Reminding Subscribed Customers of Upcoming Livestreams

Your loyal customers definitely don’t want to miss any of your livestreams when they start. Now, you can let them subscribe to your livestreams, so that each time when a new livestream starts, they’ll receive a direct message (DM) as a kick-off reminder. Please note that Facebook is the only Live Shopping channel supported at the moment.

Overview of Reminder Subscription and Delivery

To send kick-off reminders to customers, you need to complete two key steps:

1. Guide your customers to subscribe to your livestreams
2. Send the reminder to subscribers when new livestreams start

Guide your customers to subscribe to your livestreams

Customers need to grant permission to receive reminders. Once they do, the system can send them reminders for future livestreams, repeatedly. The following steps explain the process of customers subscribing to your livestreams:

1. You specify the keyword for the reminder.
2. Customers leave a comment with the keyword in the livestream.
3. The system sends the subscription consent message to the customer via Messenger DM.
4. The customer decides to subscribe to your livestreams and grants the permission.
5. The system can send DMs to the customer in the future.

Send the reminder to customers when new livestreams start

With the permission from customers, the system can repeatedly send reminders to them. However, only one reminder can be sent every 24 hours. The following steps explain the process of sending reminders to customers:

• You enable the reminder for the livestream.
• The system automatically sends the reminder to subscribed customers.
• Customers receive the reminder in Messenger and click the CTA button to enter the live livestream.

Enabling Livetream Subscription

For customers to subscribe to your livestreams, you need to provide the subscription information and an opt-in button to get their consent. Once the livestream is created, go to the livestream studio, switch to the Settings tab, and follow the steps and instructions below.

Turn on the livestream subscription toggle

In the Settings tab, go to Set livestream reminder > Livestream reservation details, and turn on the Livestream reservation details toggle. All livestream subscription settings, including the keyword, message, and CTA button, become effective. You can turn on this toggle when the livestream is Live or Preparing, but not when it is Ended. Note the following:

• If you turn on this toggle when the livestream is Preparing: Even if customers send you a message that matches the subscription keyword at this stage, the system can’t send the subscription consent message to them until the livestream starts. When the livestream turns Live, the system will automatically capture customer comments.
• If you turn on this toggle when the livestream is Live: The system will automatically send the subscription consent message to customers who leave a comment that matches the subscription keyword.
• When the livestream is Ended: The system will no longer recognize any customer comments and send the subscription consent message.

Specify the subscription keyword

The subscription keyword is critical for the system to identify customers' intent to subscribe. Only when the customer's comment matches the subscription keyword exactly will the system determine the customer intends to subscribe to your livestream and send the subscription consent message.

Specify the subscription keyword in the text box under Book reservation keywords. When specifying the keyword, follow these rules:

• Keep the keyword simple and not too long
• Use plain text. All uppercase or all lowercase is advised
• Avoid special characters to ensure accurate recognition
• Do not include spaces around or within the keyword to avoid recognition issues
• Do not specify keywords identical to that for the products for sale in the livestream or the campaigns in the livestream to avoid sending order confirmations or campaign prizes.

Customers need to leave a comment that matches the subscription keyword exactly. If the customer's comment includes other content in addition to the keyword, the system is not able to recognize it. For example, If your keyword is “subscribe”, a comment like “subscribe+1” or “subscribe for me” will be considered that the customer has no intention to subscribe to your livestreams, and the system will not send the subscription consent message. Customers must leave a comment exactly as “subscribe” or “SUBSCRIBE”. 

If customers who have already subscribed leave the subscription keyword again, the system will not send another subscription consent message. Instead, the message “You've already subscribed. No need to subscribe again” will be sent. See the Limitations section below for more information.

Craft the subscription consent message

This message asks customers if they want to subscribe to your livestreams. They can click the CTA button within the message to complete the subscription. You can customize the message in More subscription details and it should clearly explain the purpose and what information customers will receive if they subscribe.

Set up the CTA button

The text on the CTA button can’t be modified due to Facebook’s restrictions. Facebook will automatically adapt the button text language based on the customer’s device language.

After you enable the livestream subscription and complete the configuration, you are ready to start your livestream. When customers comment with the exact keyword, the system identifies their intention to subscribe to your livestreams and sends them the subscription consent message as a DM. Customers complete the reminder subscription by clicking the CTA button in the Messenger DM.

Enabling Kick-Off Reminders

To send a reminder to subscribed customers when you start a new livestream, you need to enable the kick-off reminder functionality in the livestream studio. Follow the steps and instructions below.

Turn on the kick-off reminder toggle

In the Settings tab, go to Set livestream reminder > Livestream reminder details, and turn on the Livestream reminder details toggle. All livestream reminder settings, including the message and CTA button, become effective.  You can turn on this toggle when the livestream is Live or Preparing, but not when it is Ended. Please note that once the system begins to send kick-off reminders during the livestream, you are not allowed to turn off the toggle.

• If you turn on this toggle when the livestream is Preparing: The system won’t send the kick-off reminder to subscribed customers until the livestream starts. When the livestream turns Live, the reminder will be automatically sent.
• If you turn on this toggle when the livestream is Live: The system will automatically send the kick-off reminder to subscribed customers.
• When the livestream is Ended: The system will no longer send any reminder to subscribed customers.

View the subscriber count

The count of subscribers is shown below the toggle when the livestream is connected (that is, your livestream is Live). However, if you associate multiple livestreams at the same time by crossposting, the system can only identify the subscriber count of your main livestream. 

Craft the reminder message

In the Message text box, you can customize the content of the reminder. The reminder message is the follow-up to the subscription consent message,  so the content should be coherent. Remember to guide customers to click the CTA button within the message to enter the livestream for shopping.

Set up the CTA button

The CTA button brings your customers to the livestream. You can modify the text on the button. If the livestream is ended when customers open your livestream through the reminder, the system will automatically open your Facebook Page.

Limitations

General Limitations

• If customers unsubscribe your livestream reminders in Messenger, the system will no longer be able to send them the reminder in the future.

Subscription Consent Message Limitations 

The subscription consent message is subject to Facebook’s restrictions, with the following main limitations for SHOPLINE livestreams:

• If you are using the same Facebook Page for livestreaming, you can only send one subscription consent message to the same customer within 7 days, regardless how many livestreams you start. 
• Customers who have already subscribed won’t receive another subscription consent message by leaving the subscription keyword again within the 7-day window. The system will respond with “You've already subscribed. No need to subscribe again” instead. After the 7-day window, you can send another subscription consent message regardless of whether the customer is currently subscribed.
• The 7-day window is Page-independent. If you have multiple Facebook Pages for livestreaming, each Facebook Page has its own 7-day window for subscription consent message.

Kick-off Reminder Limitations

The kick-off message is subject to Facebook’s restrictions, with the following main limitations for SHOPLINE livestreams:

• If you are using the same Facebook Page for livestreaming, you can only send one kick-off reminder to the same customer within 24 hours, whether continuously or intermittently. Another reminder can be sent after the 24-hour window.
• The 24-hour window is Page-independent. If you have multiple Facebook Pages for livestreaming, each Facebook Page has its own 24-hour window for kick-off reminder.