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Smart tech and easy clicks make Facebook a exciting place to sell your lampshades and if you're already promoting your lampshade making business on Facebook, taking it one step further could bring you more sales.
Today's BEAM (Business Expertise and Advice for Makers) post takes you through what to consider when selling on Facebook and how you can make the most of this low cost marketplace platform.
How big is Facebook?
54.8 million Facebook users in the UK with individuals aged 25 to 34 years made up the largest group of Facebook users by age in the UK as of April 2021 (Source: statista.com)
What percentage of products are handmade on Facebook Shops?
Facebook has a number of different platforms for selling, Facebook Shops, (which were we’re going to focus on for this post), Facebook marketplace and Facebook Buy and Sell groups, so it’s hard to determine what percentage of products are handmade, with the market being so huge.
One thing to note though is that products need to be physical and not digital, i.e. PDF downloads or video based lampshade making courses etc, cannot be sold.
What are the selling fees?
Facebook Shops launched in May 2020 and is an elevated version of Facebook Page Shop, which was seemingly accelerated after Covid-19 and the impact this had on small to medium sized business. The initial set up is free but the fees below apply if you are using the Commerce Manager (see ‘How easy is it to set up’) when you’ve made a sale.
Fee’s when using Commerce Manager :
· Transaction Fee of 5% per transaction
· Selling Fee of USD 0.40 (including sales price + delivery fee + taxes)
Find out more from Facebook here.
How easy is it to set up?
To set up a Facebook shop you’ll need a Facebook Page, which you can set up alongside your personal profile. Easy to set up from your personal profile, this post takes you through step by step how to set this up.
Similarly to selling on Instagram, Facebook allows you tag products added to your feed and link them to your Facebook shop, meaning if a customer sees a lampshade they like in just a few clicks they be guided to your website to make a purchase.
There are two ways of setting up your Facebook Shop:
Through Commerce Manager, where you can set up your own store from scratch
Via the following ecommerce platforms that have built in intergration with Facebook, Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, ChannelAdvisor, CedCommerce, Cafe24, Tienda Nube and Feedonomics
Before you set to up your Facebook Shop here’s a list of images to consider:
Header image for your shop:
Cover image for each collection of lampshades: 4:3 ratio and 1080 x 810 pixel size
Product images:
Square, so 1:1 ratio, minimum image size is 500 x 500 px, 1024 x 1024 px recommend for best quality.
Similar to selling on Instagram, Facebook allows you tag products that you add to your feed and link them to your shop, meaning if a customer sees a lampshade they like they can instantly click through to you Facebook Shop, and consequently your website to make a purchase.
What are the benefits of selling on Facebook?
Communication – if a buyer wants to get in touch with the seller they can do this through Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, or Instagram Direct messages, which are all essentially Facebook products (see Insider Information below)
Engagement – Facebook Shop is a natural and the next step in terms of engagement with people who already follow you and are interested in your lampshades.
Website traffic – not unlike selling on Instagram, being able to link Facebook to your website is a no brainer and allows you another useful platform to drive sales.
Ad campaigns – Used by both Instagram and Facebook the advertising platform Ad Manager can track website traffic by using your own URL and start to set up adverts for your Facebook Shop.
Branding – Even though there are some limitation you can customise your shop with fonts, colours etc, but think ahead to how your website branding will convert to create a seamless jump between the two.
What are the cons of selling on Facebook Shops?
No website - There is no checkout facility available in the UK at the moment, therefore transactions need to come through your own website, therefore those without a website can’t currently use Facebook Shops.
Target Market – It’s worth thinking about the main demographic that use Facebook and if it’s the right market for selling your shades too.
Insider information
As well as using either you website or Commerce Manager for payments Facebook Shops also allow you to direct buyers to message your business on Messenger or WhatsApp to complete their payment. You’ll need to use your own method of payment for this, for example Paypal.
To do this you’ll need a WhatsApp business account or be the Business Manager Admin on your Business Facebook Page. Find out more here.
Useful resources
We liked this blog post on setting up a Facebook page and thinking about your audience, that’s tailored to crafters.
Candid Owl
Instagram - @candidowl
Facebook - @candidowl
How do you find Facebook as a selling platform for your lampshades?
My Facebook shop was very easy to set up - it links directly to my website and has a live feed, pulling all of my products directly from there. It gives a detailed view of all of the products currently on the website, with the option to then go straight to a particular product and purchase via the website.
I sell only a small number of lampshades and lamps via Facebook, but I've found it to be a great showcase of my products.
What are the benefits to you as a seller?
Ease of use
Minimal maintenance
Large audience of potential customers
What made you start selling on Facebook?
Facebook still has a huge reach in terms of people browsing on their mobile devices. I wanted to combine my social media with the option to then purchase. For example, a post which features a new or best selling lampshade can then be purchased directly by my followers, without the need to browse the website.
There is such high competition on Google nowadays that it's sometimes difficult to get your own website seen in search results. A Facebook shop bypasses this and gives great visibility to our products.
Any tips for selling on Facebook that could help other lampshade makers?
I would recommend using Facebook as a showcase. It's great at opening the door to customers who are looking for a bespoke piece as they can message you directly.
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