Innovative retailers know that live selling is a powerful way to turn traditional product listings into meaningful customer interactions that drive revenue. Discover a retail strategy that not only fosters online trust and community but also drives remarkable conversions: Influencer marketing.
Whether you want to live sell on your Shopify website, on social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, or on your branded mobile app or website; influencers can greatly boost your retail potential. This is especially true if influencers and content creators can access a platform that allows them to invite viewers or show your products from multiple angles. Combining live selling and influencer marketing has proven to drive sales for retailers by as much as 600%. Top shops using CommentSold in May 2023 earned more than $2,200 per minute during live sales.
5 Reasons Why Content Creators + Live Selling = Retail Success
Successful live sales and content creators share the same qualities: building connections, creating community, discussing products, having fun, and giving an engaging experience. Here are five reasons why using content creators for live selling is a great idea.
1. Content Creators Come With a Guaranteed Audience
Building authentic connections with shoppers can be a challenge for retailers. But authentic audience connections lead to higher customer lifetime value (CLV) and repeat purchase rates. This can also reduce shop expenditure since maintaining existing shoppers is cheaper than acquiring new customers. Content creators are a great way to retain customers while bringing in new ones.
Imagine supercharging your sales game by marrying the forces of live selling and influencer marketing—a combination proven to boost retailer earnings by an astonishing 600%.
The good news for brands looking to secure customer loyalty is that content creators already have it. A whopping 92% of consumers claim to trust influencers and content creators more than standard advertisements, brand messaging, or full-blown celebrity endorsements. With this loyalty comes a built-in, dedicated follower base, boosting your brand following and sales.
Live selling inherently enhances customer trust because it’s unprecedentedly interactive and engaging. Top live sellers have seen repeat purchase rates as high as 98% due to their ability to lock in loyal customers through live selling.
Blending trustworthy content creators with a live sales platform made to support this trust is an unstoppable force for retailers looking for repeat shoppers and consistent conversions.
2. Content Creators Can Convert…Quickly
A customer journey has six stages: Awareness, Interest, Consideration, Intent, Evaluation, and Purchase. Brands have to invest significant time and effort to push shoppers through each stage to get them to convert.
Content creators can supercharge this journey from curiosity to conversion. Their influence isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a catalyst for your sales. By sharing genuine opinions and experiences, content creators convert interest and awareness into desire and rapid action—in short, influencers drive conversions for your live sales.
Because they are influential, content creators can drastically shorten the time a potential shopper spends considering a product or service. Content creators use their sway, charisma, likeability, and openness to speak honestly about their opinions and your products. And since influencers already have a loyal fan base, they can quickly get their viewers to trust and invest in your products.
How to Convert Shoppers Fast
A U.S. live seller using the CommentSold live selling platform earned an average of $6,500 in total sales per live shopping event. When the same U.S. retailer started using influencer marketing with a content creator, their sales skyrocketed by 600%, earning an average of nearly $60,000 per live sale event, proving that the value of blending live selling and content creators is all too real.
Another benefit? Influencer marketing continues to sell even after traditional marketing campaigns end. The influence of the content creator doesn’t disappear as a traditional ad campaign’s does once it stops running; content creators exist in the public sphere, and so does the brand recognition associated with them.
The key to quicker conversions? Tap into the power of a live selling content creator.
3. Content Creators Are Already Camera Ready
A huge benefit to live commerce is the ability to communicate with shoppers in real time. This creates an incredible opportunity for content creators to form authentic relationships with their followers—something they have already perfected.
Live commerce’s magic lies in real-time connections, an arena where influencers and content creators are experts. The camera is their canvas, and building authentic bonds is their art. Their transparency, charisma, and skill get a boost when supported by live selling, helping build tangible and valuable relationships with viewers, bridging the gap between creator and consumer.
Successful content creators specialize in building meaningful connections and are experts at doing it in front of the camera—which can significantly increase conversions through live selling. Content creators use their influence, charm, and transparency to seamlessly acquire new followers, who can become customers.
Another perk? Content creators are less hesitant to address touchy subjects, like product cost increases, making them a smart and powerful mouthpiece for brands who have yet to develop a public “voice” or are unsure of tackling sensitive topics.
4. Content Creators Can Tap into Niche Markets
Using content creators to host live sales is a powerful way for brands to target specific demographics. Influencers/content creators fall into social tiers based on the number of loyal followers they have, which can help brands tap into larger (or smaller) markets specific to their goals. These creators can bring their followers and help brands reach specific shoppers when paired with live selling.
Mega-Influencers
- 1M+ followers
- Expensive
Good for businesses looking to build awareness more than user engagement. The bigger the content creator, the more eyes per post, which leads to stronger brand recognition and product visibility; however, meaningful customer relationships can be lost in the sea of mega-influencer followers.
Macro-Influencers
- 100,000 – 1M followers
- Large follower base, relatively expensive
A good option for businesses looking to build awareness. These content creators typically specialize in a niche industry, so their content is often focused and specific.
Mid-tier Influencers
- 10K – 200K followers
- Well-known online figures
Successful content creators in their own right, mid-tier influencers are good at playing the long game and building a steady stream of engagement from their followers, who are likely to stick with them on their journey.
Micro-Influencers
- 10K – 100K followers
- Focused on building authentic connections with a small group of followers
- Good for building loyal, repeat customers within niche markets
Micro-content creators are often more sedentary within a niche industry and have a specific fan base of like-minded followers. According to Forbes, micro-influencers have a 60% engagement rate and a 20% conversion rate.
Nano-Influencers
- 10K followers or fewer
- Great for smaller businesses looking to showcase their personality, take a stance, and deeply connect with their followers.
Nano-influencers are typically very open and share frequent, two-way communication with their supporters, which leads to high engagement rates and trust-building over longer periods—an incredible asset for brands and retailers who are in it for the long run.
How to Pick a Content Creator for Your Live Sales
When choosing a live shopping content creator for your website or socials, think about your goals: to build brand recognition and awareness, go with a larger mega or macro influencer who offers guaranteed eyes on your products. To see engagement and conversions within your pocket of the market, use a smaller-scale creator to speak to your audience. Be sure to pick a creator that matches your target audience’s demographic and interests.
5. Supportive Influencer Marketing Platforms Exist
The qualities that make a good content creator are what make a good live sale—an engaging on-screen personality that entertains, builds authentic rapport with followers, and carries buying influence.
When adopting this two-pronged approach, it’s important to partner with a powerful live selling platform like CommentSold, one that delivers relevant, on-screen information to live sale hosts and prioritizes user experience with seamless, in-stream checkout and push notifications.
Shops using influencer marketing with CommentSold since 2022 saw a 240% increase in live sale viewership by simply using established content creators as live sale hosts—proving the power of live selling and influencer marketing. And getting started with both has never been easier.
