There are more and more ways to market products on social networks, so it is important that you have prepared a live shopping strategy. This is an innovative way to advertise not only your brand, but also the products you want to sell to consumers.
Many companies are making the most of all the advantages offered by digital platforms. They have discovered in them a space where they can advertise at a lower cost than traditional channels. But not only that, but they can achieve greater reach and engagement.
You can work with different formats, but it has been proven that users prefer video content, both in posts and live. This is why it is so important to have a solid live shopping strategy for your business.
How does a live shopping strategy benefit you?
Knowing how to implement a good live shopping strategy is the key to success in sales. However, before delving into the best techniques for doing so, it is essential to first know all the positive aspects it has:
It gives you the opportunity to offer better customer service. And that is exactly what consumers want, to be taken care of as soon as possible and in a personal way.
There is no need for a large investment in production costs, as there are now equipment and tools to make quality productions. Also, keep in mind that consumers focus on content and a good experience.
You can get a large number of consumers interested in the products you offer. It’s not about having thousands of followers, but customers who are really interested in buying.
You have the opportunity to increase the level of experience by providing online sales that are characterized as being more dynamic and humanized. And this allows you to connect more closely with your audience.
It shows the benefits and quality of your products, making them more attractive to customers.
It allows you to measure various indicators such as open rate and comments before, during and after the live broadcast. You can also track active visits, the number of products added to the cart, and the most successful products. With all this information you can better analyze the impact live shopping has on your sales.
Keys to your live shopping strategy
Surely all the advantages you already know have encouraged you much more and you want to start studying your strategy. For this, you will need some techniques that will help you in structuring. The idea is that you know how to work from the beginning so that you will be successful:
1.- Select the appropriate platform
Before you launch your strategy, it is essential that you determine through which platform you will do so. Keeping in mind that there are many options to choose from today, what you should do is to analyze in which of them your audience interacts the most. For example, if you want to reach Generation Z, you may choose to go live on TikTok.
Now, if you plan to reach a more diverse and broad audience, it is better to use Instagram Live Shopping. It is a great alternative, as it allows you to direct your followers or the influencer’s followers directly to the Instagram Shop. This means that it takes them directly to purchase the product.
2.- Collaborate with other creators or influencers
One of the most used techniques in social networks with influencers or content creators. So you can’t leave it out in your live shopping strategy. Consider that live broadcasts are ideal for cross-promotion.
For example, you could have a special guest planning a live shopping event with a selected collection of the products you love most. And to make it more interesting, offering a special price to followers is a cross-selling opportunity.
Of course, it is very important to make sure that this person is in the same industry as your brand. This is because both his followers and yours will be interested in what he offers. What is relevant at this point is that you find an influencer who matches your brand’s values.
3.- Launch a new product
Consumers are always excited when a brand announces that it will have a new product. And in this digital world you have the opportunity to introduce or launch it through digital platforms. Before you get active, you need to invite your followers so that they will pay attention to the broadcast, through a post or Stories.
Keep in mind that one of the positive aspects of this type of live release through a social network is that you can interact. This means you can answer questions and concerns your customers have about the product you are offering them.
This adds a personal touch to the presentation, as consumers are waiting for it to be available for sale for the first time. In fact, Instagram has product launch reminders with the intention of generating anticipation and setting up actions for people to tune into the broadcast.
4.- Present a tutorial or instructions for the product.
People are becoming more and more accustomed to videos, they need to see in detail what they are going to buy and a picture or a short video in the feed is not enough for them. So you can leverage and include in your live shopping strategy a demonstration or tutorial of the product you want to sell them.
Think that it can be really interesting for consumers to see how a product works in real time. It represents a great opportunity for your followers to observe and understand what you are offering and feel driven to make the purchase.
It is a good technique to increase participation and increase sales. In addition, you can take advantage of this direct contact time with the consumer to solicit comments and also answer any questions they may have about the product.
5.- Create a live question and answer session
It may happen that during the live session you do not have time to talk about your product and at the same time respond to every comment. So it would be nice to use this space again and dedicate a session just to answer questions that users might have.
It is a great idea to help customers who still have doubts and have not yet decided to buy. It is helpful for your business because it can guide that person to the acquisition stage.
When people see that they are in a more intimate and informal setting, they feel safe to ask their questions. It is not the same to leave a comment on a publication that may not be read, as it is to have a more direct and personal contact.
6.- Give way to spontaneity
Being spontaneous does not mean that you should not plan in advance what you are going to do during the live broadcast. You need to have a structured outline, but nothing strict or rigid because followers want to see real people as they are in the broadcast.
If you broadcast live you should not be afraid of spontaneity because this is not a video that you can edit later. People are watching you in real time and they will feel much more comfortable if you broadcast naturalness. So the recommended thing here is for you to be yourself and if you make a mistake in something, nothing happens.
7.- Manage frequent transmissions
Human beings usually have routines and customs, so the best thing you can do when planning your live shopping strategy is to establish a frequency and schedule. For example, if you work in the fashion industry, you might broadcast every 15 days, particularly on Fridays to introduce a new collection.
You should think that if your audience knows when and where they can see you, they will be easier to find you. Well, it will help you increase replays of your live streams over time.