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The great “LinkedIn Bikini Controversy of 2016”

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CIOL The great “LinkedIn Bikini Controversy of 2016”

Promoting your e-commerce house on social networking sites is a common sight but using LinkedIn to promote online bikini retailer! Ahem-ahem. That’s surely a quirk of an idea.

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But if you are Candice Galek, founder of Bikini Luxe, this indeed is the perfect combination of timing, authenticity, and luck. Bikini Luxe does much of its marketing via traditional social media platforms, including Facebook and Pinterest. However, it was Candice’s decision to focus on LinkedIn that turned heads.

CIOL The great “LinkedIn Bikini Controversy of 2016”

The business networking platform, LinkedIn isn’t the kind of place that comes to mind when one thinks of bikinis and bikini models. However, Candice recognized the opportunity to connect with potential investors, partners, and customers and decided to utilize the platform.

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She started off by posting images of her products being modeled by Miss Universe contender Natalie Roser and other models with the caption “Is this appropriate for LinkedIn?” “The goal was to test the waters and start a conversation,” says Candice. “I didn’t expect there to be such a tremendous response or controversy.”

The post was like an explosion. It generated an incredible amount of attention, garnering over 50,000 views, 500 comments (both positive and negative), and increasing her number of LinkedIn followers by over 30,000.

Candice’s story, in fact, could very well be a study in viral marketing. It is as we noted above is a perfectly timed and well-measured strategy on the part of the entrepreneur.

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Candice has certainly done an excellent job taking advantage of this “lightning in a bottle” moment. Bikini Luxe’s website traffic from LinkedIn now rivals that coming from Pinterest, and sales have spiked dramatically. There are certainly some entrepreneurial lessons to be learned from Candice’s story.

Subtle controversy

This isn’t film industry where controversies exponentially add to the film promotions. Those who try to “go viral” by being intentionally controversial usually fail. People can read through your contrived, forced efforts, and they respond with disdain. The “scary singing clown” campaign that Kabbage released a few years ago comes to mind. Still, relatively few things go viral without some intention. The key to success is a subtle approach that looks natural but still has intention behind it.

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Intentional or not, Candice struck the perfect balance in her LinkedIn posts. The images themselves weren’t overt or pornographic as some commenters believed. However, they were certainly outside of the buttoned-up norm that is expected of LinkedIn. This balance allowed for a genuine conversation that drove people to engage, rather than disregard. Had she pushed the boundaries too far at the onset, I believe she would have been written off right away.

Handle controversy with care; intelligence and grace are the keys

When Candice’s posts on LinkedIn started to go viral, the social network’s content algorithm kicked in, proactively deleting her post and profile picture without her notice. Rather than reach out in righteous indignation, however, Candice chose to engage intelligently with the team at LinkedIn.

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After speaking to high-level employees of the company on a near-daily basis, Candice managed to get all of her posts and pictures put back in place. In fact, she now has her own follow button, and her posts now generate almost as much engagement as well-known business leaders like Sir Richard Branson and Bill Gates.

Make the most of the opportunities that come your way

Once her company went viral, Candice was overwhelmed with connection requests and opportunities. But the woman was all prepared. Rather than let these simply pass by, she embraced them with gusto. She recognized that this is a once-in-a-business opportunity and is getting the most out of it.

Throughout this process, she has connected with fellow entrepreneurs, investors, and media personalities. She has been able to leverage these connections to secure her very own column in Inc. Magazine and become a LinkedIn Influencer.

The great “LinkedIn Bikini Controversy of 2016” is a valuable lesson for entrepreneurs of all kinds. Controversy, if handled with care, grace, and subtlety can be a great way to jumpstart a conversation in the most unlikely of venues. Whether it was intentional or not, Candice and the team at Bikini Luxe have managed this situation with a skill and aplomb that most marketers can only dream of attaining.

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