a lot in business and if I have a company that is reliable I’ll use them
Now, just imagine that you’re a well-connected taxi driver on LinkedIn. The benefit of using your services, over those international brands with an app, is when I use your services, you shout out about my business to your network and maybe share one of my latest blogs
That’s worth the difference in price and a key differentiator in service offering
9. Gardener (193,000 results)
Don’t pitch to be right now – it’s not a done thing on LinkedIn
People like to buy from people, but they don’t like to be sold for
But anything I don’t like doing, and gardening is one of them, I’ll pay someone to do it for me
I’d much rather do something I enjoy like running or watching Netflix than spending a few hours in the garden
And many others are the same
Busy lives with businesses. Their time is their time. And they’ll pay people who give them the gift of time
That’s why nearly 200,000 gardeners are on LinkedIn
10. Tattoo Artist (70,000 results)
I think we’ve moved past the “are Tattoos allowed in the workplace” debate now?
I’m in my 40’s and have tattoos and people younger and older than me do as well
I’ll say this right now – I want more art on LinkedIn be it tattoo art or artists in general
I’m a creative (well in terms of words) and I admire the talent of designers and those who see things visually
There’s a place on LinkedIn for Tattoo artists – please let me know if you are one and you’ve read this and connect
11. Coffee Shop (163,000 results)
The 163,000 coffee shop personnel who are LinkedIn are probably all based in my home town
We seem to have a new one opening up every single week … and I’m sure your town is the same
Probably the region of 70% of the people I network with either work at home or in co-working offices and these are perfect customers for your coffee shop
I know coffee shops who survive purely on business customers throughout the day
With dropping organic reach on Facebook and low touch engagement on Instagram, isn’t it worth looking at LinkedIn where organic reach is higher to talk about your business journey with other professionals (and win customers in the process)
12. E Cig Company (1,800 results)
OK
I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life
My mum was a nurse until she retired
I’m probably not going to work with an E Cig Company, but I’ve included these to show you there are 1,800 results for E Cig Companies on LinkedIn
And your high street will have at least one E Cig Company in town
It goes to show that for any type of business in any town, there are people on LinkedIn with those roles and businesses
Bonus
And a little bonus round to show you how varied LinkedIn is
These aren’t high street business – they’re sports and music and even whilst writing this blog an ex-Manchester United Footballer connected with me on LinkedIn
If you think LinkedIn is just for men in suits then look at how varied LinkedIn can be
Footballer (62,000 results)
Rapper (285,000 results)
DJ (584,000 results)
Musician (692,000 results)
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