Along with the strong development of social platforms, livestreaming has become more popular among social network users because it makes it easy to follow and interact with marketing events, especially for those who cannot participate directly.
Grasping this new trend, many businesses, organisations, and individuals have used livestreaming in the marketing of their products and services.
Livestreaming have also been chosen as a promising sale tool in the publishing and distribution industry.
Recently, within the framework of a book fair held in celebration of Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day (April 21), many publishing houses and distributors organised livestreaming of their activities.
In Hanoi, Linh Lan Books JSC held a livestream of its talk show on PR and marketing stories in the publishing industry. Meanwhile, Thai Ha Books JSC hosted a livestream session on how to promote reading habits in Vietnam in the age of digital transformation.
In Ho Chi Minh City, Sbooks JSC held livestream sessions on April 18 and 19. According to Nguyen Anh Dung, General Director of Sbooks, the company’s livestreaming session on the evening of April 19 attracted more than 150,000 views, achieving 250 million VND in revenue, seven times higher than the initial goal.
In fact, livestreaming sessions to introduce books have gradually become popular in just the past few years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, livestreaming contributed a new way for business operating in different industries and fields to reach customers.
In the publishing industry, the tool has helped readers get more involved in online shopping in participating in online book introduction events. Therefore, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was considered a successful year for book introductions in livestreaming activities.
Going through the pandemic period, amidst the robust development of digital transformation, those who can take advantage of social networks and technology will gain a greater competitive edge in establishing their brand and position in the market.
According to many publishing houses, the many advantages of the livestreaming tool include: helping to eliminate gaps in time and space; providing information to viewers directly, without limiting the number of participants, followers, or viewers; reducing costs for event organisers; and increasing interaction, thereby contributing to stimulating consumer demand.
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At a livestreaming event by Thai Ha Books (Photo: hanoimoi.vn) |
Furthermore, in the context that many new books are released every week, livestreaming is an effective channel for readers find updates and shop for the latest publications.
However, not all individuals or publishing units can livestream effectively on social platforms. Writer Duc Anh, communications director and one of founders of Linh Lan Books, said that publishing companies should conduct livestreaming activities on popular e-commerce channels like Lazada or Shopee.
To attract more followers, the live broadcast host must ensure they know how to interact and communicate enthusiastically while also being knowledgeable about the book titles.
However, several livestreaming events have revealed flaws since many books with poor content and editing, even those having incorrect historical have been advertised by some publishing houses with flowery words to attract the attention of readers.
In some cases, after closing their orders, shoppers have received publications full of printing errors, curled edges, and torn pages, totally unlike the advertisements.
These actions have posed a negative impact on publishing and book distribution activities, especially the livestreaming of promoting books on social networking platforms.
In the context of digitalisation when modern technological devices provide users, especially young people, with more experience, taking advantage of social networks is important in promoting books among the community.
However, publishing companies need to determine that, no matter how fancy the promotions are, and no matter how modern technological applications are, they cannot replace the true quality of the books. This is not only what true readers look for but also the key to cultivate reading culture in the community.
