Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses have undergone overwhelming financial losses and are forced to close. Mostly, small businesses are being hit hard. The shift to shopping online has quickly intensified because of the lockdowns, restrictions, and of course the risk of contracting the virus. *
This is why it’s imperative for businesses to have an online presence in these changing times; And here’s how you can start yours using Facebook.
Know your goal.
Do you want to sell? Promote? Or both?
Knowing your goal will point you in the direction that you want to achieve. Whether it is to fully shift your business on Facebook; get back up to business and promote your brand on Facebook; Or do you want to sell both on Facebook and on a physical store. Once you fully commit on your goal, you can start your journey as a seller on Facebook.
Create a Facebook Page for your Brand/Business
Creating a Facebook Page is the easiest part. In creating a Facebook Page, you will need to provide the following:
Page name
Business category
A brief description of your company and the services or products you offer.
Logo as a Profile Photo and Cover Photo
Call-to-Action
What would you like people to do when they connect with your business on your Facebook Page? This is your call-to-action. Once you already have your Facebook page setup, you can now add a button on your page. One that looks like this:
You will get an option whether you want people to:
Go ahead and choose one based on your plan to achieve your main goal.
List your Products/Services
On your Facebook Page, you can edit your Tabs. Tabs are options that people will interact with on your page. Click “More” below your cover photo and head over to the Edit Tabs section. Enable the tabs that you want people to see on your page. You can enable the shop tab if you are a selling products, and you can also enable the services tab if you are providing services to people.
Arrange the order of the tabs for easier navigation.
Go ahead and optimize your Services/Shop Tab. Put photo that corresponds to your services.
Set up your store and Select the checkout method.
Set Up your Shop using Commerce Manager - a self-serve tool you can use to integrate Checkout into your online shop.
If you already have an existing website or online shop outside of Facebook and you want shopper to redirect them to your online shop, you can choose “your website” as a checkout method.
You can also choose the option for shoppers to checkout using Facebook Pay.
And lastly, you can choose for shoppers to chat with you instead.
So, now that you created your very own store on Facebook,
How will you market your brand?
Create traffic in your page by bearing in mind the following factors:
Target market
Build a community. Take advantage if you know anyone who would be interested in your product/services, engage and connect to similar demography but not all. Join buy & sell groups and other community groups in your target location.
Content
Post DAILY relevant content. When we say relevant, it may somewhat connect on your services but it must also be trendy or entertaining to your target market. Do not promote every day because you need to establish an engaging online presence to build a community.
Giveaways/Contests
Consider doing giveaways or contest such as this:
This type of marketing is also one proven way to gain a following. Creating a like and comment contest or giveaway on Facebook is very popular marketing strategy of many businesses.
Facebook Ads
Personally, I am not a fan of Facebook Ads. This should not be your first option. Even if it looks promising, if you are just starting up your online presence, you cannot build your community without doing the first 3 above. Now once you decided to run an ad on Facebook, make sure to monitor the likes and comments on your advertisement. You can invite people who liked your ad, to like the page itself because these are the people who are interested in what you are providing. Engage and promote you services on the comment section by replying to them.
Learn more: Facebook for Business
If you need virtual assistance in building your online business empire, contact: HM Freelancing