How to Sell Through Live Streams on Social Networks: 5 Performance Show Ideas for Different Markets

Live streams have firmly established themselves in social networks: users have become accustomed to watching live streams and interacting in broadcast chats. Consequently, broadcasts are a growth point for those looking for new ways of effective communication with the audience. In this article, I will show through examples how a brand can stimulate sales through online events on social networks.

The food industry is a rich niche with high competition. Producers constantly struggle for presence on store shelves and marketplaces. To become more attractive to consumers and, consequently, strengthen sales, it is necessary to maintain regular media activity.

An online broadcast for a food brand could be presented in the form of a cooking show. A well-known chef or blogger prepares interesting dishes live, with the brand's products as the main ingredient. Another idea is a culinary battle. Several teams receive a limited set of products and within a given time frame must create something tasty and original.

All this is not new and has been played out on TV a hundred times, but there are several important differences between TV shows and broadcasts on social networks. On television, it's usually a recording, but on social networks, it's a live show where the viewer:

• Interacts with a community of like-minded people in the chat,
• Can influence events in the broadcast (if the show format allows for different plot twists depending on viewer choices),
• Receives tangible benefits in the moment.

In social networks, there is no place for staged "calls to the studio" and voting via SMS. Everything is transparent and happens in front of the viewers' eyes. The format of open interaction implies a new level of trust and loyalty from the audience.

During a show on social networks, you can:

• Conduct quizzes,
• Give away food baskets among active viewers,
• Respond to questions from the chat,
• Offer interactivity: viewers' choices influence the show's script,
• Distribute promo codes for discounted product purchases.

However, one should not expect that simply broadcasting with a well-known personality will suddenly attract a crowd of viewers on its own. To garner millions of views, preliminary preparation (announcements) and the purchase of advertising spots for the live broadcast will be necessary.

The retail market offers a vast assortment of various goods. Based on objectives (for example, upgrading a certain group of products), one can formulate an idea for a live broadcast.

Suppose our retailer sells electronics. Let's take the category of smartwatches and speakers. In the online show, a well-known blogger or athlete can talk about life hacks for using their favorite gadgets, compare several products of different price ranges, and even conduct a crash test.

The broadcast can be tied to a loyalty program. For example, a receipt promo. To receive additional bonus points or triple cashback, a customer must make a purchase during the live broadcast and then register the receipt in their personal account.

Competitive activities will increase engagement and prolong contact with the viewer. A simple idea: viewers need to assemble a puzzle from parts of a word hidden in the studio. The first viewer to solve the puzzle gets products from the live broadcast as a prize.

By the way, the sponsor of the online event can be not only the retailer but also the manufacturers of the products featured in the broadcast.

E-commerce players are probably the most active in the arena of product streams. Aliexpress was the first, and other online retailers are gradually catching up. Essentially, they are all making 'couch stores', just packaged differently.

Children's products sell well online, and modern parents spend a lot of time on social networks. This creates an ideal combination for audience activation through live broadcasts.

What kind of show can stimulate the sale of children's products? Here are a few ideas depending on the age of the child:

• Parents of infants will be attracted to a humorous relay race with strollers and diapers, or expert advice on nutrition and baby care. It's not necessary to invent complex creatives: new parents need encouragement, learning, consolation, and entertainment. It should be considered that they are unlikely to endure a long live broadcast, so short steps can be effective: a mini-series with native product placement will be well received.
• Three-year-olds undergo crises, and here you can create a cool show with a famous psychologist who will talk about how to raise children without losing your mind. Useful developmental toys and other children's goods, relevant within the context, will come to the aid of parents.
• Parents of schoolchildren are universal buyers who need to provide their child with a full set of everything from uniforms to stationery and a pile of study guides. They would benefit from educational content with life hacks like "how to prepare a child for school without going broke", "TOP-10 affordable and useful gadgets for students that will help succeed in studies", etc. The speaker should be an opinion leader - then parents are more likely to make a purchase.
• Teenagers already hang out on social networks and are ready to make their own choices. You might not sell directly in a live broadcast (except for inexpensive items), but you can influence their choice, which will then be actively communicated to the parents. As for ideas – teenagers love extremity and creativity. They would appreciate a creative approach, utmost sincerity, and youth support. For example, you could organize a championship in mural painting (street art?): drawing on "edgy" topics or characters from popular series.

Tip: After the broadcast, gather audience segments from all viewers who performed any social actions (comment, vote in a poll, like, etc.) and target them with retargeting right after the broadcast.

Banks spend huge budgets on attracting new clients. Nowadays, the dialogue between the brand and the consumer on the topic of financial literacy is becoming increasingly popular. This is genuinely useful content that people need, and it can help win the audience's loyalty.

While experts have already exhausted the potential of textual manuals, stories, and life hacks, various Instagram marathon runners have taken over the territory of live "expert-consumer" communication. They actively exploit tools like webinars and live broadcasts on social networks and monetize their audience with enthusiasm.

Why shouldn't a bank do the same? We choose a pressing topic (for example, micro-investing). We attract experts and organize exciting online debates in a studio decorated with the sponsor's branded elements. Of course, we natively integrate the bank's financial products into the broadcast content, offering the most advantageous terms and bonuses to those who sign up for a card right here and now. Voilà!

Lifehack: Engage numerous partners to share the burden of the budget. After all, if you're creating a really cool live broadcast (better a series!) with substantial media coverage and stars in the main roles, the price tag will be impressive (from 2 million rubles). Of course, after the broadcast, the video recording can be further promoted, creatively edited, and used in future activities.

How to integrate the bank's partners into the live broadcast? Very simple. A fitness club, children's store, or gas station with which the bank already cooperates can make themselves known through prizes for viewers participating in a draw during the live broadcast. A free gym membership, a travel voucher, 200 liters of prize gasoline... Here, it depends on the imagination and budget.

Cosmetics are meant to make people beautiful and well-groomed. Therefore, a "before-and-after" show format is quite appropriate here. The transformation of the heroes vividly demonstrates the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of the products, and during the broadcast, detailed instructions on the proper use of the brand's products can be provided.

Beauty bloggers are plentiful nowadays, and among them, it's not difficult to find a brand ambassador or even a whole support group who will eagerly and knowledgeably broadcast about makeup application techniques and skin care tricks. Ideally, it's better not to look for easy ways and show how to, for instance, apply makeup on a girl with problem skin, skillfully hiding imperfections while not harming reactive skin. Seeing the real result, viewers will want to repeat it on their own.

For the Beauty & Care segment in a live broadcast, sales can be stimulated for both individual products and entire beauty boxes (bulk is cheaper). The most generous offer goes to those who are ready to immediately purchase products from the broadcast. For the rest of the viewers, offer a discount promo code that expires in a few days.

Skincare cosmetics, as a rule, do not show an immediate effect. They are part of a regular "beauty routine" aimed at maintaining the health and beauty of the skin, hair, and nails. Therefore, in the broadcast, it's better to give the floor to an expert cosmetologist or a heroine who has undergone a long journey of transformation using the brand's products. With proofs in the form of "before-and-after" photos and a step-by-step guide on how she achieved the outstanding result. Viewers ask questions in the chat, and the heroes of the broadcast respond. A moderator closely monitors the chat for efficient communication, quickly finding interesting questions and passing them to the studio, while also maintaining order. Ultimately, all those wishing to purchase products from the broadcast go to the landing page and take a test to choose the most suitable care.