What has more than two billion active users, a plethora of promotional tools and one of the most advanced advertising platforms in the world? You guessed it, Facebook. The world’s largest and most successful social network is big beyond belief, with about a third of the world’s population.
As most people are aware, Facebook can be a powerful tool for promoting a business. It offers business owners everything from local reviews to the ability to communicate directly with their fans and customers — something that, until just about a decade ago, simply wasn’t possible.
Facebook also offers a basic set of e-commerce tools for businesses, making it more than just a promotional outlet for local businesses, but a potential marketing tool for online stores and other e-commerce merchants.
So, can you use Facebook to grow your e-commerce business? Of course. Through a mix of free promotion and paid advertising, Facebook can be a powerful tool for finding new customers and expanding your e-commerce business. Here’s how:
- Use your Facebook page to encourage repeat purchases. Do you have an existing audience on Facebook? Reach out to your existing fans and customers through your Facebook Page to highlight new products and encourage them to buy again
- Use targeted ads to expand your customer audience. Want to promote your latest ecommerce store products? Use features like Facebook’s “Lookalike Audience” option so that you can expand your advertising efforts and attract more customers.
- Get rid of your slow-moving inventory. Got extra inventory? Promote your sale using your Facebook page to tap into your existing customer base and quickly get rid of older, discounted inventory that wasn’t selling at full price.
- Sell directly via Facebook pages. You can sell via Facebook Pages using e-commerce platforms like Shopify, which make it easy for you to track inventory and add sales made via Facebook to your existing reports.
Need help adding Facebook to your e-commerce arsenal? The infographic below covers three of the main characteristics of successful online stores, all of which you can use to build your store and expand your ecommerce business using Facebook and other platforms.
