.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
.png){kind=small}
Does your business sell physical products? Wondering how to sell your products using Facebook Shops?
In this article, you’ll learn how to create a shop on Facebook, use Commerce Manager to add products to your shop, and promote the products in your Facebook shop. You’ll also discover whether your business is a good fit for Facebook Shops.
About Facebook Shops
Facebook page shops and Instagram profile shops have existed for quite a while but the latest iteration marks the most significant changes that impact small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Historically, Facebook shops were geared toward online retail stores selling products but now Facebook is planning to expand the tools for service-based businesses and digital products. The biggest change is the build-out of a complete end-to-end commerce ecosystem.
The Facebook Shops platform offers tools for promotion, sales, marketing, conversion, customer support, and more. SMBs can go fully native and set up a full online shopping experience for free on Facebook Shops. In addition, Facebook has made the strategic decision to continue partnering and expanding the relationships with third-party eCommerce tools such as Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and many more. This is great news for you.
Now let’s look at five key new features of the latest iteration of Facebook Shops:
Unified single shop presence across the entire Facebook family of apps and services: This includes Facebook, Instagram Stories, ads, and coming soon, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Seamless checkout experience: Facebook stores the user’s credit card when they’ve made a purchase.
Real-time shopping on Facebook and Instagram Live: This feature alone has massive potential. Think QVC or Home Shopping Network meets Facebook and Instagram Live.
Artificial intelligence (AI): Facebook will be able to automatically identify and tag your products in photos. People will be able to link to product photos in Facebook and Instagram feeds.
Augmented reality (AR): Let your audience try on items like sunglasses, lipstick, and makeup, or use their mobile device to preview items in the real world. This feature is going to help increase conversions for SMBs.
If you already have a shop on Facebook or Instagram, your shop will automatically update to the new Facebook Shops. You’ll get a notification or an email or both from Facebook.
If you don’t already have a shop, read on to learn how to set one up for your business.
#1: Decide If a Facebook Shop Makes Sense for Your Business
Facebook Shops isn’t a good fit for every business. So before getting into the steps for setting up your business on the platform, let’s talk about who should and shouldn’t be using the new Facebook Shops.
A Facebook shop would be a good option for your business if:
You mostly sell physical products.
You’re new to online commerce.
You have a third-party shop such as Shopify or BigCommerce. You can easily connect your catalog and try reaching a new audience on Facebook and Instagram.
You already promote or advertise your products on Facebook or Instagram.
In these cases, there are clear benefits to your audience. They can have a seamless shopping experience, and when it’s available, you can try real-time shopping on Facebook or Instagram Live.
On the other hand, don’t set up a Facebook shop if:
You mostly sell services or digital products. But remember, the situation might change.
You prefer to have full control over your online store or stick with your own merchant account or Shopify, for example.
Otherwise, you may as well give Facebook Shops a go to help increase sales. You could reach a wider audience and make more money.
When you make a sale through your store, you’ll pay a selling fee which is 5% per shipment. If the transaction is less than $8.00, it’s a flat fee of $0.40.
#2: Set Up a Facebook Shop With Commerce Manager
Now let’s dive into how to create your Facebook shop. There are two main components you’ll need to set up: Commerce Manager (if you haven’t already) and your Catalog Manager. By the way, on Instagram you’ll need a business profile to set up a shop.
To get started, go to facebook.com/commerce_manager and click the blue Create Commerce Account button.
On the next page, you’ll see two choices for setting up your shop. Your first option is to go totally native and start on Facebook. Or if you already have an eCommerce platform like Shopify or BigCommerce, go with the second option.
You’ll then see an informational screen that lists the items you’ll need to set up your account. This includes your U.S. bank account and routing number, tax and payment information, and shop preferences and policies. Click Next to proceed.
Business Information
The next screen outlines the steps to take to set up your account. Click the Set Up button under Business Information first.
Now give your commerce account a name—ideally, the name of your business.
On the next screen, select your Facebook page. If, like me, you’ve had a shop before, select that page and it will convert to the new Facebook shop.
Now Facebook wants you to connect to your Business Manager account. If you don’t have one, this article walks you through how to set one up. Click Finish Setup when you’re done.
Products and Settings
When you get back to the initial setup screen, click Get Started under Step 2 to move on to Products and Settings.
For your product catalog, you can pick an existing catalog if you had one before or create a new catalog.
Now set the shipping options you’ll offer in your shop. Remember Facebook shops are mostly for physical items so you’ll need to indicate what your standard, expedited, and rush shipping charges are.
The next screen is for your return policy. Enter the number of days customers will have to return purchases to you and provide a customer service email. You can’t proceed without entering these details.
Payouts
The final step is to tell Facebook where you want to receive the money from any sales you make. When you see the initial setup screen again, click Get Started under Payouts.
First, fill in your bank details. After that, select from the drop-down menu of categories of what you sell.
Next, select the state where you do business. If you have a physical location, provide the tax registration number for your state; that’s not your tax ID number. If you don’t have a physical presence business, just hit Skip for Now.
On the Tax & Representation page, select your business type (Corporation, Non-Profit, Partnership, Individual, or Sole Proprietorship) and enter personal details for the individual who will serve as a representative for your business.
Finally, link your bank details because Facebook pays out directly to your bank. When you’re done, click Finish Set Up.
#3: Add Products to Your Facebook Catalog
Now you’re ready to add products to your catalog. Go into the Commerce Manager account you just set up and click Inventory in the left-hand menu. Then click the Add Product button on the right.
Facebook gives you three choices for adding products to your catalog: Add each product manually, use data feeds, or connect the Facebook pixel. The data feed and Facebook pixel options are ideal if you have 50 or more items in your catalog. If you have fewer than 50, go with the manual option.
Adding a product manually is super-easy. You upload a picture of the product and provide a name, description, content ID, and website links.
A lot of these fields are optional. You can enter a current price and sale price, inventory availability, product condition, shipping, and more.
After you add your first item, you’ll see the option to add more products.
When you’re done, click the View Shop button to see what it looks like on your Facebook page.
To get back to your shop at any time, go to your Facebook page, click on Shop in the navigation, and then click on Manage Your Catalog.
What’s Next?
Setting up your Facebook shop is the first step. Now how do you get your products out there and promote them? Well, certainly you can do that organically on Facebook and Instagram. Instagram has a dedicated Shopping tab and shops have a destination on the Explore page. You can also share your link to your shop outside of Facebook and Instagram.
Of course, you can also go the paid route with ads. Facebook lets you set them up directly in Catalog Manager. You can do traffic ads or dynamic ads with the pixel on your website, or promote collections with the storefront ad or a lookbook. There are a lot of options to get more customers through paid means.
What do you think? Will you set up a Facebook or Instagram shop to sell your products? Which new Facebook Shops features will be most beneficial to your business? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Author: Mari Smith
Mari Smith is a widely-recognized social media speaker and trainer, author of The New Relationship Marketing, and coauthor of Facebook Marketing: An Hour A Day.