Hey marketing folks. If you’re reading this, surely you already know how important it is to have kick ass communication strategies for Live shopping events. From giving out flyers in the streets to posting Instagram stories of you giving flyers in the street, you need to have a plan. So here’s my suggested communication starter pack.
To-Do List
1. Your Website
Your website is (in most cases) where your commercial traffic is the highest. People that are interested in buying will end up going to your website at some point. That’s why you want to make sure you give them an easy, direct access to your Live shopping event. Don’t be greedy, put it everywhere: your header, slideshow, footer, main menu, sidebar menu… GO CRAZY. To see just how simple it is to achieve, check out my video on the Livescale Academy.
2. Instagram (my all-time personal favorite)
Instagram is a gem. The possibilities are truly endless, but here are my go-to strategies for fast and efficient communication on this versatile platform.
- The most obvious: Link in bio.
Yes, it is pretty dumb proof, but you’d be surprised how many times I’ve been left stranded trying to find a link to an event I was interested in. Restating the obvious as a simple refresher to add the link to your Live shopping event in your Instagram bio. It’s where everybody will expect it to be.
- Stories, stories & stories.
Cha-ching cha-ching. Instagram Stories are like LIVEs little cousin. They are ephemeral and exciting, yet they can still be placed in a convenient memory folder on the account profile. They serve a double purpose when it comes to Live Shopping events:
a) Retroactive: communicating about your Live shopping event before it starts (will talk more about this in the next point). It is crucial that you repeat the time and date of your Live event over and over and over. You need to become that annoying yet loveable aunt that keeps asking if you have a boyfriend yet if you know what I mean.
b) Proactive: communicating about your Live shopping event DURING the event. It’s a great opportunity to show users that missed the Live event how cool it was so they know they Can’t. Miss. The. Next. One. You can add these to a “live” story folder on your profile to tease for the ones to come
- Contests
The use of reposting or hashtag contests as a retroactive Instagram approach has proven to be quite effective. Essentially, your fans leverage organic traffic towards your upcoming Live shopping event. By creating a contest involving sharing, you are enlarging your reach: your followers will post/repost/use your hashtag and expose their followers to your message. It’s a great idea to choose a hashtag for your Live shopping event (ex: #133goeslive, #LiveWithMOOV, #jointhelive).
- With Instagram, high post frequency is key. If you have trouble with this, I suggest using programming tools like Later or Hootsuite. They are very simple and allow you to prepare your posts in advance, keep coherence and attain your desired frequency. Once you’ve lined up a few posts, you don’t have to think about it anymore! It takes care of everything.
3. Facebook
Most marketer’s minds go straight to paid adds when they think of Facebook. Although paid adds are useful, they can be very costly. I’ll dive deeper into the matter in a later article (with a special guest woohoo) but for the time being here’s a cheaper alternative to communicate about your Live shopping event on Facebook. Let’s be real, your Live shopping event is basically a virtual party. So create an event page! Make it a must-not-miss attraction. The advantage of having a Facebook event page, it that your page followers will automatically receive notifications about the event, they can click on “attending” which will give you a rough idea of how many people you can expect on your Live shopping event. This is especially relevant if you are organizing weekly, bi-weekly or monthly Live shopping events! It’s a quick and free tool you definitely should take advantage of. Of course, make sure to post regularly on your Facebook and event page.
4. The old but efficient NEWSLETTER
Over the years, you’ve worked hard to gather all your precious customer email addresses. You’ve sweated through mass mailing lists, you’ve daydreamed about inbound leads, your ankles have bled through endless networking events… You’ve earned them. Now use them. Send out a fun yet compelling newsletter to your acquired followers and make sure to add the direct link to your Live shopping event. Although it’s as old as digital marketing, the newsletter rarely lets down. It’s a simple and safe bet!
So there you go! Simple and cheap ways to use your own website, Instagram, Facebook and your newsletter to your advantage. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments below. Find me on social media with #TheChattyGal.
What’s Next?
