Live commerce is no longer a one-time novelty or even a seasonal trend; it’s a dynamic marketing tool that thrives only when you have a strategy in place and are putting in the effort to take it seriously. But how do you ensure your live streams stay fresh and exciting throughout the year? How do you manage to put out content every time that excites thousands of viewers on your platform. Here’s a framework to develop a content calendar for captivating live commerce experiences, leveraging seasonal trends, holidays, and customer preferences.
Planning Your Live Commerce Content Calendar
1. Know Your Audience
Understanding your customer base is crucial. We are sure your marketing teams would be on top of all the insights needed for customer acquisition and retention. On similar lines, you should analyze purchase data, social media engagement, and website traffic to identify seasonal trends and peak purchase times, specifically for your live streams. Are there specific holiday windows or events that drive sales for your company or industry? Do certain product categories perform better at particular times of year?
2. Seasonal Shifts
Instead of exclusively doing lives seasonly, it’s not such a bad idea to cash in on seasonal trends and holidays throughout the year for your content calendar. Here are some examples:
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- Spring: Spring means cleaning season and the onset of the summers. You can use the opportunity to promote spring cleaning essentials, new arrivals for warmer weather, or host live gardening tutorials.
- Summer: As the warm weather sets in, showcase swimwear, offer travel essentials, or partner with influencers for poolside product demos.
- Fall: For Fall, you can exclusively feature warm and cozy fall fashion lines, showcase back-to-school items for all the students, or even create DIY gift-wrapping in preparation for the holiday season.
- Winter: Promote holiday gift ideas, host live gift-wrapping sessions, or offer special festive product bundles.
3. Celebrations and Events
There are weather seasons and then there are holiday seasons where a lot of people love to splurge to gift their loved ones. Don’t miss out on national holidays or international shopping events like Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Make them part of your live commerce content calendar. For these, you can plan dedicated live streams offering exclusive deals and discounts well in advance, or create themed content around the occasion. For instance, Black Friday is when a lot of people consider upgrading their home appliances and tech accessories. Plan similar streams few weeks in advance, so the relevancy in your customers’ minds remains throughout the buying spree.
4. Customer Preferences
The best part about BeLive’s whitelabel solution is that we provide a deep understanding of the entire customer journey on your platform. This allows you to measure how many people dropped off and at what stage. Integrate this audience feedback into your content calendar. Analyze data from previous live streams to see what resonated with viewers. Consider polls and Q&A sessions to understand what type of content they’d like to see in the future. There are endless insights that you can keep using to tweak your strategy to what your audience likes.
Also Read: Micro Influencers: The Secret Weapon of Live Commerce Success
The Power of Simulcasting and Owning Your Platform
While exploring multiple platforms can be beneficial, there is another way you can reach your audiences efficiently. Consider the advantages of simulcasting your live streams when planning your live commerce content calendar:
- Reach a Wider Audience: Simulcast your live stream across various platforms like Instagram, YouTube, and your own website, maximizing your reach and attracting viewers who prefer different platforms. It’s a good way to bring these people into the fold.
- Streamlined Workflow: Manage your live stream from a single platform like BeLive, eliminating the need to juggle multiple interfaces and saving you valuable time and resources. We offer a clutter-free plug and play style platform that allows you to go live in seconds.
- Data Ownership: By hosting your live stream on your own platform (powered by BeLive), you capture all viewer data. This empowers you to understand customer journeys, optimize future content, and ultimately build stronger brand and customer relationships.
Bringing Your Audience Home
Don’t underestimate the power of attracting your audience to your own platform. Here’s why it’s beneficial:
- Brand Control: On your own platform, you control the user experience. You can tailor the interface to align with your brand identity and promote other products or services you offer. Furthermore, you can customize the features on your livestreams to make them stand out in the crowd of generic streams.
- Building a Community: Your platform allows you to create and foster a dedicated community around your brand. Encourage viewers to create accounts, follow your channel, and interact directly with you, fostering a sense of loyalty and belonging.
- Data-Driven Optimization: When viewers engage on your platform, you capture valuable data on their behavior and preferences. This data becomes the cornerstone of future marketing efforts, allowing you to personalize your offerings and create even more engaging experiences.
Developing a well-rounded live commerce content calendar is key to captivating your audience year-round. By incorporating seasonal trends, holidays, and customer preferences, you create a dynamic experience that keeps viewers coming back for more. Remember, simulcasting allows you to maximize reach, while owning your platform empowers you to control the user experience, build a community, and leverage valuable customer data for long-term success. With BeLive as your partner, you can transform live commerce from a seasonal tactic into a strategic pillar of your marketing strategy, fostering brand loyalty and driving sustainable business growth.