Social media has already exceeded the limit of being an online forum for socialising only, and it has become a sort of parallel cyber world where people do the same things they do in real life. They talk to their family and friends, they get the latest news on topics of interest, they follow celebrities, and at the same time, they also shop for products.
That’s right, we’ve got your interest, and to make the deal even sweeter, we want to tell you that you can do more than find leads and advertise your products on Facebook™. You can actually set up a shop and sell them directly from the social media platform.
Facebook™ Shop: An Exciting Page Tool
The function that helps you sell products on Facebook™ is available among the menu tabs for your page. It is the Facebook™ Shop and it helps you increase your sale without taking your followers away from the social network.
In this article, we will show you how to set up your Facebook™ Shop and why you should take the time to get it ready.
Setting Up Your Facebook™ Shop
On your Facebook™ page, find the Shop tab and click on it. Please note that this tab is available both for the desktop and mobile version, but for reasons of convenience we recommend setting up the Facebook™ Shop on a computer.
Once you clicked on the tab you will see a pop-up panel that gives a brief outline of what this function does. Click on Get Started and you can begin setting up the Shop section.
Set Up the Basic Information about the Shop
This is a 3-step procedure. In the first step, you will fill in the country/region you live in, the business type and its physical address. In the next step, you are required to select where you run your business operations and you will fill in your state tax registration number.
The last step is reserved for the currency in which you will be paid and the email address where you will receive notifications for each transaction. Facebook uses your location to determine your local currency. This tab also states the fees Facebook™ charges for processing your payments. At present, it is 2.9% plus US 30 cents per transaction.
Configure Your Payments
After the basic information, it is time to provide Facebook™ with tax and banking details. Once you click on Set Up Payments, the next tab will ask for your tax details: business name, Employer Identification Number, and your legal name. Attention! You cannot edit this information, later on, so be very careful at this step.
Next, you will be asked to link your bank to the Facebook™ account. The Facebook™ Shop needs your bank routing number, bank account number and the name on the account.
Start Adding Products to Your Shop
The first step before you can add a product is to set up the shipping options. Once this is done, you will see the Add Product button and you can populate your store. Alternately, you can connect an e-commerce platform where you manage your inventory. At present, the Facebook™ Shop supports the following platforms: Shopify Lite, Ecwid, Spreesy, and ShopTab. Attention! You will be charged additional fees for using an e-commerce platform.
Why Should You Set Up a Facebook™ Shop?
1. It Is Free
We know how expensive your marketing and advertising efforts are. Thus, you should take advantage of any kind of free tool for sales and marketing you can get. Since so many people use social media to look for products, it is very likely that they will take advantage of the ability to make a purchase directly from the social media platform.
2. It Is Indexed By Search Engines
Just like the rest of the content on your Facebook™ page, the Shop section is also searchable by Google and displayed for relevant keywords. This means that people can discover your products directly through a Google search. If they are your followers, as well, they will have a higher motivation to click on the link.
3. Facebook™ Shop Items May Appear in Marketplace, As Well
There is no guarantee that this will happen, but Facebook™ says that “eligible” products may be displayed in Facebook™ Marketplace. This means that you have two distinct places where you can display your offers for free. No matter how small the chance, you should take it up. It does not cost you extra time or money, after all.