Online shopping’s future arrives.
Live shopping is a phenomenon that has swept the eCommerce industry.
Live shopping, for the uninitiated, is best defined as social media collaborating with the home shopping network. According to reports, the first instance of live shopping occurred in 2016, when renowned Chinese influencers used an app called TaoBao to demonstrate and sell their wares. Fast forward to the present, and the sector has grown to a $60 billion industry, with western merchants lined up to cash in on the craze.
Take Alibaba, for example, to get a sense of how much live purchasing is gaining traction. Last year, their live-stream presale event produced $7.5 billion in just 30 minutes!
That’s why, in this post, we’ll look at how to utilize Instagram live shopping to boost conversions, improve the brand appeal, and set yourself apart from the competition. There has never been a better opportunity to jump on board with this fantastic trend, believe us.
Ready? Let’s get started!
What’s Instagram Live Shopping, and Why Do You Need It?
In August 2020, Instagram users with a business account will be able to sell things during live broadcasts thanks to the launch of Instagram live shopping.
You’ll need to use Instagram’s shopping feature to start Instagram live shopping.
These are brand-new features (it was only introduced in early 2020). Users may now construct online stores from the comfort of their Instagram profiles to post their product catalogues.
Once your Instagram shop is up and running, you can create a collection by tagging the products you want to advertise in your live broadcast. Viewers can then make purchases while watching the broadcast and have a seamless live shopping experience. Of course, you can mention and display products from your collection in posts, Instagram stories, and mentions. However, we’ll only look at the live shopping component for this post.
You can use Instagram’s live shopping features if you have access to Instagram’s checkout and have enabled it. To use Instagram’s live shopping feature, you must be a US-based brand with access to ‘Instagram Checkout’ at the time of writing. From your shop’s commerce settings, you can see if your Instagram account is ‘Checkout enabled.’ Customers should complete their purchases immediately on Instagram under the consumer checkout choices (rather than leaving the app).
What Are The Benefits of Instagram Live Shopping?
You might be asking what advantages live video shopping has over Instagram’s standard shopping features at this stage. So, let’s look at why live shopping is the way to go…
Community
One of the significant advantages of live shopping is that it creates a sense of community with your viewers. Instead of simply offering the option to make a one-time purchase, you’re building a pleasant, engaging online buying experience. This improves the customer experience significantly since it eliminates some of the common issues associated with online buying.
Customer questions, for example, can be responded to immediately, which goes a long way toward making customers feel appreciated. Not to mention that they’re part of a group. Customers will feel a sense of connection with your fellow buyers due to their shared interest in your product(s). This is why live shopping is so effective at establishing your brand: you’re selling more than just a product; you’re also selling a lifestyle and the chance to be a member of an online community.
Credibility
Furthermore, running a live stream gives your company a face that customers can trust. There are a variety of methods to take advantage of this feature. This may be you, your team, someone you’ve paid to host your lives, or an influencer with whom you’re working – which brings us nicely to our next topic…
Influencer marketing and collaboration
Live streaming is ideal if you want to collaborate with other businesses and Instagram creators. Because businesses with checkout-enabled Instagram stores may allow other brands and influencers to tag their products in their content, and vice versa, if an influencer makes a live stream to promote your product, they will be able to link to it.
This is, without a doubt, highly effective in terms of lead creation. However, for best results, work with influencers relatable to your target audience. Again, it’s a good idea to take your time—make sure the relationship benefits all parties involved.
Boost Engagement
With 44% of Instagram users shopping regularly, Instagram live streams are a great way to reach people who could be interested in buying your goods, according to an Instagram trend analysis (s), especially when you consider that 70% of shoppers use Instagram to find new products, and 87% claim influencers have influenced them to buy something.
After all, you can use Instagram live to show how to use your items, provide reviews or suggestions, and answer questions in real-time – all of which are fantastic ways to interact with and engage your audience.
It’s also worth noting that, compared to other live shopping platforms like TikTok, Instagram users prefer purchasing there because it’s more convenient. Instagram had a 5.3 out of ten ratings for shopping skills, while TikTok received 4.1 ratings. This could be due to Instagram’s shop feed, which features curated, personalized, and shoppable content. Unlike TikTok, which incorporates its eCommerce capabilities into its regular content.
Your Audience
With all we’ve just said in mind, you might be asking who these live shopping fans are and why you need to recruit them.
According to a study, nearly half of Generation Z and millennials have purchased an item they saw on a social networking app or during a live stream. According to the study, Gen Z’s preferred to save goods first and then investigate the brand and product before purchasing. Because Generation Z accounts for 40% of today’s global consumer market, it’s a population worth targeting.
This is where in-person shopping comes in.
If your customers are still in the research stage of the buying process, and Instagram live is a great way to:
- Publicize new product specials.
- Discuss the availability of the goods.
- Discuss the product in detail.
…and so forth.
You eliminate the need for potential customers to conduct their research by delivering all of this information in real-time (or as much of it). On the other hand, customers are the first to know what’s going on with your company, which helps to generate trust and excitement for your products/services.
How Set Up Instagram Live Shopping
Choosing which products to feature in an Instagram live shopping event is the first step. As previously said, your Instagram business should already have a catalogue of products posted. Once you’ve got that set up, you can start tagging the products you want to see in your life.
Within your catalogue, you can create groupings of up to 30 products. It’s a good idea to organize your collections now, so they’re easier to find after you go live. You can do this by going into your Commerce Manager account settings. You’ll find a collections tab here, where you can describe the collection and add the products you wish to highlight. You may also organize collection pieces by shared themes to see which ones you’ve planned to use for different live streams.
Organizing an Instagram live shopping event is identical to that of live streaming. Here’s a quick rundown of the steps:
- In the top left corner of your screen, click the camera symbol.
- At the bottom of the screen, swipe to ‘Live.’
- Select ‘Shopping’ from the drop-down menu.
- Choose the products you want to highlight.
- To go live, click the ‘Broadcast’ button.
- Isn’t it simple?
While you’re in life, you can pin one item at a time to highlight that product.
Then, as your audience watches, they may tap on your featured products to go to a product page (where they can learn more about the item).
Tips for Hosting Your First Instagram Live Shop
Now that you understand the whys and how’s of Instagram live streaming let’s look at some trade techniques. It’s worth noting that there’s no editing or double-takes when you go ‘live.’ As a result, having some product notes on hand could be beneficial. But don’t travel too far off the beaten path. Instead, see this as an opportunity to show your sincerity, respond to queries, and interact with your clients. Demonstrate that you’re paying attention!
With that in mind, here are some of our best ideas and tricks for hosting your first Instagram live shop:
Capitalize on Trends and Impulse Buys
You may tap into the zeitgeist of popular trends by watching live streaming. You might take advantage of this by:
- Organize unscheduled live streaming — this is a terrific way to add excitement to your business.
- Respond fast to emerging trends — Once you’ve recognized an emerging trend, consider your product(s), apply, and produce a live video. You’ll help establish a sense of authority around your brand by being one of the first to answer.
- Concentrate on making entertaining films that blend elements of the current trend into your existing content style. Use popular tunes, filters, hypes, and other props for your live streams to respond creatively. People will be on pins and needles waiting to see what you do next if entertaining and spontaneous.
Inspiring spontaneous purchases is another method to take advantage of spontaneity. According to one study, consumers who engaged in live streaming commerce were easily enticed into impulsive purchases when they loved their purchasing experience. However, here are a few tips on how to boost impulse purchases:
- Make a spur-of-the-moment discount or promotion.
- Make your live streaming feel more exclusive. People are more likely to buy right away if exceptional bargains are only available during live streams.
- Not only that, but potential clients will observe other people making purchases, boosting your trustworthiness. Plus, no one enjoys feeling out!
Organize a Q&A session
Using your live shopping feed to host a Q&A session is an excellent approach to addressing client issues. This should go a long way toward removing any reservations customers may have about purchasing your goods (s) when done correctly. You may also use the hashtags’ AMA’ or ‘ask me anything to encourage people to interact with you during your live show.
To that end, here are some pointers to help you ace your first Q&A live stream:
- Make a list of possible questions and be prepared to answer them: Have you ever had customers ask you questions regarding your product(s)? Are there any questions that keep coming up? If that’s the case, brush up on these and be prepared to respond on the go.
- Have a list of backup questions: Having a list of backup questions to answer does wonder for avoiding awkward silences, especially if you have a smaller following or are unclear how popular your event will be.
- While unplanned live shopping broadcasts have their place, it’s a good idea to let customers know about your Q and A sessions ahead of time. This increases the chances of a larger turnout and allows attendees to prepare questions ahead of time.
- Have a good time: Q&A sessions don’t have to be boring. Remember that the atmosphere you create in your daily lives contributes significantly to the communication of your business identity. Benefit cosmetics, for example, has a weekly live webcast. A guest and a regular host offer real-time beauty advice and answer viewer questions. The “talk show” approach adds to the pleasure while showcasing Benefit’s brand personality and providing practical knowledge. As a result, one of their live-stream Q&A sessions drew a massive 190.4K viewers.
Tutorials
It’s time to show your audience what your product can do after being launched. Tutorials are an excellent approach to help clients comprehend what you’re selling and encourage them to buy.
In brief, tutorials and how-to videos are great ways to establish yourself as a subject matter expert. You want to demonstrate to them that you know what things they should buy and how to get the most out of them.
Dunkin Donuts, for example, used a live broadcast to run a “test kitchen” to show how they made their new items. Since then, the stream has gotten 39K views, 1.4K comments, and 518 shares.
Conclusion
Are You Prepared to Host a Live Shopping Event on Instagram?
Finally, here are some crucial takeaways:
With good cause, live shopping has been lauded as the future of eCommerce. It’s expected to grow to $242 billion in the next few years, with a half-trillion dollars expected by 2023. As a result, an increasing number of online merchants are focusing on more engaging ways to communicate with their customers, such as Instagram’s live shopping feature.
Live shopping on Instagram allows you to reach a whole new audience. Not only that, but it’s a great way to build an online community around your company, which should lead to more sales.
Finding the correct mix between content-driven and product-driven streams is key to maximizing live shopping. The ideal situation is for your live-shop material to blend in naturally with the rest of your content. But keep in mind that you’re not just asking them to buy into a product – you’re also asking them to buy into you as a brand and the shopping experience you’re providing.
