Before deciding what promotional content and products to sell online! you need to identify the right channel to achieve your business goals. Furthermore! not all social channels are suitable for online sales.
In fact! each of them has different structural and functional characteristics. Before starting to sell online! you need to ask yourself three questions:
- what is the target audience ( who to sell to );
- which products to place on the social market ( what to sell );
- which social platform to use ( how to sell ).
Being present on all social channels could be dispersive! the resources and time employed risk accumulating uselessly! risking inefficiencies. It is therefore necessary to invest in channels that have been well thought out and adequate for our target.
In addition to who to sell and what! you also need to think about “ where to sell”! therefore. Let’s review the main ecommerce features offered by the most popular Social Networks.
Sell with Facebook! with Facebook Shops (and Marketplace)
Facebook continues to be the most influential social network and one of the most used digital communication tools by users. According paytm database to Wearesocial research ! more than 50% of Italians have a Facebook account! where they spend an average of 16 hours a month online.
Marketplace can be used both by private individuals! as a virtual place to sell second-hand or even new products! and by companies.
However! ads published on Marketplace must comply with Facebook’s selling policies and community standards . As required by the policy ! the sale of the following is primarily prohibited:
Facebook shop ! on the other hand! facilitates and supports companies and freelancers in creating an online shop on Facebook! offering a real! personal virtual shop window. The company can display the products on Facebook and make the payment on an external e-commerce site! since in-app payment is not yet available globally.
In general! to open a Facebook Shop you need to have a Business Manager account ! manage the product catalog and the Facebook page using the same Business Manager account. By creating collections you can define a sort of thematic what they are and how to use them product catalog.
After entering your company data (such as: company name! legal representative data! tax information and sales policies)! you need to configure the payment methods! shipping methods! return conditions and price.
Managing the platform is free but – when checkout directly on Facebook is also active – there will be a commission on sales that Facebook will retain for itself.
Do Social Commerce with Instagram
In 2020! there were approximately 28 million Italians with an Instagram account ! with an average connection time of approximately 7 hours per month each.
With an Instagram Business account you can tag products in images and videos (up to 5 products)! insert the features and the price.
The social showcase offered by Instagram cuba leads is immersive: you can share highlighted products or use #hashtags to explore them in the app’s “search” function. Products on company pages! if for sale on Instagram! are marked with the shopping bag symbol that appears at the bottom left of each post.
When the user taps a tag or sticker! they are directed to a page where the product photo! its technical sheet! the price and the link to complete the purchase are visible . It is also possible to connect the Facebook business page to the Instagram business account! to facilitate its management.
