• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Interiors Addict

Heart Your Home

@interiorsaddict on Instagram   @interiorsaddict on Facebook   @interiorsaddict on Pinterest  
Subscribe
  • Job Board
  • About
  • Before & Afters
  • RENO ADDICT
  • Kitchens
  • Bathrooms
  • Kids Rooms
  • Bedrooms
  • Living Room
  • Shopping
  • Expert Tips
  • Recipes
  • Parenting
  • Travel
Interiors Addict
  • Job Board
  • About
    • Our Story

      Australiaโ€™s largest interior design, styling and renovation blog for the everyday Aussie. By former journalist and magazine editor Jen Bishop, the original interiors addict!
      READ MORE

      Weโ€™re big on Instagram!
      @interiorsaddict

      • About
      • Contact Interiors Addict
      • Work with Interiors Addict
      • Advertise / Find a job in Interiors
      • Press
      • Get Your Free Ebook

        This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
    • bookcover-jens-reno
  • By Room
    • Browse by Room

      Where you can search for all our posts about a specific room. Only interested in kitchens and bathrooms? We got you!

      • Kitchens
      • Bathrooms
      • Kids Rooms
      • Bedrooms
      • Living Room
      • Home Office
      • Dining
      • Laundry
      • Outdoor & Exteriors
      • Renting
    • bookcover-jens-reno
  • Before & Afters
    • Before & Afters

      Who doesnโ€™t LOVE a good before & after? If you want to be inspired by the whole reno process, and not just the shiny photos at the end, this is the place for you!

      View Articles

      • Before & Afters
      • Jen’s reno
      • Real Renos
      • RENO ADDICT
    • AFTER lounge room1980’s arch inspires amazing apartment before and after
    • AFTER lounge80’s beach shack now an eclectic, retro-inspired holiday home
  • Reno Addict
    • RENO ADDICT

      Looking for reno inspo? Find it all here, from other peopleโ€™s projects to the latest trends, tools and products, whether youโ€™re DIY-ing or employing trades.

      View articles

      • Reno Products
      • The Block
      • DIY
      • Reno Trends
      • Before & Afters
      • Real Renos
    • EnsuiteLuxury lakeside living on NSW South Coast: A fab reno
    • AFTER lounge room1980’s arch inspires amazing apartment before and after
  • Shopping
    • Shopping

      Want to know where to buy the latest furniture, homewares, rugs, art and more? Weโ€™re always sharing our latest finds and telling you where you can buy them.

      View Articles

      • Furniture
      • Homewares
      • Art
      • Smart Home
      • Appliances
      • Reno Products
    • Soffle_Nina-Szewczyk3How to decorate your rental home in a damage-free way
    • AilantoThe best new interior finds for kids + designer chair giveaway!
  • Inspiration
    • Inspiration

      While Jenโ€™s a legitimate interiors addict, sheโ€™s no design professional, so she calls on an army of the countryโ€™s best to share their expertise with you. Be inspired by their stories too!

      View Articles

      • Decorating 101
      • Interviews
      • Expert Tips
      • Before & Afters
      • House Tours
      • Designers
      • Styling
      • Renovating
      • Real Renos
      • Covet my coffee table
    • Soffle_Nina-Szewczyk3How to decorate your rental home in a damage-free way
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle

      Weโ€™re mostly about the home but Jen also likes to share other things she thinks youโ€™ll love, like food and travel.

      • Recipes
      • Travel
      • Parenting
    • 0Q7A5539Foodie Friday: Confit salmon with preserved lemon & pomegranate
    • Burrawang HouseNew Hamptons style luxury retreat in the NSW Southern Highlands
  • Jobs
    • Advertise on our job board
    • Job Board FAQs for advertisers

Instagram Lives: the homewares brand making $180k a month

August 21, 2020 1 Comment

FacebookPinEmailTweet

As businesses struggle to find footing in a rapidly changing retail climate, Melbourne homewares brand,ย Stoned Crystals, has found a profitable way to recreate the traditional shopping experience online and increase sales by 134% since the temporary closure of their Elsternwick store.

Crediting Instagramโ€™s live broadcast functionality, the social media platform is responsible for delivering a monthly return in excess of $180k for the brand by merging offline and online selling mechanics in a fully immersive, digital environment.

Stoned Crystals’ ‘Live Sales’ are conducted tri-weekly and structured by product category and focus. Providing a virtual in-store customer experience, the face-to-face broadcasts have become a significant hub for crystal-related news, lifestyle tips, styling tutorials, range previews, consulting, and selling.

Stoned Crystals founder Ashley Bellino

โ€œLive-streamed broadcasts are the closest thing we have to face-to-face selling in a physically disconnected world,โ€ says founder Ashley Bellino. โ€œWhen done correctly, it can serve as a profitable income stream and allow brands to cultivate a digital ecosystem specific to their customersโ€™ needs.โ€

First conceptualised in 2017 and more recently refined to accommodate the imposed lockdowns, the success of Stoned Crystals’ live sales is attributed to a synergistic mix of purposeful merchandising, entertaining content, smart selling cues, engaging discussions, value-driven promotions, memorable hosts, and practice.

โ€œIn a way, Instagram has transformed into something more intimate,โ€ said Ashley. โ€œCustomers want to see what happens behind the scenes; they want to be part of a brandโ€™s narrative and they want to know theyโ€™re cared for well beyond the transaction.โ€

Passionate about helping other small businesses thrive, Ashley shares the following tips in order to develop a profitable revenue stream using Instagram Live:

Make the move online:ย Lockdown has transformed the way customers now interact with brands soย developing a strong, reliable and consistent online experience is key. Adoptย a customer’s perspective and review your website, social media and digitalย strategies with them in mind. Is the path to purchase easy to navigate? Areย the visuals up to date? Are products clearly articulated? Putting in the prepย work now will optimise results following a live sale. The retail sector willย never look the same going forward so incorporating Live Sales as part ofย your digital strategy allows your business to be both proactive and reactiveย to new economic conditions.

Develop a plan:ย Instagram Live Sales is the closest thing to selling in person that technology can offer. Putting yourself out there might seem scary, but with enough planning and rehearsing, you will soon find a rhythm that suits you and your community. One of the key benefits of a Live Sale is that you won’t be buried in a feed of posts. Instead, all of your followers will be instantly notified. As with live TV, the unexpected can happen so itโ€™s best to prepare a run sheet before any live sale. Know what you’re going to say and in what order. Assign dedicated roles to team members, know yourย angles and remember you’re talking with, not at, your customers. Treat aย Live Sale like any other conversation you would typically have in person with a potential or current customer.

Recreate the offline, online:ย In today’s digital age, customers want to be visually stimulated so it’s important to create a mood that represents the brand and transports the customer to world specifically created for them. This can be achieved through styling, lighting, sound, ambience and vocal delivery. Customers love the idea of virtually walking through a shop so replicating an atmosphere that closely resembles this experience works exceptionally well, particularly if you have the props and styling tools to replicate a display. If you have a service-driven business, think of ways you can physically depict your offering on camera.ย 

Brand each stream:ย Many brands make the big mistake of cramming too much into a Live Sale. When it comes to maximising a return on this channel, less is sometimes more. Each Live Sale should relate to a specific need or group of products to avoid overwhelming the customer – especially if they’re new to purchasing on Instagram. As a result, it’s often ideal to run multiple Live Sales weekly and showcase products specific to a single category. In turn, this will allow you to brand each segment so customers come to learn a familiar shopping schedule with your business.

Introduce a selling mechanic:ย Although marketing your business and developing a rapport withย customers is important, the purpose of a Live Sale should be to sell. Asย such, it’s important to come up with a mechanic that works with yourย community and is easy to understandย – such as a unique number, code orย name. At Stoned Crystals, each crystal is assigned a number and captionย highlighting the stone type, its dimensions and its properties. If a customerย chooses to buy, they simply quote the crystal number with a purchasingย identifier – i.e. “MINE”ย – in the comments so a team member can review theย transcript, contact each buyer and send them a direct link to our website soย they can process the order securely.

Develop a connection:ย Customer service is important in real life as well as online. Although theย dialogue may appear one-sided, customers can comment in each Live Saleย in real time. Making the time to deviate from a run sheet and answer questions can foster an interactive forum which is one of the mostย attractive features of this digital marketplace. Operating in real time meansย you wonโ€™t always be able to rehearse your responses and may be caughtย off guard. Look at this as a positive, however. People love candidย conversations and transparency. It’s always good to be responsive toย comments so you can constantly evolve your pitch and meet theย ever-changing needs of your customers.

Timing is everything:ย At Stoned Crystals, we conduct each Live Sale at different lengths andย speeds depending on the product focus. For a beginner, I would suggestย keeping it to 30-minutes or less. As you develop a rapport with customersย and learn which types of engagement works best, you can easily sell for upย to four hours in a single show. It is, however, best to schedule these at timesย that resonate with your target demographicย – which can include mornings, evenings, weekends or even specific holiday dates. If choosing to run an extensive and lengthy Live Sale, I highly recommendย developing an itemised schedule and sharing this with potential viewers viaย your socials prior. This will allow customers to tune in at a time relevant toย them.

Marketing is your friend:ย When times are tough, many brands choose to relax their marketingย budgets when in reality, they should be doing the opposite! Like anyย campaign, planning is key. Prior to commencing a Live Sale, develop aย calendar of dates and times you wish to show. For beginners, two-to-four weeks inย advance will suffice. From here, you can create a marketing program toย promote your shows and generate interest. If budget is limited, use theย resources you have available such as your website, social media feed,ย newsletter etc. For brands with a dedicated spend, online advertising canย provide a significant reach. Aligning with a top tier influencer can alsoย prove beneficial by tapping into new demographics and audiences.

Make mistakes:ย Unless you’re supporting your Live Sale with a significant marketingย budget, managing expectations is very important. The first showing may underperform. Accept the fact you might make a mistake (or two!) and letย yourself be vulnerable. People crave this human connection. Learn as youย go and take the time to evaluate each showing so you can constantlyย improve and find a winning formula for your brand. As a Live canย offer higher engagement than a traditional post, story or ad, rememberย that every minute you spend live is an investment. By discussing a productย in length and addressing frequently asked questions, you equip customers with the knowledge to make an informed decision and purchase via your website at a later date or time.

Have fun:ย COVID-19 has impacted the retail sector significantly. It has also providedย businesses with new opportunities for online growth. As a profitable salesย channel, Instagram offers an inexpensive way for brands to reach existingย and new customers. With the right planning, the right team, the rightย merchandising and the right mindset, a Live Sale can transform aย business. For Stoned Crystals, it has become a major revenue source andย has afforded the brand many new opportunities to double in size year on year. Donโ€™t be afraid to beย yourself and remember there is no cookie-cutter approach. Find whatย works best for you and continue to evolve alongside your customers

Founded in 2015, Stoned Crystals is Australiaโ€™s leading home dรฉcor, crystal styling and wellness brand specialising in premium, ethically-sourced gemstones from around the world. 

Check out their live sales on Instagram for yourself!

A guide to using crystals in your home and work space
Whether you believe in their healing properties or not, crystals look beautiful and can be the perfect icing on the cake of your vignette! Stoned Crystals founder Ashley Bellino, put…
Stylish crystals for the everyday person
I’ll be the first to admit I’m totally out of my element when it comes to crystals (pun not intended!). Sure, I can appreciate they look pretty, but start talking…

FacebookPinEmailTweet

Primary Sidebar

Popular This Week

  • AFTER lounge 80’s beach shack now an eclectic, retro-inspired holiday home
  • Lounge room 90’s era abode now bold and fun holiday home
  • Terrazzo and character are in and grey is out, says designer
  • Palette Cam 15 apps to help you build your dream home
  • Australian kitchen dimensions: standard sizes for every last detail

Follow us on Instagram

While we featured a gloriously colourful home on M While we featured a gloriously colourful home on Monday, this one is a masterclass in serene neutrals! And how good is this bunk room?!

Take the tour on the blog now. Via link in bio.

#neutralhome #neutralhomedecor #bunkroom #bunkbed #bunkbedsforkids #builtinbunkbeds #skylights #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome #realhomes #holidayhousesofinstagram #nswsouthcoast #wollongong #wollongonghomes

@projection_build @lumiere_collective @shersonarchitecture 
๐Ÿ“ท@the.palm.co
Washable rugs, eco-friendly play mats, reversible Washable rugs, eco-friendly play mats, reversible linen, gorgeous wallpaper and the chance to win a beautiful bouclรฉ recliner chair!

Today's kids room roundup is full of loveliness if we don't say ourselves!

Via link in bio now.

#kidsroomstyling #kidswallpaper #playmats #feedingchair #nursingchair #nurseryroomdecor #washablerugs #washablerug #bouclechair #interiorsblog #interiorsblogger #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #heartyourhome
A glass shower screen is not the only option! In A glass shower screen is not the only option!

In this 80s villa reno, @trentinidesign took inspiration from an archway typical of the era and used it throughout the home.

The bathroom was transformed from a classic three-piece set up that included a shower, bath and vanity. Kathryn removed the bath and split the room in half and designed an arch to sit between the two zones. 

โ€œI wanted something spectacular. Rather than having a vanity with a piece of glass like you would typically see, I was really trying to push myself as a designer. It was costly but it worked out well and the feedback has been great."

Swipe for the before and follow the link in bio to see the rest of this home.

#bathroomdesignideas #bathroomtrends2023 #showerscreen #showerscreens #archways #apartmentrenovation #interiorsblogger #interiorsaccount #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #realreno
One half of popular parenting podcast @wedonthavet One half of popular parenting podcast @wedonthavetimeforthis, turns out former Neighbours actor @gemma_peanut is even more multi-talented than we thought! Will you check out the joyful and colourful reno of her holiday home (and airbnb) @yo_caba_caba?!

Head over to the blog via link in bio to read all about why she went bold and full of pattern in this project, which is a stark contrast to her zen and neutral Northern Beaches abode.

There's also plenty of details about where things are from etc.

"Iโ€™m not an interior designer so I just chose what I liked and followed my gut. Ultimately this home has been an opportunity to explore my alter ego โ€“ it allowed me to do things that I wouldnโ€™t normally do.โ€

๐Ÿ“ท @tanikablair_photography 

#interiorsblog #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #gemmapeanut #wedonthavetimeforthis #parentingpodcast #parentingpodcasts #holidayhousesofinstagram #cabaritabeach #airbnbstyle #airbnbstyling #colourandpattern #wallpapergoals #patternedtiles #featuretiles #poolgoals #sparkjoy #yocabacaba #boldinteriors #funinteriors #colourfulkitchen
Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial Not many friends in life fall into the unofficial family category and they're a special gift. So ends three weeks with @danisteve81 who left her husband and son in the UK (I'm forever grateful they lent her to me!) to come and cheer me up and help me in the most practical ways after I spent Christmas and New Year in hospital. There were tears and I miss her so much already but how amazing to have had all that time together as adults. Such a rare treat and would never have happened without having been through something so challenging. Silver linings and all that. So many other friends have also been incredibly thoughtful and kind. There aren't many times I'd say this without cringing but I am 100% blessed!

I still cannot believe we have been friends since we were 12! 12! Are you still close with your childhood besties?
The renovation of this 80s beach shack @camillo_ho The renovation of this 80s beach shack @camillo_house is a work of art and while almost every surface was updated, the decision to keep the original slate floor was genius if you ask us. 

Owner @clarehillier__ says: "With its purple, pink, red and brown tones, the slate was the starting point for our interior palette."

Come and check out the before and afters via link in bio now and read the reno story. It's a real beauty.

And you can book it for your next holiday too!

Blair Smith Architecture @kateshanasy

#slatefloor #slatefloors #80shouse #80sbeauty #camillohouse #interiorsblog #interiorsblogger #interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop #realreno #holidayhousesofinstagram #morningtonpeninsulahomes #morningtonpeninsula #morningtonpeninsulasmallbusiness #blairgowrie #blairgowriebeach #airbnbstyle
Me and my boys ๐Ÿ’— Me and my boys ๐Ÿ’—
Just a couple of dorks who've been friends for thr Just a couple of dorks who've been friends for three decades going out for a child-free dinner ๐Ÿ’“๐Ÿ˜
Excuse me while I die of a cute attack ๐Ÿฅฐ @damia Excuse me while I die of a cute attack ๐Ÿฅฐ @damianfrancis 

This doesn't happen often these days!
Follow on Instagram
Visit Jen's profile on Pinterest.

Get Your Free Ebook

Ebook cover

Never miss the latest renovating and interiors products, news and inspo again! Sign up for our newsletter and we'll send you the best bits from the blog, direct to your inbox. Plus you'll get our latest eBook: What Made The Biggest Impact in Jen's Own Reno.
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Avatar

About Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop is our owner and publisher and an experienced journalist and editor. Interiors Addict has been her full-time job for more than 8 years. She is married to Damian and mum to Sebastian and Charlie.

More from Expert Tips

How to decorate your rental home in a damage-free way

Add warmth and energy in your home with terracotta accents

AFTER kitchen

Kitchen reno proves space planning just as important as finishes

Average cost to fix a botched DIY job is $1500

Pinterest predicts 2023: what’s trending in homes next year?

Home design 2023 predictions: green, metal mesh & bench seats!

5 tips for first time painters: it’s all in the prep!

Easy hassle free hacks to transform your Christmas space

How to turn your cramped backyard into a hidden gem

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarArthur K says

    August 30, 2020 at 6:20 am

    Never heard of Instagram Live Sales. I need to look into this more. Looks like an effective way to engage with customers and provide the detail they would receive if they walked into a store and asked questions.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Footer

Interiors Addict

Interiors Addict

  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Jen
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy

Browse

  • RENO ADDICT
  • Jen’s Reno
  • House Tours
  • Real Renos
  • Interviews
  • Styling
  • Designers
  • Bedrooms
  • Covet My Coffee Table
  • Expert Tips
  • The Block
  • Art
  • Furniture
  • Recipes

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RENO ADDICT

Copyright © 2011–2023 Addicted Media Pty Ltd
Website care by ClickWP ยท Log in

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!