Best Practices in doing a Facebook Live Sale
- Get the right video and equipment
The basics you’ll need are a fast internet connection, tripod, and decent lighting. Your internet connection should be with wifi and not data, which is slower and less stable. If you don’t have a dedicated ring light, do your live with a window behind your camera to use natural light.
Beyond the basics, the main thing we suggest is an 18” ring light or LED panel to really brighten the video. Some ring lights also have a built-in tripod. If you’re experiencing some lag, you may want to get a lightning-to-ethernet connection for your phone to plug directly into your router.
Finally and obviously, have a nice backdrop! A simple background of brick and wood works well. If you do have products in the background, make sure they’re items you plan to sell during your live. If something is not for sale, keep it out of sight so your shoppers aren’t distracted by it!
2. Plan and schedule your live sale in advance
There’s the obvious reason of letting your audience know when you’ll be live so they can mark their calendars and be ready. But having a set time also gives a sense of urgency. They know they have to tune in to catch it. And they to commit to buy within a certain window.
Scheduling your lives at the same time/day each week programs your audience to expect you at a certain time. They’ll make space for your lives in their daily or weekly routines if you’re consistent.
If you haven’t started a consistent schedule yet, check out your Facebook analytics to see when your audience typically engages with your group or page
Some merchants like to do lunchtime lives or evenings. Others go live in the afternoon. Some like weekends vs weekdays. If analytics doesn’t give you a hint, just ask your audience what time works best.
3. Have a large a variety of inventory that’s low in quantity
Shoppers like to see a variety of offerings. They’re also tuning in to be entertained afterall. But keep the number of each products low. This drives up the sense of scarcity, competition, and urgency
4. Go live for at least an hour
Facebook gives longer lives a boost in its distribution. And it increases the chances of folks catching your live sales. Going live for less than an hour makes it hard for everyone to catch at least part of it.
5. Go live in your page and group simultaneously
Going live on your page and then sharing into your group limits the reach within your group. It’s best to go live to both the page and group at once. (SoldLive gives you this ability)
6. Have a catchy title.
Make your video click-worthy by teasing discounts or giveaways. If you can’t think of anything, just put today’s date in the title to indicate that this is a one-time event. (ex “Monday Night Live” or “Aug 4th Sale”)
7) Put your phone on "Do not disturb" mode
Incoming phone calls can terminate your livestream. So make sure to put your phone on "Do not disturb".
8) Set some housekeeping rules.
Let your shoppers know of your cart hold time. They have to check out within X hours of claiming a product or else they’ll lose it. Remind them that the cart hold time is there to make it fair for everyone. A shopper would want an opportunity to buy if they weren’t first to comment, and the cart hold time makes sure products aren’t held up in carts unfairly.
Also remind them of how the waitlist works. If they get put on the waitlist, they need to click the “Notify Me” button which will let them know when it’s their turn to buy.
Finally let them know they don’t have to check out immediately. They can stay in your live sale, comment for multiple items, and then check out at once for everything!