Why & How You Should Include Influencers in Your Live Video Shopping

Live video shopping has been on every digital marketer’s mind this year and it’s one of the fastest growing trends in the marketing industry. But unlike what many people might think, it’s not a completely new phenomenon. 

We all remember TV-shop back in days – the teleshopping channel broadcasting every hour of the day. The only real difference between that and today’s live video shopping is that what was previously a call-in service is now app or online based. Another important development is the possibility of two-way communication that live video shopping offers, meaning that brands can communicate with viewers directly through a chat function.

Live video shopping has proven to be an effective tool for driving conversions compared to other marketing efforts, and companies that have tried it during the past year have reported off-the-charts conversion rates and spiking sales following a broadcast. You can’t deny that live video shopping is a powerful tool on its own, but it’s when you combine it with influencer marketing that the real magic happens. 

You can’t deny that live video shopping is a powerful tool on its own, but it’s when you combine it with influencer marketing that the real magic happens. 

People don’t follow brands, they follow people, and the majority of all consumers trust recommendations from creators and influencers more than traditional ads. The obvious choice for millennials and Gen Z is to go to social media for product discovery and evaluation (just google ”TikTok made me buy it” and see the huge amount of purchases made because of TikTok recommendations). 

Influencers and creators are an important part of the customer journey, and have a huge impact on consumers’ purchase decisions. Hence, a lot of synergies arise when combining influencer marketing with live video shopping. Here are some of the beneficial ways you can include influencers in your live stream:

1. Influencers as Hosts

Having influencers as hosts or co-hosts in your live video shopping is a great way to not just bring an audience of loyal followers to the stream, but also to build credibility and authenticity around the broadcast. If a person that many people like and follow speaks well of a product or service in a live stream, the likelihood of them purchasing that product/service increases significantly. Not to to forget, a famous influencer can greatly increase the number of viewers just with their name.

2. Influencers for Relevant Traffic

Not only can influencers be used in the actual live stream – they can also be used for driving traffic to the stream. By using influencers who are experts within certain niches you can reach an audience that is interested in a topic relevant to your brand. Maybe you want to reach beauty freaks, animal lovers or food junkies? Then influencers who are specialized in those topics, and have followers who share their interest, can recommend their followers to check out the live stream. Driving traffic to your live video shopping is great, but driving relevant traffic is what can boost your sales.

3. Influencers as Entertainers

An important thing to consider when planning a live shopping sessions is that it has to be entertaining to the viewers. No one likes to be fed with pure sales pitches or being pushed into buying something – a live stream should be entertaining, inspiring, educational and give value to the viewers. Influencers are used to being in front of the camera and create interesting content – after all, it’s their job – and they can add the entertainment value that you need to keep the viewers’ attention. 

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