Livestream shopping or live shopping is a modernized version of home shopping when actors and sales representatives used to promote all sorts of unbelievably silly stuff on TV.
Today, it’s not television but social networks that host a modern version of live shopping, and users don’t have to make calls to get a desired knick-knack. Salespeople have now turned into influencers, bloggers, and streamers — in short, the opinion leaders. And unlike their cheerful counterparts, they have the full might of social proof, FOMO, and mob mentality on their side.
Live shopping features have spread through the social networks, and now you can find this functionality on Amazon Live, Facebook/Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, etc. There is a plethora of less popular livestream shopping platforms such as Streams.live, Channelize, Smartzer, etc. Pick the one that works for your purposes.
This communication channel allows to pitch a product to a vast audience, and since the power of social approval and flocking instinct are very strong with today’s media culture — such an approach is rather successful, especially among the younger audience. Now, let us take a look at the advantages of livestream shopping and discover the nuances of working with the biggest social networks that support this feature.
Benefits of live shopping
- Despite the fact that it’s possible to save a stream and make it available indefinitely, live shopping still induced the feeling of urgency. Users feel that this is a limited opportunity that can be gone if they don’t act immediately.
- Users follow, trust and listen to an opinion leader. This gives any product, even the silliest, a head start. There will be enough sales just because the audience believes the influencer. It’s banking on a charisma, this is the advantage the old TV shops did not have.
- Live shopping is suitable for both physical and digital goods, which gives marketers more freedom of choice when it comes to offers.
- Live shopping is not only and maybe even not primarily about shopping — it’s about entertainment. This makes shopping streams more attractive for wider audiences.
- For the advertisers, live shopping is a way to get closer to their customers. Users can interact with the representatives of the brand directly, feel the accessibility and engagement. Also, streaming makes brands more human with the host acting like an ambassador.
- US companies report that live shopping has 10 times higher CR than usual commerce as for the time being the digital space is still less competitive than brick-and-mortar commerce. To give you some perspective: the US livestream shopping market is expected to reach $25 billion by 2023.
- Live shopping is not only about e-commerce and nutra. It can work just as well for home improvement, education, travel, gaming, and many other niches. The key is a charismatic host who has the audience’s trust.
Livestream Shopping feature on Instagram allows to buy products directly from Instagram Live.
Before you start, make sure that you:
- Have created a shop on Instagram or Facebook (check out the tips for setting up a shop).
- Have turned Instagram checkout feature on (not available in some GEOs, double-check the regulations).
- Check that the products are featured in your shop 3 days before the stream.
To start selling live:
- Tap on “Your Story” and launch a live stream by selecting LIVE.
- Tap on the shopping bag icon and select the products you wish to promote.
- Start streaming. You can also pin the products to the screen during the broadcast by clicking on the shopping bag icon once more.
- Save your stream so that future follower can also buy the tagged product.
TikTok
TikTok is arguably the most used live shopping platform that has especially boomed during the pandemic. Being able to purchase items without leaving the app has made the short-video platform all more popular. Check out the article on Influencer Marketing Hub for more ideas for TikTok streaming.
TikTok’s livestream shopping is similar to Instagram streams. During the stream, one or more products are pinned on the screen and will pop up at the right moment. Users can tap on the product and add it to their cart to check out later. It is also possible to repeat the stream after it is over and look at all the featured products once again.
Even though TT now has a wider audience, the biggest fraction is still gen Z and millennials. 40% of this audience slice have made at least one live purchase, according to a survey by the Influencer Marketing Factory.
Note that to give a stream on TikTok you need at least 1,000 followers.
Going live on TikTok:
- Tap the icon with the plus sign that is used for creating the regular TikTok videos.
- Slide the menu bar until you find LIVE.
- Name your livestream (there is a limit of 32 characters).
- Select “Go Live”.
Conclusion
Livestream shopping combines video content that is so loved by today’s users and well-known TV shopping. The resulting streams are entertaining for the audience and profitable for the advertisers. Besides, the selection of platforms that can host a livestream of this sort is rather generous, you only have to choose the one you like most. The key element to success is the sales person, influencer, or actor you choose to interact with the audience, because for live shopping trust and engagement are even more important than the properties of the product you promote.
If you want to reach new GEOs and audiences, maybe it is all waiting for you on Telegram? We’ve prepared some material about Telegram audiences. What are the messenger’s users like this year? How old they are, what they do, and what they are interested in!
