Facebook: where there are people, there are sales

Have you ever tried to sell your products on Facebook? Not? Well, maybe you should. Where there are people there are sales!

Level 1

The first thing to do is 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 need to push your products and services and really 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 to make it attractive and attractive 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 probably my favorite is one called Pagemondo, which allows you to have a fancy home page for new users to see where you can present a high profile. products and display 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 fans / likes, and this is the hard part! Obviously the first place to start is friends and family who are already your Facebook contacts and it’s amazing how many more fans you can get if you send a plea message to all of your friends asking them to invite their friends who in turn invite their friends. friends. friends etc etc, a bit like a pyramid scheme! It works even better if you offer a small prize to the friend who sends the most likes to your page. Another great way to get fans is to get existing customers of your eBay website or 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 for posting an update on my page.

Once you’ve exhausted your immediate circle of previous acquaintances and clients, it’s time to start attracting members of the public to your page. There are several ways to do it. The quickest and easiest thing to do 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. However, I don’t have much faith in these systems as you are not getting a targeted following, especially if you are selling fairly niche products. However, 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 for you to like them. Here are some of them …

RedTuBusiness

AddictedToNetworking

FanpagePromote

One method I’ve used to get likes is to use pages that are geared toward my demographic. For example, Facebook pages like ‘Mums Who Make’ is a stay-at-home page for moms who make and craft and then sell on Facebook. Heading to this page works well for me as many of these moms have kids and later need party toys etc. Also, many of them take existing products like Santa Claus 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 sell, but I’m sure if you spend a little time browsing pages, you can find similar pages that suit 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, it is a common tag on Facebook 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 the progress of your Facebook profile. I make sure that I like all the pages of toys, parties, bouncy castles, Christmas and Halloween that I can find like never, that 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 will get and as mentioned above some may not see this as a good use of their time if you only get a couple of sales a week but you have to be in it for the long game . – if you build it, they will come (points if you get that random movie quote from the eighties!). Every time you have a new product or news, post it on your page as someone, somewhere you 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 pique their interest. I envision myself as a market stall vendor and trying to catch passersby who really don’t want to be grabbed.

Another way to get sales is to link your Facebook page with 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 “store” 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 profits are there 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 of their items directly on Facebook and after having it up and running for about a year. now i am making good sales and inquiries.

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 invest it.

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