Have you ever tried to sell your products on Facebook? No? Well maybe you should. Where there are people there are sales!
Level 1
The first thing to do is to get a business fan page. It is very easy to set up and will serve as your showcase to the world. Now, unlike eBay, you don’t have specific listings (although it is possible), so you really have to push your products and services and sell yourself. I find this exciting and challenging as you need to search for leads that should result in sales.
Once you have your page, you can start making it look attractive and enticing to potential buyers. There are plenty of third-party apps that will do this for you (usually free) and I’ve tried a few, but my favorite is probably one called Pagemondo, which allows you to have a fancy homepage for new likes to see where you can stand out. products and show your logo etc. This, like an eBay template, can give your Facebook presence an air of professionalism.
Stage 2
The next step is to get followers/likes, and this is the hard part! Obviously the first place to start is your friends and family who are already your Facebook contacts and it’s amazing how many more fans you can get if you send a pleading message to all your friends asking them to invite their friends, who in turn invite his friends. friends, etc, etc, a bit like a pyramid scheme!! It works even better if you offer a small prize for the friend who sends the most likes to your Page. Another good way to get a following is to get existing customers from your website or eBay sales to sign up by sending out flyers with each sale asking them to join the group to keep in touch with new products and special offers. I often get good repeat orders just by posting an update on my page.
Once you’ve exhausted your immediate circle of past acquaintances and clients, it’s time to start attracting members of the public to your page. There are a few ways to do this. The fastest and easiest is to use a site like Twiends, which is basically a massive fan chain, exchange program. You like other people’s pages, and in turn, they like you back. I don’t have a lot of faith in these systems though, as you’re not getting a targeted following, especially if you’re selling niche products. If you sell something universal, like electronics or books, you may have some success with this method. There are also a number of Facebook pages set up specifically to get followers. Here are some of them…
NetworkYourBusiness
AddictedToNetworking
FanpagePromote
One method I’ve used to get likes is to use pages that are targeted to my demographic. For example, pages on Facebook like ‘Mums Who Make’ is a page dedicated to stay-at-home moms who make and make and then sell on Facebook. Pointing to this page works well for me as many of these moms have children and subsequently need party toys etc. Also, many of them take existing products like Santa bags, personalize them, and sell them. Selling to these people has been very lucrative in recent weeks. Now of course it depends on what you’re selling, but I’m sure if you spend a little time browsing the pages you could find similar pages that fit your niche. Find groups and Pages that are relevant to your business and join them. Some will allow you to promote your business, some will not, but the more groups you join, the better. If a business finds your page and likes it, then it’s common Facebook etiquette to like it back, even if it has nothing to do with your business sector. Making virtual friends or acquaintances is a big part of progressing your Facebook profile. I make sure to like all the toy, party, bouncy castle, Christmas and Halloween pages I can find like never before to you who may need my services!
stage 3
Once you have a good fan base, you need to promote, promote, promote! The more you refresh your page, the more sales you’ll get, and as mentioned above, some may not see this as a good use of your time if you only get a couple of sales a week, but you have to do it for a long time. – if you build it, they will come (points if you get that random 80s movie quote!). Every time you have a new product or news post it on your page as someone, somewhere will see it and the law of averages says that someone will buy it! Also, be creative. Run contests, promotions and special offers, interact with your customers and try to spark their interest. I envision myself owning a market stall and trying to grab passersby who really don’t want to get caught!
Another way to get sales is to link your Facebook page to your eBay account. There are some good guides on Google that explain how you can do this.
There are also ways to get an eBay-style ‘shop’ on Facebook. Companies like Buegle will charge you for this, but to be honest I’m skeptical about paying for services like this as I don’t think the returns are currently available to make this financially viable. Especially when I managed to do it for free!!
The website I use for Risus Wholesale has a built in feature that allows me to export all my wholesale toy listings to shopmania, who in turn will list all their items directly on Facebook and after having it running for a year or so. I am now doing some good sales and consulting.
Hope this guide helps some people. Selling on Facebook isn’t for everyone, but I honestly think it’s worth a try if you have the time and energy to do it.
