Facebook Shop Tab can be a real game changer for any e-commerce business. But with two distinct shopping areas within the platform (Facebook Shop and Facebook Marketplace), it can be tricky for businesses to know which is the best option.
For the majority of businesses, the Facebook Shop tab is the ideal choice to showcase and sell items from your business’ social profile, whereas Marketplace is arguably targeted more at individuals looking to sell items. Below we will take a look at the Facebook Shop tab and Marketplace, and what each option could bring to your e-commerce business.
Facebook Shop
Facebook Shop Tab was fully rolled out to businesses in 2016 and is a major advantage for e-commerce companies looking to convert their target audience via Facebook.
In the past, e-commerce businesses would aim to push traffic from Facebook to their websites where they could convert to a customer. While we all still use Facebook to push traffic to our websites, it is a well-known truth that many users will not want to leave the platform. After all, if you are specifically looking for a product you would probably search for it on Google and you may only move from Facebook to an e-commerce website if something extra special caught your eye. More often than not if you did see something you might want to buy, you would think to come back and have a look later so you can keep scrolling and engaging on Facebook. In many instances you would probably forget to go back and check out the product in greater detail.
This behaviour meant businesses were failing to convert potentially interested parties.
To resolve this, numerous Facebook shopping apps and services sprung up to allow users to buy products directly from a business’ Facebook page without ever having to leave the platform e.g. Shopify. The Facebook Shop Tab allows you to list your products and prices and sell directly on Facebook.
How to set up a Facebook Shop Tab
What is really great about the Facebook Shop Tab is just how easy and quick it is to set up. From your business’ Facebook page, simply locate the ‘Shop tab’. If you don’t see this option you may need to change your page template to including shopping.
From here Facebook will guide you through the entire setup process:
> Facebook will ask you to agree to merchant terms and policies. While most people skip through terms and permissions it is actually a very good idea to read these policies carefully as it will detail valuable information such as what products are not allowed on Facebook, refund and returns policies and the test phase of your shop.
> Once you have read through all the necessary policies it is time to add your billing and product processing details. You will be asked to enter your business email address which will be used to notify you on shop purchases and should be the email for customer services.
> You will be asked to describe what sort of products your Facebook shop sells. This is just an overview.
> Now comes the part where you actually add products to the Facebook Shop. You can easily configure the settings for each product and there are simple fields to fill in, such as a products name, pictures, description, price, category, shipping methods, whether it is visible to the public or not and whether it is on sale.
It is a good idea to read the Facebook image guidelines for your product image to get the best results. It is useful to note that there are only 4 product variants for each product and you must not abbreviate variants such as large, small or medium.
> Once you have uploaded all your products, they will enter a review phase by Facebook similar to ads.
Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace may sound like something to do with shopping and it is but it’s completely different from the shop tab. Feeling confused? We don’t blame you.
Utilised by 800 million people worldwide, Facebook Marketplace is hugely popular. Originally aimed at individuals, more and more businesses are now using this as a viable way to market and sell their products.
The marketplace is where users can easily snap a picture of a piece of property they don’t want anymore and pop it on the marketplace with a price. Other users see the product they want and can then arrange payment with the poster or negotiate the price.
The platform is highly targeted, and therefore is ideal for businesses looking to provide a highly personalised service to customers, and with no listing fees it can prove to be a cost-effective e-commerce solution.
Ready to get selling on Shop or Marketplace? Facebook provides comprehensive guidance for both platforms, take a look below: