Savvy business owners understand that most of their audience is online nowadays. So, they work hard to set up great websites that potential customers can navigate with ease. Then, they use social networks like Facebook and Instagram to promote their products and get prospects to their eCommerce pages.
But, did you know that you can set up a shop and start selling products on your Facebook page? Just take a second to think about what that means. Facebook has over two billion active users every month, which can give you access to a vast audience that would be almost impossible to target otherwise.
Note: Facebook Shop is only available on the Facebook app in certain countries. Those countries are; US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. Learn more about the Facebook shop here.
In this article, we’ll tell you everything you need to know about how to set up your Facebook shop and grow your business even more.
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Understanding the Basics: What Is a Facebook Store?
The name is self-explanatory in a way: by setting up a Facebook store, you can start selling products through your Facebook page. All you have to do is create a shop tab (we will explain how in a minute) and start adding products to your Facebook store. When people visit your page, they can click on your tab, browse through your product listing and shop directly from there without having to leave the social network and visit your website.
How Do You Set up Your Facebook Shop?
You must follow a few requirements if you want to start selling products on Facebook, the first being that you need to set up a Facebook business page.
- You can only sell physical items. In other words, you cannot use the Facebook store to sell e-books or other downloadable or digital items;
- You must link your store to a valid bank account;
- You must agree with Facebook’s Merchant Terms.
Once you’ve checked all these requirements, you can get started with setting up the shop. Here’s how:
Step 1: Configure the Shop Page
Log into your account and look for the Add Shop section on your Facebook page. It should be right under the cover photo. Click on it and you will see a small window explaining what this section is. Click on “As Shop Section” to continue.
Make sure to read the Merchant terms thoroughly. This document contains important information about what you can sell on your Facebook store, return and refund policies, settling disputes, and so on.
Step 2: Set up Business and Payments Details
The next thing you will need to choose is the way you will handle orders. You have two options here:
- Message to Buy: With this model, every time a user buys something, you will receive a notification in your Facebook Messenger. Then, it’s up to you to communicate with the buyer, agree on the details, and help them complete their purchase.
- Check out on Another Website: With this option, the buyer will be redirected to another page where he can complete his purchase. This option is less engaging but more user-friendly.
After configuring your shop, it’s time to set up the payment details. You can set up payments via either PayPal or Stripe. The whole process is rather simple and Facebook will hold your hand through it, guiding you every step of the way.
Step 3: Start Adding Products on Your Page
Once you are done setting up your store, you can start adding products on your page. Click on the Add Product button and start configuring the details of each item in your shop. Here’s a quick look at the product listing guidelines Facebook recommends:
- Product Image and Video: You must add at least one image per product. Multiple images can lead to more clicks and conversions. The images must be real, not illustrations or graphical representations. The recommended size is at least 1,024 x 1,024 pixels. The images cannot contain text or call to action.
- Product Description: The description should be intelligible and easy to understand, meaning no long titles, capitalisation or excessive punctuation. Including phone numbers, email addresses or external links is also forbidden.
- Price: It should go without saying that you need to provide this crucial information.
- Check out Page: This option will only appear if you choose to process orders on a different page instead of through Facebook Messenger.
- Share This Product on Your Page: Check this box to ensure that your product will go live as soon as you add it to your store. Make sure to also check the visibility to Public.
Step 4: You Might Want to Create a Collection
If you have a lot of different products, then you might have a difficult time organising and managing them. That’s where the add a collection option can come in handy. You can see this option beneath the products when you start adding them to your shop. If you want to add a specific product or a collection, then you should click on the Add Collection button. Look for the Featured Products tab on the Publishing Tools window. Click the collection and then on the Add Product button. Choose the product you want to add to your collection and click on Add.
Step 5: Managing Orders
The Publishing Tools features various templates and tabs that make managing your orders a bit easier. You can click on the Products and Collections tabs to review your products and make any necessary changes. The Pending Orders option allows you to check the details of each order, communicate with the buyer, and so on.
Keep in mind that Facebook mandates that you should ship an order within three days after it has been placed. Once you do that, click on the Mark as Shipped button to finalise the order.
Is It Worth the Time?
We mentioned earlier that Facebook gives you access to an immense audience, but the reasons why you should set up a store on the social network go beyond just that.
Facebook users spend an average of 40 minutes per day browsing the network and a good chunk of that period goes toward shopping. More than that, you can run your entire eCommerce operation from there. Sure, a Facebook store won’t give you the tools big platforms like Shopify or Amazon can provide, but it makes the entire experience more personal and engaging. And personalised interactions are what most shoppers want nowadays.
It’s understandable to feel intimidated by this new feature. After all, you’ve probably focused your efforts on building an excellent website and workers hard to get customers to shop from there. Facebook was just a marketing tool to direct prospects to your landing pages. But the benefits a Facebook shop can provide are just too big to ignore:
- You can add an unlimited number of products and organise them into categories with ease;
- Communicate with potential buyers directly;
- Feature your products on the Facebook Marketplace and expand your reach.
And, the good news is that you have the help of the Australian Internet Advertising team to guide yours through your endeavour. Get in touch with us and you can assist you in setting up your Facebook advertising campaign. Together we can turn your small business into a money-making machine.
