I’m sure you’ve seen several people doing live selling on Facebook. It’s seemingly become the trend today to have a more personal interaction with shoppers even when the seller and the buyer are from different sides of the world. Plus, it’s a way to let people know that you are legit and show the quality of your items to give shoppers the confidence that they are buying the right product from the right person.
But LBC’s Social Sellers Bazaar collected all of these entrepreneurs together in an expo to let virtual sellers come to real contact with buyers.
The Philippines’ number 1 courier and logistics company held its first ever So Shop! Social Sellers Bazaar on October 5 at Function Room 4, SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia, Pasay City. Over 100 entrepreneurs based online registered to set up their stalls which thousands of shoppers visited. Of course, there was an exciting program where industry speakers and influencers came to give their inspiring experiences and words of motivation.
As for business owners, it was a huge opportunity to add more people to their network and ensure their new customers with top-rate customer service through LBC’s Cash on Pick-up (COP) and Cash on Delivery (COD) services. For people who prefer to shop more conveniently online, these services of LBV are very useful. First, for busy workers who can’t go to bank during work hours, COP is the better option to pay their items. For busy moms who can’t leave their home, COD is the perfect payment method.
LBC’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Philippine Branch Operations Oliver L. Valentin discussed how they wish to empower micro, small, and medium enterprises in the country through their bazaar, saying:
“With more and more Filipinos setting up their businesses online, we at LBC, believe that it’s high time to bring online businesses together, in one venue, and get to interact with their buyers live. So Shop! is our commitment to empowering micro, small, and medium enterprises in the country.”
The bazaar was an exhibition of almost all kinds of products that can be shopped online. From gadgets where Juan Gadget, Droid Hero, and JBL Store PH participated to give exclusive deals and discounts to beauty and makeup products featuring Korean and Japanese brands, Pinays and Pinoys were totally captivated by the expo. And it’s just in time for the gift giving season!
Talks were also given which is one of the most interesting parts for me because the topics were about starting and growing businesses online. Social media gave a lot of people the opportunity to improve their lives through this online selling that almost every mom is now doing. From one live feed to another live feed, these entrepreneurs get so invigorated most especially when they see how much they’ve earned at the end of their live video session.
One show on television broadcasted recently revealed one online seller making 7-figure income from one live show. And that is from selling bags. So imagine how powerful social media could actually be. For that, LBC invited Facebook Philippines Head of Agency Liam Capati who discussed how to Facebook Ads work to the advantage of entrepreneurs.
But it’s not enough to just pay a fee for the ad. You need to make your creative really appealing so you can spark the interest of FB goers at first glance. Canva Community Team Lead Gladys Lacorte was then asked to talk about the importance of having visually appealing social media pages through designs that represent a business’ personality.
Another must-have for online sellers is a website. So Creative Boss Founder Rachell Araja-De Luna shared why a website is a must-have for an online business, with it being a repository of one’s products online. PLDT Vice-President for Digital Strategy and Consumer Disruptive Business Carlo Ople was also present to talk about why businesses should be present on the digital space and how to effectively tap online communities to reach a specific target market.
Neri Miranda gives mompreneurs on how to juggle being a mom and a business owner at the same time
To make the program even more interesting, several influencers and at the same time successful entrepreneurs also shared their inspiring stories. Two of them where Neri Naig Miranda who shared her strategies on how she made one business bud into one and another one until she already has several sources of income. On the other hand, famous content creator and vlogger Wil Dasovich talked about how he creates stories that earns him multi-figures and how he makes his subscribers keep asking for more of his videos.
In another part of the program, there was a panel discussion that saw several online business owners including Jamico Jamlang, founder of sustainable businesses The Bamboo Company and Chesca De Mesa, co-founder and managing director of Refuse PH. Joining them was Havas Media Ortega Head of Data and Analytics Phil Tiongson who gave the audience a glimpse of Havas’ global study centering around consumers’ mindful consumption.
Women entrepreneurs also took center stage with Kimstore Founder Kim Lato and Neon Island Founders Alyssa Gibbs and Aira Medina. They shared what it’s like starting and growing a business, as women, and how they overcame the challenges that came with it.
The event was hosted by 101.1 Yes FM DJ Rico Panyero and Love Radio DJ Raqi Terra, making So Shop! Not just a star-studded bazaar but one that has taught online business owners new techniques to move their businesses forward.
To wrap up the program, Javier Mantecon, Chief Marketing Officer of LBC Express-Global Marketing, reiterated the company’s commitment to move lives, including those of the social sellers. He said:
“As the e-commerce community continues to grow, LBC remains your partner. We hope that this is just the beginning of our long partnership. We want to help you take that move, wherever that may be.”
Today, it is the most trusted logistics brand of the Global Filipino. LBC can move it for you: visit www.LBCexpress.com, or call telephone +632 8585 999 (Metro Manila), 1 800 10 8585 999 (Provincial), +632 9086 522 (Solutions) and follow LBCExpress (Facebook and Twitter).