Livestreaming gets you more followers & boosts your affiliate earnings. 2 reasons why it works so well are:
- Unlike your pre-recorded videos, live streaming is more intimate & spontaneous, where your audience can see the real you.
- Your audience feels more connected with you as they can live chat with you.
In 2022, live shopping sales in Southeast Asia increased 10x more to US$13 billion, with 44% of Internet users actively engaged through live streaming. 60% of active audiences in Vietnam and Thailand have made purchases.
Live streaming works exceptionally well as online shoppers can ask questions & interact with the vendors as if they are there at the event. On top of that, participants of the live stream get exclusive benefits such as free shipping & discount vouchers.
There’s no doubt that live streaming works to boost sales, so in this article, we will share some tips to successfully start your live streaming career with minimal gear & setup!
Why Should You Live Stream?
Why should you do live streaming anyway?
- Viewers consume your content on your time, resulting in a more qualified audience to buy your recommendations.
- Build more trust with your audience by showcasing your personality & interacting with them live in a Q&A.
All of which will boost your online sales. But what’s in it for the audience to tune into your live stream? To get them to commit, you have to give them something that they can’t get in your other content, such as:
- Exclusive discounts or freebies
- A Q&A session where they can interact with you live on a personal level
These are enough reasons to have a solid live stream to increase your online sales. Let’s look at some examples:
Let’s say you are a beauty influencer giving away exclusive Shopee vouchers for Innisfree facial masks. To drive engagement that boosts sales and conversions via live streaming, you need to:
- Demonstrate your experience in using Innisfree facial masks
- Provide your thoughts & reasons why online shoppers should get these products
- Interact with the audience & make them feel like they’re there with you
- End your live streaming by highlighting the giveaway
Many streamers overlook the importance of live Q&A. Make sure you interact with your audience & make them feel like they are there with you. Besides your audience asking you questions, you can ask the audience questions too! Keep the session fun & engaging.
Once you have crafted your plan, the next step is to get your live streaming equipment ready.
Tech Gear You Need for Live Streaming (It’s Not Expensive)
The beauty of live-streaming is that it’s supposed to be less scripted than a YouTube video. The audience typically won’t expect it to look super polished, so you don’t need professional camera gear to pull off a great live stream. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Camera Gear: A modern webcam or your smartphone camera is often enough
- Audio: An external mic would be ideal for capturing your voice. There are cheap options like a lavalier & shotgun mic.
- Lighting: Sitting next to a window is free. But if you can’t, you can invest in a cheap ring light.
- Internet Connection: Make sure your WiFi or cellular network is stable & has enough bandwidth to handle a live stream. Test your internet speed online & make sure it’s at least 8 Mbps for HD streaming.
You’d probably already have a smartphone & decent internet connection, so buying the optional lights & external mics will only require a small investment, at least USD 40, to give you a rough estimate.
Now you know what gear you need, the next course of action is to figure out which platform to live stream on:
Choosing a Live Streaming Platform Perfect for You & Your Audience
Where should you host your live stream? Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube?
Here are some other criteria you should use to pick a great live streaming platform:
- Supports full HD videos in high quality
- Expands your audience reach through simulcasting on different platforms
- Well-protected security and privacy
- Provides options (such as comment section and polls) for the audience to interact with
- Able to save broadcasted videos so you can share them on your platforms
Some of the most common live-streaming platforms are:
| Platform | Length of recording time | Unique Features | Can Share Video After Live |
 | No limit | – Create a highlight of your live stream video – a shorter, edited version of the live stream while you are live streaming – Track live stream metrics – Make a premiere video – Show a trailer before live streaming – Monetise your live stream with ads and Super Chat – Manage your live chat and captions | Yes |
 | 4 hours | – Live Polls – Featured Links – Live in Stories – Live Comment Moderation – Front Row – Badges – Live With – Live Shopping | Yes |
 | No limit | – LIVE event: Prepare for your upcoming live streaming by scheduling and promoting it to your audience – LIVE Q&As: View the audience’s comments in their stream chat on a side panel and have the option to show the questions, which you are going to answer, to the viewers – Moderator tool: Mute & block users from the live chat and filter out the words so that these don’t appear in the chat. | Yes |
 | 1 hour | – Pin your comment (mention what you are promoting and the link) at the top of the chat – Share your audience’s questions on the screen – Add Instagram filters to your live streamInvite someone to join your live stream – Share an image or video of you using the product | Need to save video before publishing it |
There is no perfect streaming platform, but narrowing down to where you have the most followers is a great start.
After you have selected the platforms you want to use for live streaming, it’s time to broadcast to your audience.
Setting Up Your Live Streaming for Success
Having a good strategy for hosting your live stream brings more engagement and sales in real-time.
5 things to take into consideration when going live:
- Choose the peak hours of live streaming to get the most exposure
- Demonstrate how to use products while mentioning the benefits of using them
- Keep the audience tuned in until the end by doing giveaways and announcing the lucky draw winners at the end.
- Have someone to assist you to monitor & answer live chats
- Include your Involve affiliate link on the description and live chat
See How Successful Streamers Do It
With your Involve affiliate links shared on live stream videos, you can earn between 5% and 30% of the successful sales. The income you will earn is varied, depending on how well the audience engages with your videos.
Let’s take a look at how Chu Hui and Monaliza PC do live streaming on their channels.
Chu Hui – Beauty Influencer on Instagram
Chu Hui does her live stream once a month – recommending skincare & makeup products by showing how she gets ready while interacting with her followers.
In between, she responds to the followers’ questions such as how she has been doing, her thoughts about specific products, and tips & tricks on using them.
She saves her live videos and shares them on her page so that her followers can catch up on what they have been missing in her videos.
Monaliza PC – Tech Content Creator on YouTube
Monaliza PC does live streaming on his YouTube channel where viewers can chill while watching, commenting and asking questions about electronics & gaming.
He recently did live streaming during 3.3 Sales where he showed the Shopee 3.3 Sales landing page and recommended products to purchase with great discounts.
He invited viewers to ask questions by posting them on the live chat so he can respond to their queries before they decide to buy products at Shopee.
He included the links to the products which he suggested buying in the description.
Hope that this article inspires you to promote your favourite products and earn affiliate income through live streaming on various platforms.
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