Live commerce. It’s a fad, right? Sustainable live commerce. Is that even a thing? Well, reports coming in from the US suggest that livestream commerce isn’t really picking up in the market. In the few years this technology has been in the US market, it has only been able to garner about $17 billion or 2% of the country’s eCommerce sector. In fact, big players like TikTok and Meta have pulled plans to scale live commerce in the US.
But what about Southeast Asia? Well, Asia’s different. Asia cares about price and experience. And, shoppable live streams provide just that. Yes, the developed markets haven’t really adapted this technology, but Asia loves personalization and great deals. Ask any D2C brand or eCommerce company in any of the major Asian markets and they will tell you the same. With capabilities that combine expertise, superb offers, and interesting products, live commerce is essential for any online brand selling in Southeast Asia. But it all depends on how sustainable your approach is. Because if you are in it for the long run, there are great benefits to be earned.
Build your brand a sustainable live commerce program
This is the Gartner hype cycle. It shows the usual path a disruptive technology takes, and it has been accurate for a lot of inventions in the past. Let’s relate this with the boom in live commerce across the world. It started off with an innovation trigger as social media platforms desired users to engage more with commerce capabilities. Then, the fad peaked with inflated expectations, especially in the Chinese market. Next up, we saw in the US that the hype started dying out.
Right now, we are probably at the Slope of Enlightenment. This means that while the initial fad has dried out, the scope for a long-term, sustainable live commerce program is within reach. There is a plethora of brands in the market and everyone wants to stand out. With livestreams, you have the full attention of your customers. That’s what online brands desire.
1. Build deeper customer connections
To get yourself a sustainable live commerce program, that doesn’t die down in the first few months of launch, change your approach from selling to community creation. Understand that shoppable livestreams aren’t just tools to quickly clear stock of a product that hasn’t been selling well on traditional channels. Instead, this is a way to build a community around your brand, a community that keeps coming back to buy your products because they trust you to sell them the best at the right price.
Go beyond product pitches and experiment with hosts, formats, and content to keep it fresh for your audiences. One example could be unveiling new products exclusively via streams before making it live for non-livestream users. Have your hosts answer viewer questions instantly to make them happier and relaxed when they think of your brand. Focus on building yourself a strategy that goes beyond just fleeting trends on social media. This fosters loyalty among your users and helps build immunity against the wrath of third-party platforms, eCommerce and social media.
2. Know everything about your customer
Talking about third-party platforms, one of the biggest issues with doing live commerce through platforms like TikTok, Meta, and Shopee is the lack of quality user data. Yes, you get all the eyeballs you want from the mighty algorithm, but you are kept in the blind for most of the data points of a buyer or viewer, which would be extremely helpful in understanding your target audience. Enter, BeLive. We are the leader in providing solutions to integrate end-to-end shoppable livestreams and interactive videos on your platform. And, you don’t even need to know how to code.
BeLive’s LORA provides online brands with the ability to focus on a sustainable live commerce strategy, which is great for getting access to first-party data.
Live commerce is essentially a data goldmine. From engagement metrics, product interest indicators, and post-stream feedback to 360-degree access to customer journeys, this technology provides you with invaluable insights into your audience’s preferences and buying behavior. Go ahead and leverage this data today to refine your offerings, personalize future streams, and optimize your overall marketing strategy for long-term success.
3. Content and social media marketing repository
What do you with all of the rich content you produced for your livestream? Repurpose and use it to grow your social media channels, obviously! It is essential to build your sustainable live commerce strategy with a top-down approach. Start off by focusing just on your live commerce content formats and scripts. Chalk out a calendar and include elements like flash deals, exclusive product drops, QnAs with experts, polls for your viewers, and more. Use that plan to implement your go-to market for your D2C products and witness the reach picking up.
But you are not done yet. Now, use the hours of content you have from the live streams, edit it out to retain only the meat and make it crisper. These edited snippets make for great evergreen content and can be transformed into social media posts, blog content, or even short tutorials, extending the reach and value of your live events. This content library fuels your overall marketing efforts and keeps your brand top-of-mind with your audience.
4. Solid brand authority
Keeping your brand top-of-mind is crucial in a world with lowering attention spans. And with a widespread and expert approach taken on live commerce and social media, you can achieve that efficiently. Live commerce allows you to position yourself as an expert. The first-party, immersive nature of the technology enables you to do that. By showcasing product knowledge, industry insights, and a dedication to customer interaction, you establish trust and credibility, building lasting brand authority that goes beyond short-term trends.
Longer engagement with your customer allows you to share insights that would have otherwise been left out if you opted for just short videos or image posts on social media. The context is not lost and you come across as a subject matter expert to your viewers. Once you have that image in their minds, building loyalty and a repeat purchase mentality is not tough. You can increase your LTV (lifetime value) and cut down on your user acquisition marketing costs; two birds with one stone!
5. Adapt to the new
We feel adapting to live commerce and building a sustainable live commerce strategy is not just another fad. It’s time to adapt to the new. However, keep in mind that results at the start would be lower than expected. With BeLive’s simulcast capabilities, you can simultaneously cast your livestream on your website and your social media platforms, allowing viewers to come into the fold using hooks like exclusive access and extra discounts.
The live commerce landscape, especially in Southeast Asia, is constantly evolving. A sustainable program, thus, focuses on agility. By staying informed about emerging trends, integrating new features, and testing different formats, you ensure your live commerce strategy remains relevant and engaging over time.
Also Read: The Data Game in 2024: Understanding first-party Data and its impact on your business
6. A/B Testing Opportunities
One underrated benefit of building out a long-term sustainable live commerce in-house is the ability to test out newer products and packages before you roll it out on advertising and to the general public. Your livestreaming audience is usually your most loyal, which makes it the right choice to A/B test your products. This is because they are usually the ones with the highest context of your brand and quality and can critique them in the right manner to help you launch better.
Plus, the beauty of live commerce lies in its real-time nature. You can also use A/B testing to compare different elements of your live streams, such as host styles, content formats, or promotional offers. Analyze the results to see what resonates best with your audience and continuously optimize your live commerce program for maximum effectiveness.
So, in summation, building your own sustainable live commerce strategy has several benefits. You get to create a close-knit community of your loyal fans, access to a 360-degree customer journey with first-party data, a huge repository of content that you can flaunt on your social media channels, brand authority that speaks volumes, stay ahead of the curve, and access to a platform that allows you to test out products and formats efficiently.
