Most people will be familiar with live streaming as a way of watching national team stars like Mohammed Kudus flex their talents on the football pitch. In Ghana, this has been the main use of live streaming tech for over a decade as the internet has allowed live streamers to connect to broadcasts from anywhere in the world.
The rise of platforms like Twitch and then the turn of YouTube to have live features, which has helped to create millionaire net worth individuals like MrBeast, have made live streaming commonplace for entertainment beyond sports. Now, people will turn to live streaming platforms to create communities, showcase their gaming stints, chat with others, or watch the live sessions that other people send out. Businesses that don’t specifically deal in providing live streaming platforms are also getting in on the game.
Live shopping, live commerce, and live video promotional events for businesses are all very new concepts – even in the countries where they bring in billions of dollars. So, there aren’t many companies in Ghana or even many western markets that are leveraging the tech to offer a superior online shopping experience. Early movers can stand out as a result and have time to curate the experience perfectly to their target audiences. If your business could do with a boost or novelty like live commerce, here are some things to know.
Be professional at all times
Even though you may know a whole host of people who use live streaming all of the time, those on Twitch always appear very casual, and even if you use a social media network as the basis for your live venture, you need to appear and act professionally at all times. You can make your video more professional in many ways, but the key point from a sales point of view is that the host is or is joined by some kind of expert in the field of the products being sold. This is because engagement, insights, and questions from viewers are big parts of live commerce.
While some people expect live streams to be a bit more informal, if you can be professional, you’ll stand out. This is one of the ways that has made the world of live gaming really kick off at the online casino. Set up in a specialized studio, live casinos stream the professional croupiers and their games to players in real time, with many variations on classics such as Power Up Roulette or Live Eclipse Blackjack. They run the games as a pro would in a land-based casino, also talking to those in the chat and sometimes adding insights to the games played so far. As a business live streaming, they offer a great model for how to conduct your sessions.
Choosing the right platform
For most businesses online, social media is key to operations, and many of them now offer live streaming options. In Ghana, per 2021 figures, the most popular social media platforms are WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat, in that order. Obviously, the colossal company Meta runs the biggest ones, and both Facebook and Instagram are viable platforms for your live-streaming needs. That said, the most downloaded social media apps in Ghana are TikTok Lite, Facebook Lite, and TikTok proper, so there are other options.
Each social media network comes with incredible reach and algorithms that promote live streams over other content to followers and scrollers, but to have perfectly curated sessions, it’s best to get live streaming embedded in your own website. With the best live software, you can even go live across several platforms at once – which is what Restream allows for. The key is to get eyes on the live stream, so being available across several platforms at once helps, but if you’re keeping it on your site, be sure to use social media to promote the event well ahead of time.
Making the live stream must-watch by tapping into FOMO
Live commerce is gaining a tremendous amount of speed and has become a force to be reckoned with already in China. Having arrived in 2016, live commerce has already become a multi-billion prospect in the vast Asian nation, with a 2020 event called “Single’s Day” on Alibaba eclipsing $7.5 billion in total transaction value in a mere 30 minutes. The key to this is that customers fear missing out through some savvy promotion in the lead-up and by having the possibility of anything can happen as it’s live, including bonuses.
Ghana has 15 million people buying online every day. Tilting the setup from shopping on demand to demand that the shoppers attend a live event or miss out on exclusive items, limited-time deals, and in-stream promotions could prove very successful. Even if people are only fleetingly interested when they see your post online promoting the upcoming live sales event, saying that there will be secret items and promotions going live during the stream will get them interested and in attendance.
If you’re looking to make the most of the live-streaming revolution, be sure to make your event helpful through the use of professionals, be present on popular platforms (especially social media sites), and amp up anticipation and FOMO through hints such as special promotions and products.