The Effectiveness of Using Content Creators in Live Selling to Drive Sales Success
Innovative retailers know that live selling is a powerful way to turn traditional product listings into meaningful customer interactions that drive revenue. A similar retail strategy that also builds trust online, creates community, and drives conversions? Influencer marketing. For every single dollar spent on influencer marketing, brands have reported earning nearly 600% that amount in return.
Even more, combining live selling and influencer marketing has proven to drive sales for retailers by as much as 800%. In fact, shops using influencer marketing with CommentSold in 2022 earned more than $1,000 per minute using content creators to host their live sales.
So why should retailers tap into these two powerful sales strategies to turn heads and revenue? Because live selling and influencer marketing are two powerful tools that work even better together.
5 Reasons Why Content Creators + Live Selling = Retail Success
The key pillars to successful live sales are also embedded in the core qualities of a successful content creator: foster connections, build community, talk shop, have fun, and deliver an engaging experience.
That being said, here are our top five reasons pairing live sales with content creators is a win-win strategy that shouldn’t be missed.
1. Content Creators Come with a Guaranteed Audience
A huge barrier for retailers to tackle is building authentic connections with their shoppers, a feat worth attempting as it leads to higher customer lifetime value (CLV) and repeat purchase rates—not to mention it is much more expensive to replace existing customers with new ones than to maintain healthy relationships with existing shoppers.
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.
This trust is precisely what the live selling format provides: seller/shopper intimacy and relationship building that leads to diehard and dedicated shoppers. 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
The traditional customer journey takes an interested party through four “sales funnel” stages: awareness, interest, desire, and action. At the top of this funnel, potential customers are learning about a product or service and gauging their need for or interest in it.
Content creators, because they are influential, can drastically shorten the amount of time a potential shopper spends considering a product or service. Content creators use their sway, charisma, likeability, and openness to talk honestly about their opinions and the products they are promoting. Their fans appreciate the candor and therefore trust the creator, shifting quickly from awareness and interest to desire and action—in other words, straight to conversion.
How to Convert Shoppers Fast
A U.S. live seller using the CommentSold live selling platform earned an average $6.5 thousand 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 800%, earning an average of nearly $60 thousand 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 “campaigns” end. The influence of the content creator doesn’t disappear as a traditional ad campaign does once it stops running; content creators exist in the public spear, and so too does brand recognition associated with that creator.
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.
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 candor and transparency to seamlessly acquire new followers, who in turn, 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 how to tackle a sensitive topic.
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. When paired with live selling, these creators can bring their follower attribution to the table and help brands reach this specific subset of shoppers.
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
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 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 of time…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, 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 too that matches the demographic and interests of your target audience.
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 significant 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 also keeps user experience at top of mind with seamless, in-stream checkout and push notifications.
Shops using influencer marketing with CommentSold in 2022 saw live sale viewership increase by 240% simply by using established content creators as live sale hosts—proving the power live selling and influencer marketing. Thankfully, getting started with both has never been easier.
