If you already sell products or services online, you may consider selling on Facebook via the Facebook store too. Why? Because it’s a great way of boosting your sales revenue.
The Facebook Store is essentially a place you can sell products online. You may have seen it referred to Facebook Shop or Shop Now.
For those of you who are already making a decent profit from your eCommerce website, you may be wondering why you’d want to sell via a Facebook Store. As of Q3 2019, Facebook had 2.45 billion users worldwide. It’s a great market to tap into if you haven’t already.
Now that we’ve learned it’s a great market to tap into, how exactly do you go about creating a Facebook Store. Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to show you!
How To Sell on Facebook
There are two main ways you can sell on Facebook.
- Use Facebook’s Platform: Here you can create your very own Facebook Store. You’ll be able to list products and set up payment methods. It’s a fairly simple way of selling and doesn’t require much time or effort.
- Use an eCommerce Website Builder: Using this method, you can link your existing online store’s products to your Facebook Store. It’s a bit more complicated than method one but works really well when it’s set up.
My Recommendation – Option 2
I personally recommend using option 2. If you already have an eCommerce website created, it’s much simpler. If you haven’t, don’t worry, we have a helpful guide to show you how to create an online store in a few easy steps.
Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why I suggest using this method:
- Easier to sell online
- Extends online presence
- Website builders offer extensive features and functions
- More payment options by linking the two platforms
- Sell a wider range of products and services
What is a Facebook Store?
A Facebook Store or Facebook Shop lets you sell products via your Facebook Business Page. Creating a Facebook Page is simple; their templates allow you to select options that include a Shop option.
The Store or Shop tab allows customers to buy directly from your Facebook page. It’s a brilliant way of extending your audience reach and engaging with your customers. You can easily use Facebook Ads to create marketing plans and target specific people in specific areas.
1. Start Selling with Shopify
Shopify is one of my favourite eCommerce website builders. Connecting your Shopify website with your Facebook Store is really easy to do, and I’m going to show you how.
| BASIC SHOPIFY | SHOPIFY | ADVANCED SHOPIFY | |
| ONLINE STORE | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| PRODUCTS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| STAFF ACCOUNTS | 2 | 5 | 15 |
| SUPPORT | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| SALES CHANNELS (SOCIAL MEDIA) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| MANUAL ORDER CREATION | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| DISCOUNT CODES | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| FREE SSL | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| ABANDONED CART RECOVERY | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| GIFT CARDS | ✔ | ✔ | |
| PROFESSIONAL REPORTS | ✔ | ✔ | |
| ADVANCED REPORTS | ✔ | ||
| THIRD-PARTY SHIPPING RATES | ✔ | ||
| FRAUD ANALYSIS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| ONLINE CREDIT CARD RATES | 2.2% + 20p | 1.9% + 20p | 1.6% + 20p |
| IN-PERSON CREDIT CARD RATES | 1.7% + 0p | 1.6% + 0p | 1.5% + 0p |
| ADDITIONAL FEES | 2.0% | 1.0% | 0.5% |
| SHOPIFY POS APP | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| REGISTER SHIFTS | ✔ | ✔ | |
| HARDWARE PERIPHERAL SUPPORT | ✔ | ✔ | |
| STAFF POS PINS | Unlimited | Unlimited | |
| THIRD-PARTY POS APPS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| STORE LOCATIONS | 1-5 | Up to 8 | |
| PRICE (MONTHLY) | £21.76 | £59.29 | £224.39 |
All of Shopify’s paid plans include the ability to sell on Facebook. You’ll need something called the Facebook Channel app (which is free), once you’ve signed up to Shopify.
- Install the Facebook Channel app
- Facebook will create a Store section on your Facebook page
- Your Shopify products will display on your page
There’s some pretty cool features included which I’ll go over below:
- 1 click add products
- Sell via Facebook messenger
- Visual editing and organisation
- Sell specific items via Facebook
- Real-time updates
2. Start Selling with BigCommerce
BigCommerce is another popular eCommerce website builder. Much like Shopify, you won’t need any coding knowledge to create an online store, nor will you need any to link up to your Facebook shop.
| STANDARD | PLUS | PRO | |
| PAYMENT GATEWAY INTEGRATION | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| BUILT-IN FEATURES | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| TRANSACTION FEES | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| SUPPORT | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| CHECKOUT | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| COUPONS, DISCOUNTS, GIFT CARDS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| MARKETPLACE & SOCIAL MEDIA INTEGRATION | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| POINT OF SALE | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| ONLINE SALES PER YEAR | Up to £37k | Up to £112k | Up to £299k |
| SSL | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| BRANDED ONLINE STORE | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| BLOG | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| PRODUCT RATINGS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| PROFESSIONAL REPORTING | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| REAL TIME SHIPPING | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| RESPONSIVE WEBSITE | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| SHIPPING LABEL DISCOUNTS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| STAFF ACCOUNTS | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| PRODUCTS, FILES AND BANDWIDTH | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| APPLE PAY, GOOGLE PAY, AMAZON PAY | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| AMAZON | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| GOOGLE SHOPPING | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| EBAY AND AMAZON | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| HTTPS | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| SHIPPERHQ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| CUSTOMER GROUPS AND SEGMENTATION | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| ABANDONED CART RECOVERY | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| PERSISTENT CART | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| STORED CREDIT CARDS | – | ✔ | ✔ |
| GOOGLE REVIEWS | – | – | ✔ |
| FACETED SEARCH | – | – | ✔ |
| CUSTOM SSL | – | – | ✔ |
| PRICE (MONTHLY) | £22.39 | £59.76 | £186.83 |
BigCommerce pricing plans are all quite similar, bar a few features which are outlined above. All of them have the option to be able to link up (integrate) and sell on Facebook. The BigCommerce free Facebook Shop app is available to install to your store.
Once installed, your products will be available through your Facebook business page. However, the option to checkout via Facebook directly is only available to U.S. customers on BigCommerce.
3. How to set up a Facebook Store
If you’d rather not integrate your online store with Facebook, you can set up a Facebook store without a website builder. It’s really simple to do and I’m going to show you how below:
Create a Facebook Page
First, navigate to your Facebook account. Select Pages then Create a Page. You can choose whether you want to set up a page for a business or brand (recommended) or a page for a community or public figure (you won’t be able to sell using this method).
Select Business or Brand
Get started with a business or brand page by selecting the option. Fill in your desired page name (ideally your business name) and which category your store falls under.
Select Template
Your Facebook page will be created. Here you can updated your page name, profile picture, and cover photo. You can also customise instant messaging options and invite people to like your page.
Navigate to Settings then Templates and Tabs. Edit the Standard template and select Shopping.
Your business page will be transformed into a Shop where you can start selling products.
4. Selling on Facebook FAQs
Which eCommerce website builder should I use?
As discussed above, my recommendation would be to use Shopify to set up your online store. There pricing is reasonable and their features are very good. Their free app is super easy to use and links all of your products through to your Facebook store within a few easy steps.
How should I sell through Facebook?
We’ve gone over a few methods whereby you can sell on Facebook. Again, my recommendation here is to use an eCommerce website builder. This gives you the option to create a professional online store, as well as having the Facebook store covered too.
When you update your products via the website builder, these automatically get updated on Facebook. This means your social media platform doesn’t require any intervention from you, unless of course you want to customise it separately.
How can I increase conversions via my Facebook Store?
Social media is all about growing your audience and reaching out to new potential customers. Facebook Ads is a tool where you can promote your Facebook posts to reach a specific target audience. You don’t need a large budget either, and often Facebook offers promotions with £3.70 free to get you started.
Do I need a Facebook Store?
You don’t need a Facebook Store to sell online, but it’s definitely worth it. It allows you to extend your reach into new audiences you may not have been able to tap into otherwise. It’s a great way to offer promotions and share your content in a few simple steps.
Can I sell physical and digital goods on Facebook?
Facebook allows you to sell physical goods, but not digital goods. This is why it’s a good idea to have both a Facebook store and an online store using a website builder. BigCommerce, for example, lets you sell physical and digital goods.