A comprehensive step-by-step guide on everything Facebook Shop.
We will cover the following items:
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.
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!
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.
Ecommerce Platform |
Social Plan Costs |
Selling Outlets |
Best for |
Shopify Lite |
$9/mo. unlimited products |
Facebook Shop, Pinterest buyable pins, Amazon selling & 'Buy Now' buttons to add listings to blogs. |
Sellers of all sizes wanting to sell on a Facebook shop, plus social sites, blogs & seller marketplaces |
Ecwid |
Free for 10 products |
Facebook Shop, plus a webstore add-on for websites on WordPress, Wix, Weebly & more |
Small sellers wanting to list and sell a few items in a Facebook shop, plus on a blog or other web platform |
Spreesy |
3% of Sales |
Facebook Shop, Pinterest buyable pins, Twitter, Instagram, Etsy & your own Spreesy website |
Sellers of all sizes wanting to maximize social selling on all networks, plus sell on Etsy and a Spreesy store website |
ShopTab |
$10/mo. for 500 products |
Facebook Shop, plus a webstore add-on for websites on WordPress, Wix, Weebly & more |
Sellers of all sizes wanting to maximize Facebook sales. Good for connecting WooCommerce to a Facebook shop |
Ecommerce Platform: |
Monthly Fees: |
Best For: |
Shopify |
$29-$299 |
New, small, and mid-sized web store, social & multichannel sellers |
Ecwid - Regular Plans |
$15-$99 |
WordPress, Wix, and Weebly. New, small, and mid-sized web store, social & multichannel sellers |
BigCommerce |
$29.95-$249.95 |
New, small, and mid-sized web store, social & multichannel sellers |
Pinnacle Cart |
$29.95-$149.95 |
New, small, and mid-sized web store & social sellers |
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:
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.
If you’re using a different eCommerce platform, this is what you’ll do:
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.
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:
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.