How to Sell on Facebook: Use Social Networks to Earn Money

Why sell through Facebook

Online commerce has exploded in recent years, but especially during this last one in which the COVID-19 pandemic has changed many of our daily habits. Now that we cannot or do not want to get into closed spaces with hundreds or thousands of other people, online sales are the great option to buy and sell for many users, stores, entrepreneurs, etc.

In the case of those who want to sell through the internet today, it is not necessary to invest in their own online store, with a server, payment gateways, etc., which are technically not easy to configure for any type of user . And this is so because social networks have been able to realize that they can act as virtual shop windows, something that brings benefits both to the user and to themselves.

For a long time, forums and other internet pages have been used as a way to put in contact users interested in the sale or purchase of a certain product. On Facebook, for example, there are numerous group pages where these types of activities are carried out, although everything is done in a very conventional way.

These public groups are basically like a bulletin board where each user interested in selling something publishes his message with his corresponding photo and through the comments you interact with the interested parties, whether or not they have closed the deal and proceed to its sale and sent their proceeds or face-to-face collection.

This is as valid as any other method, but it is not the best way to do it. Especially if your intention is not to sell something only on a specific basis but you want to find a way to generate recurring income based on your work and those products or services that you offer.

Therefore, it is best to take advantage of the different tools that Facebook offers to sell online. Because not only are they very easy to configure but you also take advantage of all the advantages offered by social networks in general and this one in particular:

• Social networks like Facebook allow a very high potential user reach
• Many users are already familiar with its use
• You will not need to invest in an online server or other tools, they give you everything
• You can take advantage of its promotional tools to have a greater impact
• With Facebook you can take advantage of the integration with other platforms such as Instagram or WhatsApp

So, maybe if you are starting to sell online and want to expand your market without too high an investment, you may be interested in knowing what options you have to sell on Facebook.

How to sell products or services through Facebook

Facebook is one of the social networks that quickly realized that there was an important business opportunity in the use of this type of platform as online sales venues. And not only because of those percentages that can be taken from the sales generated, but also because of the increase in activity and users that it entails.

Currently Facebook offers three different options to sell online: stores, catalogs and the marketplace. Each of them offers its advantages and would be oriented according to what type of user and activity you want to carry out. So let’s get to know them one by one, how they are created and configured.

Stores on Facebook

Facebook or Facebook Shops online stores are, as their name suggests, places where sellers can create a kind of virtual showcase in the case of having their own online store already or using them as a place where they start and finish their own purchase.

The choice between one or the other option will depend on you, if you have your own website the ideal thing is to use it only to make yourself known, reach more public and then all of them go to your page to finish finalizing the purchase. It would be the showcase type of use mode.

However, if you do not want to mess with your own options, the truth is that creating your own store and allowing it to be through Facebook where you start and end the purchase is very interesting. To create your own Facebook store the process is as follows:

1. The first step is to go to Commerce Manager
2. From there you can sell on Facebook, Instagram or both platforms at the same time
3. Select Create a store and hit Start
4. Stores are available for physical products, so read the next page in detail and start setting everything up
5. Select where to finish the purchase. To do it on Facebook or Instagram you will have to have the company located in the US and a bank account in that country. If not, you will have to redirect it to your website or finalize the purchase with messaging
6. Create a Facebook page if you don’t have it yet or select one of the ones you already have
7. Add the products
8. Confirm everything and sell

As you can see, it is not a complicated process at all, so it will only take you the time you need for these initial configuration steps and prepare all the products that you want to sell online with their images, description, etc.

Product catalogs on Facebook

The second option is the product catalogs. This Facebook option is a kind of online showcase that serves as a showcase for your products or services. Yes, in this case you can sell services such as consulting, creation of digital products or anything else without the limitation of stores that “force” you to be physical products.

To create a catalog on Facebook, the process is practically identical to the previous one

1. Enter Commerce Manager
2. Select the type of catalog you want to create (e-commerce, travel, real estate or cars)
3. Select the upload method: upload product information or connect to ecommerce platform
4. Once your catalog is created you can easily add or remove items

The only point to consider with the use of Facebook product catalogs is that there is no option to finalize the transaction unless you meet the requirements of being a physical product and have a store already created within the platform. Even so, it is a very interesting option to sell online or, at least, improve sales by giving visibility to your products and / or services.

Facebook Marketplace

The Facebook Marketplace is a kind of eBay or Amazon integrated into the platform. That is, in it, users interested in selling some type of product what they do is advertise so that other interested users can find them easily.

So, for example, if you are interested in buying something in particular, you can search the marketplace, read the opinions of users who have already done so, find out how you would do with the comments of other users on other platforms and once you decide to look for that one. seller that convinces you the most if there are several who offer what you are looking for.

Once you have it, you just have to get in touch to finalize the transaction. And in the event that you are the one who wants to take advantage of this tool to sell, what you have to do is the following:

1. Go to the Marketplaces section of Facebook
2. Hit + Sell something
3. In Item for sale select the photos with which you want to illustrate the publication and fill in all the necessary information
4. Hit Publish and voila, wait for potential buyers

Within Facebook Marketplace there are differences between a company and a regular seller that are not bad at all to know to know what interests you or what suits you best.

Advantages of stores, catalogs and marketplace on Facebook

Now that you know the three options that Facebook offers its users to sell through its platform or boost such sales in its online stores, let’s talk about the advantages of each of the options.

Advantages of Facebook Stores

Stores within Facebook are the ideal option for many, although at the moment it is not something that everyone can take advantage of equally. Without a doubt, its main advantages are the following:

• Unique brand experience by being able to customize all the aspects it offers
• Own space where you will only show what you want
• Boost traffic to your own website for online sales

Advantages of Facebook Catalogs

For their part, catalogs are the best option to show what you offer visually.

• They allow an orderly display of your products
• Control of items
• Greater visual impact

Advantages of Facebook Marketplace

The last option in Marketplace is also very interesting:

• If you are constant in the publications and they make sense, the latter is important, the visibility of your project will increase and you will see how the flow of clients will also grow
• You can take advantage of the geographical data of each user so that your products are shown to the users closest to you
• More options to be found in searches
• Improve the relationship between seller and customer

Boost sales on Facebook

At this point, further improving sales on Facebook is possible through things as basic as those you could do both in physical stores and in other types of online stores. For example, keep your products updated and have quality photographs to make them look good. Also answer users who have questions or want to know any additional information.

That participation and that it does not remain as something neglected is vital for the store to function and generate more and more traffic. After all, Facebook itself will give you more visibility if it sees that you are capable of generating more user movement.

On the Marketplace itself they give advice that you can apply to everything in general and even on how to take advantage of these sales options on other platforms owned by the Zuckerberg Brand company. Especially doing it through Instagram could be interesting and it is not something that takes a long time or involves too great an extra effort.