You’ve heard all about live selling, but what can you expect from this trend if you are looking to do it for the very first time? This rising phenomenon has a proven track record to help increase sales and forge meaningful connections with customers, but many are still unsure about it and what goes behind it. We break it down for you here, and give you a quick download about live selling to help you get better acquainted with it.
You don’t need much to start
You don’t need much to get started. A phone with a good camera, natural lighting, and a strong internet connection is all you need to start live streaming and selling on Facebook Live or Instagram Live. Many sellers start live selling as they are bored at home or have spare time in between their day jobs. Live selling is a meaningful way to start sharing your passions with like-minded buyers.
Live selling gets the word out quicker
As a first-time seller, getting an audience is always a challenge, but live selling can help spread the word quicker over a few sessions, all thanks to Facebook and Instagram’s algorithms. Facebook and Instagram favour live videos, and their algorithms will promote your live stream. Your audience will also further boost your video’s visibility, so it won’t take too long before you build your viewership!
Building a community and following
Live selling has also become a platform where sellers build a loyal following and community. Buyers meet regularly during these sessions to chat, shop, and destress together. Although everything is virtual, sellers can build meaningful relationships with buyers who share the same passion as them. Most importantly, sellers build a reputation and strengthen their credibility. Buyers love sharing, and once you gain their trust, they will begin introducing their friends and families to you. Never underestimate the power of the online community!
Live selling takes effort and patience
Small business owners run a lean team. In fact, it can just be a one-person show. This means that as a first-time live seller, you are sourcing, unboxing, preparing, selling, billing, and packing all by yourself. This can be time-consuming, and customers who may disappear after successfully bidding may not recognize the effort behind preparing a single package. Live selling, while a successful and fruitful way to increase sales and connect with customers, requires effort to make it a success.
Shortening the purchase journey
Live selling puts your products right in the spotlight and you have the opportunity to mention everything about the product. Customers simply have to tune in to learn everything about the product– skipping some of the tougher and more complicated parts of the customer decision-making process. You’d only need to mention the product code during the livestream to quickly lock-in a sale.
Getting support to increase your sales
A significant pain point sellers face when live selling is billing. Other parts of live selling that may take up more time include taking photos, taking stock of their inventory, calculating the prices, and issuing invoices. A live selling software like Upmesh helps sellers to manage their products, track orders, facilitate a wide variety of payment methods, and even deliver the items to customers. For example, Upmesh can help issue a personalised product code for every item in your inventory so that you can quickly take stock of your items. It can also help you create customised promo codes. Through this, Upmesh frees up your time to help you focus on other parts of your business or to make more meaningful use of your precious time.
If you are live selling for the first time, we are here to tell you there is nothing complicated about it. The benefits of live selling are plenty, with business players from big retailers to small business owners tapping into this new form of shopping to build meaningful relationships with customers and increase their sales. But to simplify things further, a live software tool like Upmesh can level up your sales to help you reel in customers quicker, and optimise the management of your live store. Don’t think twice and start now. Stay ahead of the curve or risk losing customers to other business owners who keep up with the latest innovations and industry advances.