How Facebook Live Will Change the Online Retail Shopping Experience, Shown in BuzzFeed’s Latest Experiment
For the past 68 years, seeing infomercials on TV has been nothing new. Whether it was someone we grew to love or someone we grew tired of 5 seconds after seeing them, home shopping network and infomercial producers have tried every approach out there to get their product in front of our eyes — that is until I stumbled upon what I’d call the QVC for millennials.
It all started when a good friend of mine (we’ll call him Alex from Florida) tagged me in a Facebook post by a page called “Buy Me That,” claiming to offer up to 90% off hot new products through an upcoming Facebook Live session.
“Facebook Live?,” I thought, “Isn’t that just meant for making friends jealous through streaming concerts and cool vacations?” As someone fascinated by innovative new digital retail trends, this certainly captured my attention, and I needed to learn more.
I dug a little deeper to find that the page was operated by BuzzFeed staff, and that 30 minutes later they’d be going live to somehow start selling products through Facebook Live. I had no clue how this was logistically possible through a video streaming service and decided to tune in to learn more. In a matter of minutes, I was completely mindblown by the entire idea, knowing this could be a huge revenue booster to the current affiliate marketing sales they do.
Combined with Facebook’s incredible audience targeting methods, it had the potential to open a whole new stream of revenues for the online retail industry, simply by integrating social interaction with the selling process. Given that TV viewership by millennials has decreased over 40 percent since 2011, this new channel may be worth a shot for retailers to get their products in front of specific, younger demographics — or anyone, for that matter. However, before doing so, here are a few things to consider:
Use Disruptive Technology to Your Advantage
Moments after joining the Facebook Live stream, I realized this wasn’t the front-facing smartphone broadcast I was familiar with. There were multiple professional-grade cameras being switched between, high-quality audio, a fully equipped set with a desk and custom backdrop, and an assortment of products in lined up to be discussed.
The top corner of the video had a timer counting down until the next product would be discussed, and there were even lower-third graphics that would periodically appear with the presenter and product names; clearly a third-party live video editing suite was being used. Then, at the very bottom, I saw something I’d never seen before in a Facebook Live stream. Can you see what it is?
In the very bottom of the chat window, there was a tiny carousel of the current product(s) they were discussing (plus the previous ones), alongside the price and a “Buy” button. After clicking to purchase, I was taken to a checkout page within the Facebook app in order to complete my order.
As if adding the button to buy wasn’t enough, Facebook introduced a way to buy these products without ever leaving the Live stream — appearing to use Facebook’s new “Shop” feature to place and fulfill the order. Once the order was completed, the viewer was brought right back to the live video, obviously with the intention of having them buy more products.
Leverage Your Trusted Spokesperson(s)
Almost immediately, the small crowd of dedicated fans was going nuts in the comments — beyond thrilled to see their favorite BuzzFeed presences getting hyped up about selling these “remarkable new products.” While the opening product was pretty cool, and the steep discount was apparent, the fact that BuzzFeed used the personalities well-known to their followers was smart — even if they weren’t the most engaging salespeople.
Similar to how brands use celebrities to endorse their products, a good percentage of these fans viewing the feed appeared to already know and love their live presenters, and that previously established rapport was fully leveraged in selling the products.
On the flip side, you had people like me that don’t closely follow BuzzFeed and were getting to know them for the first time. In watching the antics unfold and sifting through the comments being made about them, it was quickly apparent who the favorites were. One beloved staff member, Dave (pictured above), caused quite the massive amount of conversation after chugging half a bottle of wine and then disappearing for a bit before coming back to sell a 3D pen.
Not only did this constant flow of comments keep the crowd engaged, but it simultaneously spread the social reach of the video like wildfire through each interaction, which I’ll touch on shortly. Bottom line: If your brand has a face that your consumers know and love — use them.
How You Sell > What You’re Selling
The products up for grabs were nothing remarkable. Almost all of them I’d seen prior on Amazon, eBay, or a random online e-commerce deals site. As a matter of fact, most people in the comments didn’t even care about the products; if anything, they were roasting the product selection at times. But guess what — the products were still selling. The presenters were calling out names left and right thanking them for their orders, including Alex from Florida, who I could personally confirm was purchasing these heavily-discounted items. You go, Alex.
Among the random assortment of items for sale:
- WiFi pet camera w/ treat dispenser
- Device that let you open/pour wine without removing the cork
- Wine glass that holds a full bottle of wine (demonstrated by Dave to prove its effectiveness)
- Color changing mood lipstick
- Elastic shoelaces you don’t have to ever tie
- LED phone case to take better selfies
- 3D doodle printing pen
As a dog owner, I’m not gonna lie — the Furbo dog treat dispenser looked like a pretty awesome to keep my not-so-little fur baby entertained while I’m away from home. Being able to give her treats and keep tabs on her while I’m gone will certainly give me some peace of mind. Although I must say, jumping from this to a product that allows consumers to down a bottle of wine themselves was a bit random.
The point is, even if your items are ridiculous and serving a super niche purpose, having someone that knows how to do more than just pitch the key features of a product is key. Nobody is going to leave “Likes” and comments on someone simply reading about how this wine bottle system lets you pour wine without a cork; however, show that same person getting drunk off of it (looking at you, Dave), and you’ve got an engaged audience that wants to see more.
In the end, you’re really giving your fans a live performance that they then associate with a product. Once you have this social engagement, the snowball effect of your impressions becomes very apparent.
Gains Impressions, Gain Sales
At the end of the day, gaining sales through social media truly is a numbers game. Sure, the quality of the content plays a big factor, but the algorithms that your social impressions are built on enables them to spread at an exponential rate; that’s the beauty (and goal) of social media. Now, imagine if retailers could use this same social momentum to their advantage to get their products in front of consumers.
When the page first goes live, fans who’ve previously liked the page will get a notification inviting them to view the Facebook Live stream. As these people like or comment on the video, their friends will be able to see this in their newsfeed, wonder what it is, and start watching the stream themselves to find out more. They themselves will then begin to like/comment, meaning the same effect is had on their friends, and the reach of the live video continues indefinitely (even after the live stream has ended).
In a 2015 interview with TechCrunch, Live product manager Vadim Lavrusik stated 53 percent of Facebook video views come from re-shares, which would probably happen after a broadcast ends. The infographic below does a good job at explaining this effect:
Don’t Try to Re-Create a Home Shopping Network
I’m a strong believer that the internet was created to rid the world of 24/7 home shopping networks and terrible infomercials.
Sure, it gave our dear Aunt Betty something to do all day as she ordered overpriced Christmas gifts for everyone, but the rise of e-commerce giants such as Amazon quickly gave consumers easier and more trustworthy means (i.e. review systems) for finding random products to buy.
Rather than watch 30 minutes of overly excited TV personalities trying to sell products that nobody’s ever heard of, taking calls from “recent buyers,” and reading “SALE! ACT NOW! LIMITED QUANTITY REMAINING” flash across the screen in bold letters, consumers could quickly go online and purchase these items after reading a few reviews from real people.
So, why go back to these barbaric and pushy ways?
It may have been intended to come off in a humorous fashion, but the capital letters slowly being typed across the top of the Facebook live stream came off as a little tacky. Add in handwritten notes over the video that made it look like someone had run out of Snapchat characters and resorted to using the pen tool, and the whole experience became way too noisy. Maybe they thought it’d keep the audience engaged, but it came off as slightly awkward to watch — even if it kept me watching.
Combine all of this with the Buzzfeed staff making claims like “You won’t find this deal anywhere else, folks. We’re almost out, so hurry up and order while you can!,” and you’ve got a potential recipe for disaster.
Once again, almost immediate criticism was apparent through the comments and reactions (note the “Angry” faces flying across the bottom). If used in an obvious satirical manner, these bold strategies could be funny; otherwise, you’re just walking a fine line of disappointing viewers, so tread lightly with the satire.
Final Thoughts
Unfortunately (for the time being), even after extensive research, I was still unable to find any articles or plugins that explained how BuzzFeed was able to offer these sales directly within the livestream. This led me to believe that developers at Facebook were most likely beta testing this new feature before making it available to all pages across the social network. However, given the success of Facebook’s “Buy” button released nearly two years ago, I don’t foresee it taking long for them to release it for every page to use in livestreams very soon.
So, what does all of this mean for the brand or business you work with? With Facebook Live being so new (and disruptive enough in itself), retailers have been given an incredible new channel to get their product in front of consumers — 1.86 billion, to be exact.
While I’ve seen a good number of company pages doing Q&A livestreams and random broadcasts showing off their offices, the idea of showcasing products with immediate social interaction and exponential reach will be a game changer. Just because retailers can’t currently give their viewers the ability to purchase directly through the stream doesn’t mean they can’t still show off their innovative new products and include the links on where to quickly buy them online.
Given that it’s completely free to do a Facebook Live stream and use a page’s fan base as a springboard, it’s certainly one of the many channels retailers should try utilizing — including QVC and HSN themselves. Assuming Facebook decides to roll out this feature out in the near future, it would be of great benefit for retailers to have a gameplan ready to dominate their market as soon as it’s available. §
