Social Commerce is a way to attract customers by being where they are so you aren’t pulling them away from what they are already doing. Lot’s of small businesses–virtual and brick-and-mortar– are making millions of dollars engaging customers, building “community” and selling their goods exclusively on Facebook, Instagram and other social sites. This slide deck will help you get your brand started with selling on Facebook.

1. Written By:

2.  A way to attract customers by being where
they already are online, including Facebook.
 Allows sellers to increase sales and reach new
customers by extending their online
footprint.

3.  If you do not already have a Facebook page, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/create/
 Be sure to fill out all the information in the
“About,” “Description,” and “Contact” sections so
that users who land on your page are instantly
engaged.
 Your page should be visually appealing:
◦ Tip #1: Pagemodo (www.pagemodo.com) is a great tool to
create catchy cover photos for your page.
◦ Tip #2: Easy posts to draw attention to your page: Inspiring
quotes, a daily meme, favorite recipes or opinion polls.

4.  Growing your page the right
way can take time, but
focusing on the quality of
your likes will ensure that the
right people are engaged with
your content.
 Those who are engaged with
your content are truly
interested in the types of
products you sell, and
eventually, in buying those
products.

5.  Invite your personal Facebook friends to like your
page (Encourage them to spread the word!).
 Import your email addresses of customers from
your boutique mailing list (Note: You can invite in bulk
by going to the Admin. Panel).
 Post content that your fans will enjoy and interact
with (Remember: Every interaction is a chance for a new
person to discover your page!).

6. 1. Spread the word - Ask your current followers to share your page.
2. Cross promote - Ask your customers to like your page in your
newsletter, on your website, in your store, via other social channels,
etc.
3. Run a contest - Ask your followers to “Comment to Win” a free
product.
4. Targeted Facebook Ads - Facebook ads are helpful if you get them in
front of the right people. You can target based on gender, age,
location and interest.
5. Be active - Constantly post engaging and entertaining content that
your audience with will enjoy.

7.  “Selling on Facebook has created a wonderful sense of
community for my customers.” –Ashley Jernigan, owner of
Southern Tots
◦ Ashley Jernigan founded Southern Tots while she was changing careers,
selling traditional children’s clothing both online and through eBay.
◦ When she experimented with selling leftover inventory on Facebook, she
faced overwhelming demand and refocused her efforts to selling through
Soldsie.
◦ Southern Tots grew from one to eleven employees, expanded from a
home office to a warehouse, and allowed a team of working mothers to
forge a work-life balance.

8.  Focus on increasing engagement (likes,
comments, and shares).
 Post compelling products for sale (new, well
priced, and unique items).
 Use flash sales when possible:
◦ Flash sales typically run weekly, take place over a
limited time, and offer items in limited quantities.
◦ Recommendation: Sell at 7 p.m. local time from
Sunday night to Thursday night.

9.  Price, style, & quantity matter most:
◦ Items that cost between $10 and $40 work best for your
first sale.
◦ Accessories work well because they’re attractively priced
& appeal to impulse buyers.
◦ Try selling 5 to 10 of each product to increase urgency.
 Best merchandise to sell:
◦ New to the store or website
◦ Exclusively for sale on Facebook
◦ Heavily discounted items
◦ Limited stock of popular items

10.  Before sale:
◦ Promote your event (see promotion of sale).
◦ To increase your reach, boost post with $10-50.
◦ Email customers and fans about the sale.
 During sale:
◦ Be present so that you can answer questions.
◦ Get as many people as possible to participate.
◦ When there are already comments, other people will
follow suit.
 After sale:
◦ Mention that the product is sold out. This will create
urgency and prepare your fans for upcoming sales.

11. 1. Offer a gift or discount with first FB purchase.
2. Run a promotion requesting people to share or
get likes on their comments (the most shares
or likes wins an item).
3. Promote through all social profiles: Leverage
your website, Instragram, Pinterest, etc.
4. “Boost” promo posts: Spend $10-50 to “boost”
your post and target a relevant audience.
5. In-store promotion or party: Have a cocktail or
tea party at your shop to promote the launch
of a sale or page.

12.  First, thank everyone for participating in the
sale, or if you did an auction or giveaway,
congratulate the winner.
 Then, take stock of the results:
◦ How did customers respond to the new platform?
◦ If you distributed coupon codes, how many fans
used them upon checkout?
◦ What will you do differently to promote future
campaigns, if anything?

13.  Not getting enough target signups before
the sale.
 Running sale posts with links in the
middle of another promotion.
 Running sales at non-peak hours.
 Limited to no page or sale
promotions.
 Selling only products over $50 that are not
discounted, new, or unique.
 Selling too many products at once.

14.  Share quality photos: Users that use photos see an average
of 25% more likes and almost 20% more shares. Include
attractive photos that are made of clean compositions and
use good lighting for better conversions.
 Advertise: Design targeted advertisements.
 Use video: It doesn’t have to be a large production. Even a
short clip showcasing your business can go a long way.
 Great cover photo: When your business page gets ‘liked’ it
makes a splash on other users’ News Feeds. Make sure
your cover photo is eye-catching and looks good cropped
as a square.

15.  Polls: Create polls that are timely and related to your
business. Use visuals to further increase engagement.
 Quotes: Find and share inspirational quotes that can
associate your brand with positive feelings.
 Giveaways: Ask users to like, share, or comment on a
particular post to be entered.
 Make it a free-for-all: Have users like, share, or comment on any post
for additional entries.
 Offer discounts: Waive shipping or offer discount on their next purchase
for completing the “like, share, comment” trinity.
 Set goals: Perhaps you’re on the verge of your 10,000th or 50,000th like.
Let fans know that whoever got you to your benchmark will get a prize.

16.  Soldsie seller The Imprint Doctor
increased engagement and
followers on their page by:
 Running milestone giveaways for every
100 likes.
 Using polls with visuals to feature three
different products and asked fans to
comment on the one they’d like to win.
 This helped build buzz around the page as
well as helped to identify which products
would do well in a sale.
 Posting pictures of winners with their
prize and tagging them causing the
photo to show up in the winner’s News
Feed.

17.  Follow the 80/20 rule: 80% of your posts should be for
your fans, 20% about your brand.
 Customer service: Don’t delete negative comments and
don’t get into an argument online. Instead view
customer complaints as an opportunity to solve
problems.
 Running promotions: Make sure to stay informed of
Facebook’s terms of service.

18.  Selling on Facebook: Don’t push consumers onto a
different site to make a purchase.
 Scheduling posts: Figure out the best times of the day
to post for fans.
 Cross promotion: Integrate Pinterest, Instagram, and
other social networks into your Facebook marketing
strategy. Other social media platforms are
opportunities to strengthen your Facebook business
page.

19.  Social Media Today: Independent blog managed by
industry professionals that contains insightful posts.
 Boom Social: Kim Garst’s blog offers practical and quick
tips on managing your social media outlets.
 Jon Loomer: Resource for those looking to improve on
their Facebook marketing skills.
 Splash Media: Get advice on online brand marketing from
industry experts.
 Hootsuite Blog: Aside from being a great tool to manage
all your social media accounts, Hootsuite also offers
insightful knowledge on their blog to help you stay on the
cutting edge of social media.

20.  Lighting: Even, natural lighting that’s bright enough to not
require flash is ideal to avoid harsh shadows.
 Text over photos: Facebook Insights proves that bright, clean
images with text invite fan interaction.
 Interesting or unobtrusive backdrop: Giving thought to your
backdrop can help with store branding – creating the ‘feel’ of
your Facebook store.
 Demonstrate fit: When selling clothes, use live models or
mannequins to showcase the items so potential customers can
see how the clothing really fits.
 Size & resolution of photos: Avoid blurriness and pixelation by
paying attention to image resolution. A good rule of thumb for
uploading to Facebook is 77PPI.

22.  Sell Out Completely, Without Overselling
 Manage your inventory and product list right from Facebook for your
Facebook store.
 Accept pre-authorized payments so that late-payers and cancelled
orders won’t hold up your inventory.
 Leave the Posting, Invoicing and Payment Reminders to Us
 Real-time, automatically-issued invoices make sure every comment gets
an invoice as they’re made.
 Schedule reminder emails to get more payments.
 Schedule your auctions ahead of time – anytime – from anywhere.
 Shopper-Friendly Features Help to Grow Your Business and
Establish Your Brand
 Create and manage coupon codes.
 Accept credit card payments.
 Customers don’t have to leave their email addresses in the comments –
it protects their privacy.
 Customers can select add-ons at checkout.