YOUR BUSINESS has gone online, and just like other entrepreneurs out there, you’re also thinking about showcasing and selling your merchandise online via Facebook Live. This article is just for you!
One of the biggest and latest trends on social media, Facebook Live is absolutely free, and that it allows people to share their lives in real time with friends and followers.
While it works really well for broadcasting an event or making a national announcement, you can also tap it for your business — do the real-time selling of merchandise, accept bids and orders, and interact with customers.
GOING LIVE and making your business even more profitable with the online platform is as easy as one-two-three, but there are things that you should know beforehand, and here are but nine (9) tips just tailored for beginners like you. So, read on and start it soon after.
[1] Send Invites and Make Early Announcements. At least a day or a few hours before you go live, you should send invites to your Facebook friends or make a compelling announcement on your business page. Doing so makes people informed and expect at least to browse through your available merchandise.
Going live at a random sched is discouraging on the customers’ end as others would think about just missing other best offers before joining the watch party or going halfway with it.
Equally, it’s better to schedule your Facebook live after dinner than any other time of the day, or when people are no longer busy and go check their social media accounts.
[2] Prepare All Your Merchandise Before Going Live. You might want to consider showcasing all available merchandise in your Facebook Live or simply picking just the best items.
Whatever your decision or strategy is, still you’re not exempted from organizing all of them beforehand. Have all of them ready and assigned with specific codes and price tags.
Of course, you don’t want your online customers to feel that you don’t know all the details about your products, or you cannot manage your business efficiently especially when one hot item is under multiple bids.
[3] Organize Your Team. Going live all by yourself is absolutely daunting and demanding. You might need some extra hands, and heads, to keep you mentally present, manage the bids, do the listing and recording, and get you going.
Organize a team of at least three, perhaps with your business partners, friends, or family members. You might need other people beside you to give instant advice should your bidders clash over a hot item or even instant spiels should you run out of words and product descriptions.
[4] Ensure a Videogenic Environment. You might not want to go live with the view of the whole interior of the house for some privacy concerns. Likewise, you might not want to set it up where your family members videobomb here and there.
While a pleasant and attractive background is what your online viewers expect, it is always advantageous to have all other merchandise just displayed behind you. You don’t know the real tastes and needs of your customers, and that one just next to you might get sold even faster.
Ensure that there is at least a decent internet speed and a clear camera. Set up everything needed at least an hour or two before going live.
[5] Start Cheerfully and Do the Proper Introduction. Not all who join your Facebook Live are your friends, well even those on your friends list. People who might not be interested in what you’re selling may still stay watching because of your cheerfulness, humor, and wit.
Make some entertainment but avoid overdoing it as others who are seriously interested might get turned off, especially with all the delays caused by such an entertainment. Don’t forget your goal upon going live – to make sales.
[6] Engage Your Viewers. While waiting for the target number of online viewers before starting off, try to acknowledge them as they crash (if not invited) in your watch party.
Go through their names and say ‘hi.’ You might also consider initiating some little talks with them or even encourage them to share the watch party.
Remember that being called and recognized, with all the live audience on the background, can really be heartwarming. Be a little playful on the camera and just get serious soon you process the actual orders.
[7] Clarify and Emphasize Your Rules. With all inconsistencies, customers get confused and seemingly disappointed. You should clarify some rules before starting off and keep emphasizing them as you go through the live.
Also, you should not demonstrate and make others feel that you’re biased towards those familiar faces among your viewers. If you feel that others start to get disappointed upon missing the bids, cheer them up and make some advice on how to get ahead of the competition.
You might also consider modifying these rules when they don’t work at all or as agreed upon with the viewers, but consistency really matters.
[8] Run a Raffle or Special Promo. Selling online via Facebook Live is a bidding experience to all viewers. You may even level that experience up by running a raffle or a special promo.
For instance, you might want giving freebies when your customer reaches a certain number of successful bids or just buying the most expensive item.
You might also tell them that all likers and sharers will be part of a raffle and that winners will be announced on the next watch party. That is a good strategy to get them excited joining the next time you get online.
[9] Express Your Gratitude. Be really really thankful to all your viewers who participated in the live and imply about what exciting offers await them on the next.
Consider as well clarifying instructions about the orders. As soon as you close the watch party, make a separate post on your page about it so others who just failed to join will also get interested next time. Tell them that it was a successful live streaming.
Then, review all confirmed bids, pack the merchandise right away, and ship within the promised time frames. Next to quality, what customers appreciate much is the speed of transaction and product shipment.
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