In recent years, the trend of e-commerce live-streaming has been booming in China. More and more e-commercants are willing to open live-streaming channels to attract customers and spread brand image or just sell products.
Why is live streaming effective in China E–commerce?
Although the China e-commerce industry is becoming more and more prosperous, online shopping is often unreliable due to the general phenomenon of knock-offs, low quality items, and fake reviews.
Now the form of Live-Streaming provides transparency. Chinese consumers can see what products actually look like, not just the generic photos that the seller found online.Live-streaming also gives the seller a opportunity to introduce the product’s features and demonstrate how to use it. At the same time, viewers can directly ask any questions about the product and get a detailed answer .
In sum, live-streaming provides the trust and transparency that Chinese e-commerce has traditionally lacked.
How to attract viewers to watch?
The best way to attract a large audience and create immediate trust with your viewers is to hire a celebrity or Key Opinion Leader (KOL) to promote your product during the live-streaming.
Inviting a celebrity might attract a lot of viewers, but they are too expensive to invite and some celebrities’ fans lack purchasing power. Working with a KOL might be more worth and more efficient.
Key Opinion Leaders can help commercial players target a niche audience and communicate with them. They are able to take advantage of the potential local market, specially in the cosmetics and fashion sectors.
What should we keep in mind for a successful live-streaming?
First of all, you need to pay attention to the time period of living-streaming. According to the data, live-streaming viewers are most active between 8 and 11pm. Many people get home late from work, then they play mobile phones and watch live-streaming before going to sleep.
Second, the live-streaming should be at least 1-2 hours long. While this might seem really long, it usually takes a while at the beginning of the broadcast to gain momentum and let the audience start flowing in.
On top of that, you need to spend a lot of time for audience interaction. Interactions make live-streaming appealing. Don’t ever let the broadcast go silent or leave the audience unattended.
Sometimes offering a time-sensitive discount or some giveaways during the live streaming are a good way to keep people watching and turn them into regular viewers. In addition, many live-streaming platforms will have a Hongbao feature, where you can essentially give away money to the audience.
