Can you imagine a live selling host, can sell $1.6B of products, In just 12 hours on the single-day sale event (11/11/2021)? If, like us, you can’t even fandom such money, here’s a little perspective. 1.6B entails the price for a tropical island in Asia, a super-luxury yard, or a Major League Baseball team in the US. And that’s how much Austin Li sells for 12 hours.
So who is Austin Li? In China, everyone knows his name as a live-selling host. Actually, if there were an Oscar equivalent for live-selling hosts, Austin would definitely win. Simply put, he’s a powerhouse who knows how to entertain and create a following. In 2018, he broke a Guinnessuiness Book of World Records by applying 4 different lipsticks in 30 seconds.
So what does his power of selling come from? Or let’s put it that way, how to become a successful live shopping host like him?
As one of his shopaholic fans myself, I did some research and summarize 4 tips for making a live shopping host stand out in the marketing world.
Authentic
Li gives honest product reviews. He isn’t afraid to give negative feedback on products, even from well-established brands. When Austine reviewed the Rouge Hermès line he told viewers the shades looked cheap. The result? Rouge Hermès sales tumbled in China and reaffirmed to Austin’s millions of followers that he’s someone they can truly trust.
Expertise
After working for several years behind the makeup counter at L’Oréal, Li knows his stuff. Every live host needs to know their product inside and out. Demonstrating a deep understanding of the product gives the host credibility, makes the Livestream more interesting, and also helps to fill up the time. Expertise is especially useful when a host has to talk about a single product for 30–45 minutes.
Engaging
A cornerstone feature of live shopping is the audience’s ability to leave comments & ask questions in real-time. Remember, millions of people attend his live streams. Li knows how to keep the audience engaged and create the illusion of direct interaction. Whether it’s his signature catchphrases like “OMG” or his illustrious product descriptions. It’s critical that a host answers audiences’ questions and acknowledges comments.
Energizing
Li recorded 389 live streams in 365 days. Li is always “on” and brings energy to every live stream. He used to say that his motivation is not to make money but to meet his fans. Girls watch his live selling after an exhausting day, they value Auction and his energy to get emotional power, and he doesn’t want to let them down. This is one of the reasons why we love Austin: His live stream is always enthusiastic and upbeat because their mood is contagious — the audience picks up on it and that ultimately affects sales.
And finally, I want to add something that I personally think is the key, let your audience trust you. That means you have to be authentic, expertise, engaging, and energizing, but most of all, you have to actually put yourself in their shoes and speak for them, not for the brand. Austine promised his fans to get the lowest price of the product in his live streams. There is one time that a big cosmetic company broke the rule, and Austine asked all his fans to return the product, and announce that he will not cooperate with the brand in the future.
*One more thing! If you want to grow your business with Live Selling, or you want to cooperate with us, please email us via contact@yololiv.com
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Hanru is a marketing specialist at YoloLiv. She manages all the social media accounts, blog posts about the AV industry, and all the videos including product tutorials about YoloBox and YoloBox Pro.
