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Social Presence in Live-Streaming: Explore the Role of Audience Interaction in Traffic and Sales Conversions on TikTok
- 1 King's College London
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Abstract
Live streaming has become a popular form of digital communication that combines entertainment, interaction, and commerce to redefine audience engagement. The study uses a mixed methodology that combines descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and feature importance assessment based on a comprehensive dataset of live streams collected over 6 months to explore the impact of audience engagement on traffic and sales. Linear regression, random forest regression, and support vector regression models were used to identify key predictors of traffic and sales. The study results show that the duration of the live streaming significantly increases the traffic. Audience interaction metrics (views and gift_count) are key factors in driving sales conversions. In addition, the study highlights the importance of account types (such as celebrity accounts) and product categories in engaging audiences and driving sales. By analyzing the findings based on the social presence theory, the study sheds light on how interactivity can promote audience engagement and drive purchasing behavior by satisfying the audience's psychological needs and enhancing social connections. This study provides a theoretical and practical basis for optimizing live-streaming content and interaction strategies and further expands the relevant research on live streaming in digital communication.
Keywords
live-streaming, TikTok, audience interaction, social presence theory
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Cite this article
Yang,M. (2025). Social Presence in Live-Streaming: Explore the Role of Audience Interaction in Traffic and Sales Conversions on TikTok. Lecture Notes in Education Psychology and Public Media,84,165-173.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
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Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Social Psychology and Humanity Studies
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