My Cart
Filters

10 Tips for Boosting eCommerce Profits with Facebook from CEO of StoreYa

Editor’s Note: This post is provided for aheadWorks blog by Yariv Dror, CEO of StoreYa F-Commerce platform designed for automatically importing web stores into Facebook.

As Facebook continues to add thousands of users a day, it’s become evident that businesses of any size (from huge corporations to individual-run companies) can achieve big revenues through the social platform. I’m going to lay out exactly what you can do to experience sales jumps - all through the power of Facebook.

1. Facebook-based store is of the essence!

What would you rather do? Setup a Facebook page or fan profile and then spend countless hours managing social media posts and constantly trying to lure people from your Facebook page to your webstore? Why not cut out that major step altogether and make it as simple as possible for Facebook fans to buy from you?

There are services that within minutes can import your web store onto Facebook, turning the social site into another sales opportunity without adding any extra hoops for prospects to jump through.

2. Help your Facebook store stand out!

Your store needs to reflect your company’s unique personality and approach in every possible way. This includes the language, the colors, and the currency.

Now, we’re not suggesting that you stick website screenshots on your Facebook page. That will just look clunky and won’t achieve anything. Instead, integrating your brand elements with your Facebook page and store will allow your familiar icons and logos to be more socially - as well as visually - engaging.

3. Engage with your audience!

Remember that Facebook is a social network. When you switch to F-Commerce, you shouldn’t forget that social element either. People are there to talk, to have engaging conversations, and enjoy positive interactions. If your Facebook page is nothing but ads and discounts, that’s going to turn away a lot of your prospects right up front.

How do you engage customers?

One simple strategy is to keep people interested with the latest behind-the-scenes news from your company. They’ll have fun learning more about you, enjoying that they’re getting “private” insights from your company.

For instance, you could talk about yet-to-be-revealed product lines in development. You could share videos and photos (Facebook fans love media shares!), or even talk about what inspired your latest piece of art or fashion.

Try to be original. Try to throw in some humor. Respond to comments and always respond quickly and positively! If you need a hand spicing up your original shares with some viral content, you can use services like this one.

4. When’s the best time to engage with your fans?

Studies have shown that early-morning or late-night posts get 20% higher engagement and response than other times. Also, Thursdays and Fridays are generally the best weekdays to post...but there are variations on this trend depending on what industry you work in. For retail, Sunday is often best. For fashion, Thursday. And for food and beverage companies, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Saturday are your best bets!

5. Oh, those valuable Likes!

It’s no mystery that to reach a wider audience, your Facebook page and store will need more Likes. The reality is, though, these need to be authentic Likes - otherwise they’ll do you no good in the long run. Buying Likes or getting Likes from false Facebook accounts just to bulk up your apparent popularity will just get you ignored or, worse, banned from Facebook altogether!

Here are some legitimate ways to boost your Likes:

    • If you’re starting out small, get family and friends involved, asking them directly to Like your Facebook page and store while encouraging them to spread the word on your behalf.
    • Get other fan pages in on your growth! Start interacting with other (relevant) brands that have larger followings. Like and share their posts, and you can start drawing some of their audience back your way.
    • Maybe your brand already has a larger audience; running a promotion such as the group deal ran by OnePiece has been an effective way for some companies to get thousands of Likes in a matter of hours.

6. Don’t forget your other social channels

Lots of companies will have multiple social networks connected to their brand such as YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. You may already have strong activity going on in those channels, so why not connect them to Facebook and benefit from a pre-built audience?

Many social networks can have their feeds linked to your Facebook page, adding to your activity levels and promoting your eCommerce/F-Commerce presence all the more.

7. Are your customers your fans?

If customers are coming to your Facebook store, are you using that opportunity to get them to Like your main Facebook page as well? If not, you’re missing out!

When someone purchases from you, it means they already like what you have to offer, so encouraging them to Like you along with the sale can boost your F-Commerce exposure as well as heighten the chances of having them provide repeat business.

8. What’s the deal?


Conducting group deals inside your Facebook store, Groupon style, has proven to be as very successful F-commerce marketing tool. This alone can get hundreds, if not thousands of people talking about your company and sharing your Facebook store and its deal’s link.

This has worked to get businesses that valuable viral attention while bringing in a slew of new customers that otherwise might have never heard of them.

9. Don’t forget that fans love promotions

Holding periodic promotions and offering special discounts are great ways to encourage initial sampling of your wares. Remember, that Facebook store won’t mean much unless actual conversions are happening.

10. Targeted advertising at your fingertips

With all the customer demographic data Facebook possesses, they make it easy for you to target your ideal customers, no matter how big or small your audience is. Of course, this does require more upfront financial investment, but it has proven to be an essential step for many companies that want to break big into F-Commerce success.

I’d also encourage you to download and read the FREE eBook “The Complete Guide on how to Sell on Facebook.” This eBook gathers data from over two years of Facebook business experience from a wide variety of companies.

P.S. Hot deal for aheadWorks blog readers! StoreYa offers 25% discount for upgrading StoreYa free account to a premium one using the coupon AHEADWORKS@STOREYA