Overview of How to Grow Your Store

A comprehensive step-by-step guide on everything Facebook Shop.

We will cover the following items:

1. Setting up your Business Page
2. Options for Listing Products on Facebook
3. Revenue Generating Tactics for Optimum Results

With more users than the population of China, store owners would be missing a genuine selling opportunity by not utilizing Facebook Shop. Facebook allows for accurate audience building and is a proven traffic boosting platform. Today we will get right to it: Sales on Facebook Shop.

Step 1: Create a Facebook Business Page

In order to set up Facebook Shop, your business must have a Facebook Business Page (free). Facebook shop is pages feature only.

Source: Shopify App Store

In the current consumer landscape having a Facebook Business Page is essential. A Facebook page allows your customer to interact with you and your brand at a social level. In addition, Facebook Pages give you KPI’s and Metrics impossible to capture with just a personal page.

Plus! with over a billion users, that is tremendous exposure potential!

Now once your Facebook page is set up we can dive into how to launch and sell on Facebook Shop!

Step 2: Look at Your Facebook Shop Selling Options

Facebook Shop features advance in-app shopping features with the ability to fully integrate with your current store. There are a couple of ways to present products on Facebook Shop.

1. Upload your product and catalogue directly to Facebook Shop while setting up your payment processor. (Free)

Best fit for if you have a very limited product line this might be the best solution for you.

Cons: You will have to manually fulfill and manage orders. Management of orders on Facebook Shop is done one by one. Bulk feature is not yet available.

2. Integrate your current store with Facebook Shop with auto-synching and real time controls (Free – preferred method). Can integrate with ecommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Ecwid, WooCommerce, and PrestaShop.

Is this Right for You?

If selling online is a priority, you need to extend your reach beyond the Facebook audience. eCommerce platforms let you do just that. They also make every eCommerce task as quick and automated as possible, from product entry to shipping updates. Plus, if you ship, or hope to ship, more than 10 orders per day, you really should consider this time-saving option.

Step 3: Compare eCommerce Platform Options for Facebook Shops 

Step 4: Create Products and Link Them to Your Facebook Shop

Each eCommerce platform listed above makes it quite easy to enter product information and images, plus set up payment methods, shipping rates, and store information. But each does it a bit differently. We won’t cover them in detail here since every platform we list provides terrific startup tutorials that walk you through every step.

Instead, we’ll cover the basic information that you’ll use to create your product listings and store information pages, no matter the platform. Having this organized and ready beforehand makes the process of building your Facebook Shop listings quick and easy. Then we’ll cover a few final steps to complete in your Facebook admin screen once your Shop is live.

To create your product listings, you’ll need to assemble four key things:

1. Good images of your products 
   See how to capture great product photography with your cell phone camera here.
2. Detailed product descriptions
   Don’t be shy when describing your products. Good descriptions should be chock-full of details that sell your product, plus any sizing, measurements, weights, or other necessary details.
3. Product size and weight information
   These numbers can be entered with your product information in most eCommerce systems so you can print accurate shipping labels. It’s optional, but can be useful.
4. Product numbers or inventory SKU numbers
   These are the numbers or product codes you use to track products in your online store.

You’ll also need to put together four pieces of store information to let customers know what to expect when they order from you. You can create one page or several in your online store to display this information. To learn more about setting up store information pages, check out our article here.

1. Your Store Contact Information
   Email only? Email and Phone? Don’t forget to list your customer service times here, too.
2. Customer Service & Privacy Policy
   Here’s where you list your order fulfillment times, return, and privacy policies.
3. Shipping Rates and Policy
   You’ll set up shipping rates in your store dashboard, but it’s nice to have a page that lists them so customers can see what you charge for shipping.
4. “About Us” Information
   Brag a little about how you got started and how you got where you are today. This is a branding opportunity and personalizes the customer experience.

If you’re using a different eCommerce platform, this is what you’ll do:

1. Login to your account and follow their getting started tutorial to setup your store information and product listing pages.
2. Then visit their online support page for the Connect Facebook Shop 

Again, each eCommerce platform handles store set up a bit differently. But all listed above offer a complete step-by-step guide that leads you through the entire process. You can see how each works by clicking on the get started links provided in the tables above.

Whatever eCommerce platform you choose, once it’s connected to your Facebook Shop, the new Shop section will automatically appear on your Facebook page.

Note for website owners: If you have an existing Facebook page with a Shop Now button that’s connected to your website, you have one more step. From your Facebook admin page, you need to edit the button link to connect to your Facebook Shop. To do this, click the button in your page admin screen. It will give you an option to change the link to your Facebook Shop.

After all of the above is complete, and your Shop section appears, you probably won’t see your products immediately. Don’t panic. Facebook reviews all new Shops to make sure images and content meets their guidelines, which you can find here.

It can take 24-48 hours for your Shop to be approved and populate the section. So go into this with a little patience. Once approved, as you add new products, they should automatically appear within 20 minutes or so. If not, you can re-synchronize your listings from your store dashboard to send new items to Facebook. Here’s how to do that with a Shopify store

Once your products are approved and live, you’re ready to start selling. Now let’s explore ways to promote your shop, grow your Facebook audience, and make some sales.

Step 5: Market Your Products for Facebook Shop Success

There’s one really nice thing about having your products listed for sale in your Facebook Shop: Your products and potential customers are already there!

Your Facebook Shop products are primed and ready for promotion to your Facebook followers and countless potential customers. With your products already housed on Facebook, you can quickly select certain products or categories to promote via Facebook posts and ads.

Plus, viewers don’t have to leave your Facebook page to learn more about your products or make a purchase. This increased engagement within Facebook leads to more sales for many Facebook Shop owners. This is why Facebook Shop is fast becoming a favorite sales channel for online sellers, big and small.

There are many ways, both free and paid, that you can market your Facebook Shop products to followers and larger audiences, including:

• Feature products, sales, and special deals via regular posts. Learn more here.
• Feature products and specials via boosted posts which are budget-friendly paid posts designed to reach larger audiences. Learn more here.
• Run Facebook ad campaigns with featured products. Learn more here.
• Distribute offers and host contests to engage your audience and attract new viewers to your page and products. Learn more about offers here, and contests here.

The Bottom Line

Selling products directly to your Facebook audience isn’t hard to do using the Shop feature included with every free Facebook business page. Top online store platforms that integrate seamlessly with Facebook offer the easiest Facebook Shop solution, especially if you’re new to eCommerce. They make the product listing, selling, and order management process a breeze.

Once the eCommerce side is neatly handled, you’ll have plenty of time to focus on Facebook’s many free and paid opportunities to promote your Shop. With plenty of perseverance and a good marketing plan, you’ll start to see your Facebook audience grow and, more importantly, start making sales.