RAISING PROFILES

About the Work The Big Issue is a UK street magazine, which offers a new hope for homeless and vulnerably housed people across the country. When Coronavirus and the subsequent lockdowns hit, Big Issue vendors saw their livelihoods erased. Unable to sell magazines on the high street, they lost their source of income and their community. So we pivoted, and decided to recreate their sales model digitally on an unexpected yet totally logical social media platform: LinkedIn. Initially, we trained 9 vendors on the best ways to use the platform. They were taught to post, comment and share content relevant to their interests and passions. Each post contained a unique e-com trigger, whereby customers could click through and buy a subscription from that specific vendor. But most of the vendor’s sales came from their regulars, who were now all stuck at home. We had to find them. First, we triangulated the spots where the vendors used to sell. Using location data from LinkedIn, we targeted the employees who worked at businesses in the immediate area. Then the vendors reached out to them, reconnecting with the businesspeople and professionals who used to walk by them every day. As the vendors gained more confidence, they began interacting with other LinkedIn members, engaging in conversations while also touting what was in the latest copy of the Big Issue before making a sale. This drastically shifted the perceptions of the vendors, proving that they were legitimate businesspeople who had every right to be on LinkedIn. In the end, the vendors amassed +2500 connections between them. Their subscription sales increased by 325%, they sold 400% more magazines, and several of their posts were viewed +300,000 times – thus proving that digital inclusion truly does equal real-world inclusion.