When using livestream events to promote your business or products, there are two routes you can take. Option one: plan a big one-off event that creates enough excitement about your brand to keep customers coming back. Option two: consistently post content on a livestream channel to build a community.

Whichever method you use, you’ll need to consider the cost of each and decide which strategy is best suited to your business’ needs. In this post, let’s discuss option one: plan a big one-off event.

There are 5 costs you’ll need to consider.

1. Pre-campaign marketing.

When planning a livestream event, pre-campaign marketing is crucial. After all, what’s the point in hosting an event that no one attends because they didn’t know it existed?

Schedule your marketing launch for around 2 weeks before the event to create awareness and keep anticipation high.

Here are some marketing tactics you can employ:

• Email campaigns – inform people on your email list about the event and explain why they should attend. This cost will depend on the email campaign platform your business uses and the number of people on your mailing list.
• Press releases – if your event is particularly interesting or unique, you might be able to get an article written in small or local newspapers to generate publicity. PR professionals cost around $400+ to write and publicize press releases for businesses. You can also pitch yourself via databases like Help A Reporter Out.
• Social media ads – static ads on platforms like Facebook and Instagram can cost anywhere from $0.40-0.70 per click. You can also promote/boost your brand’s posts from $1+.

All in all, you should expect to spend a minimum of $70 per day on marketing for your livestream event.

2. Production cost.

The cost of livestream production can vary massively depending on what you already have available to you.

To cut those fixed costs, consider whether anyone in your workforce has a good quality recording camera or experience filming. Determine whether there’s a space within your offices that would be suitable for filming the event. If not, you’re going to need to factor in a few large costs.

A professional film crew will cost $1500-5000 to shoot the video. They usually include the use of their equipment in the cost and create a teaser video that you can use in your marketing. The use of a professional studio for the length of the livestream will probably add you around $500-2000.

3. Hosts.

When it comes to hosting, there are a few options available to you.

The most affordable option is to host the livestream yourself.

If you’re planning to host a series of livestreams long-term, it might be worth spending money on a course to hone your hosting skills. We recommend Conversation Couture, which hosts courses for a few hundred dollars. Or, you can work with a professional co-host like Patti Reilly.

Alternatively, you can choose one of these options:

Hire an influencer to host the livestream.

Influencer costs vary massively depending on the size of their following. You can expect to pay $500-30,000 for the livestream, depending on your business’ budget and the size of the influencer you work with.

You get the added benefit that they’ll promote the livestream to their loyal following, providing an extra marketing boost. This makes them a worthwhile investment.

Employ a professional host.

Professional hosts know how to work with an audience – even virtually. QVC/HSN professionals generally cost around $1500-2500 per hour.

While they may not drive more traffic to your livestream, their hosting skills will create an entertaining, effective liveshopping show.

4. Hosting platform.

While social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube allow you to host your livestream for free, there are options more suited for eCommerce businesses.

For example, live and video commerce SaaS platform eStreamly hosts livestreams designed for eCommerce sites. It integrates a ‘buy’ button, which allows viewers to easily make purchases via the livestream.

In essence, the platform generates a home shopping channel experience on a mobile device, encouraging sales as a result of the ease and convenience with which viewers can make purchases.

5. Post-event costs.

To get the most out of your livestream shopping show – and make it work for your business in the long-term – you’ll need to invest in some post event costs.

Namely:

• Turn the livestream into short videos for your landing/product pages – or as short videos on YouTube or TikTok. You can accomplish this yourself or with the help of a video editor ($20-60 per hour). Platforms such as eStreamly can also help reduce tech costs by ensuring the full livestream is recorded, so you can repurpose your content into short form video.
• Ads for your snackable short videos (We recommend a minimum of $70/day for 2 weeks) to maximize ROI of your content by driving new sales and engagement. 

The future of liveshopping

Liveshopping is still a relatively new phenomenon, but it has already begun to change the way businesses market their products and services. As more retailers begin to embrace liveshopping, it is likely that this trend will continue to grow in popularity. For businesses that are looking to differentiate themselves with highly produced content, having a good understanding of cost will help you in making the best decision. eStreamly recently developed a hands-on package that include production & professional hosting.