People have been selling things on Facebook for years via Facebook Marketplace. But something new has just been introduced that will change the nature of buying and selling via the social platform:

Facebook Shops.

As a leading PPC agency London, we are constantly working with small businesses that want to boost their sales via digital marketing – and Facebook Shops could become an important new platform for them.

Here we take a closer look.

A Social Solution for Small Businesses

Facebook Shops launched in May 2020, and it will be rolling out over the next few months. It is aimed at small businesses who want to sell more online by promoting their products to customers on the social network.

If you own a store, you can quickly and easily set up a Facebook Shop to sell your products. It’s free, and you simply have to choose the products you want to feature then add them individually or via bulk upload. You can then customise your shop by using a cover image and adding accent colours.

Facebook users can then browse your products when they are using Facebook, save products they like and place orders.

The Details

Facebook Shops provides you with a single store that can be accessed from both Facebook and Instagram. The store can be found on your business’s Facebook Page or Instagram profile, and customers can also find your store via stories and ads.

Orders will either go through your business’s own website or via Facebook. However, the option of processing orders on Facebook is only available in the US where checkout is enabled.

Facebook has also said that it is partnering with big ecommerce website platforms like BigCommerce and Shopify. As a result, you will be able to manage some features of your Facebook Shop (e.g. products and inventory) via your ecommerce platform.

Make Use of Messaging Services

You will also be able to communicate with your customers via Messenger, WhatsApp or Instagram Direct. So if they have questions or want to track their deliveries, you can keep all communication in one place.

In the future, customers will even be able to view a shop and make purchases from directly within a chat using the same three chat platforms.

Advertising Boost for Facebook

Many small businesses are suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic. These are businesses that have big presences on Facebook, and by enabling them to sell their products on the social network, Facebook could help them to increase their revenue in difficult times.

At the same time, Facebook is hoping that Facebook Shops will increase advertising revenue because stores will be able to advertise their products on Facebook. As a PPC company London, we help our ecommerce customers to make sales via advertising, and this could be a great way for them to get their products in front of more customers.

Facebook Shops Is Here

Facebook Shops has started rolling out, and it will become available to everyone in the coming months. Instagram Shop is another feature that will be rolled out later on in the year.

If you own a store, consider trying out Facebook Shops – it could become a useful way to find more customers and give your sales a boost.

Image source: Pixabay