What Is Live Shopping and Why Do You Need It to Sell Online?

The Ecwid E-commerce Show

Our Ecwid E-commerce hosts Jesse and Rich are here on the mic to share some great tips for increasing sales using something called live shopping. Sounds intriguing, right?

We’ve talked about how videos can help your overall marketing strategy. And we’ve touched on the benefits of live streaming. But now we’d like to introduce you to the latest and greatest in video shopping techniques—live shopping. Let’s explain how it’s unique and how you can stand out in the sea of video-based marketing opportunities by staying ahead of the trends.

First, Why Live Shopping?

80% of your business is about doing things that you know you need to do. Then doing what works over and over again.

The other 20% is about experimenting to find new ways to drive traffic to your product, and new ways to convert those visitors into customers. Live shopping is quickly becoming the best new way to make these things happen.

Live shopping combines the fun, interactivity of live streaming with the thrill of online shopping. It’s different from live streaming, because it’s specifically commerce driven. Live shopping allows you to feature your product on video while engaging with your audience during your streams.

This new feature is now being offered by Facebook and Amazon. Use it to bring out your entertainer persona. Not sure how to put on the charm? Check out some influencer videos on YouTube in your niche for inspiration.

There are a ton of platforms you can use to present your products live: Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Twitch, TikTok—some of which you’re probably already familiar with. Feel free to experiment with multiple to see which one gets the best traffic.

At the same time. keep in mind that live shopping is more than just a still shot of your product. Brainstorm various ways to present your goods to your audience: reviews, comparisons, and demonstrations. How you make your content stand out is 100% up to you. Explore your options, and try many things at first, and then go in the direction of what feels natural and gains traction from viewers.

What's the Difference Between Live Streaming and Regular Video Content?

Be aware that there are two production options: the first is recording your shopping session live, the other is recording a piece that needs post-production editing work.

A live recording can be broadcast as a live stream, or uploaded as a broadcast later, but either way, it is recorded as a single take, unedited. If you have some editing know-how, you might consider filming a more editing-driven piece of content. The benefit of this is that your video can be filmed out of sequence, and you can do multiple takes as needed, with all the pieces edited together later.

The price of a post-production heavy piece is hours of time reviewing and assembling your footage. On the other hand, the live stream live shopping experience comes with the stress of having to get everything right in one take, or at least being comfortable making mistakes on camera for the whole world to see.

How to Start Live Shopping

Start simple: get your product link ready, and go live on your preferred platform. It is critical that you have the link readily available for interested shoppers. This way you can get people excited about your product, and (hopefully) immediately turn that excitement into a sale.

A live presentation is exciting and a little stressful, but comes with unique rewards. It helps make you come alive as an entrepreneur and a brand to your market. It adds that human element that is the foundation of a good relationship between merchant and customer.

Accept that along the way, you might make mistakes. But don’t worry! Your audience will accept these imperfections. In fact, to them, that is what makes you a relatable human being. People like authenticity, transparency, reality. Don’t let the expectation of perfection prevent you from diving into something new.

Another strategy is sharing your production process, or real scenes of people using your product.

Getting Ready for Live Shopping

Here’s how to get ready for live shopping:

1. Make sure you have a phone with a strong internet connection ready to go (and charged!).
2. Pick the best platform for your market (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, you name it).
3. Decide on the product you want to highlight, and prepare it for demonstration.
4. Test your production before you go live.
5. Find and test the link for product purchase.
6. Make sure it is easy for your customer to buy your product. A one-click shopping experience is preferred.
7. Go live!

Tips for live shopping:

• Make sure the product is ready to buy before you start streaming.
• Having an assistant is really useful (even if that’s your mom, husband, or best friend). They can check for mistakes you might not be aware of, and help make you feel more comfortable in front of the camera.

Still have questions about live shopping? Don't hesitate to reach out to us at The Ecwid E-commerce Show. Rich and Jesse are happy to answer your questions.

This is a peek into the future of online shopping, no crystal ball necessary. So get going and go make those sales happen.

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