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In this article:\nFree advertising ideas for retail shops\nFree SEO ideas for local businesses\nGet involved locally\nIs the cost of advertising your store bumming you out? It’s a tough gig to start a new business, get your name out there, and start acquiring new customers. But that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, and there are even some free strategies that you can use to get started. \nThese strategies can help you advertise your retail business for free, and several of them will even help you show up better on Google and other search engines!\n1. Create and claim your online profiles\nTo help increase your store’s online visibility, it is imperative that you claim your major online profiles. Google and Yelp are the big ones here. When you claim these profiles, it helps these search engines and review platforms verify that you are a legitimate business and they are more likely to show your listings to customers. \nMake sure you add as much relevant information as possible to these listings so customers can get all of the details they need before coming into your store. \nCheck out our guides:\nHow to claim your Google My Business listing\nHow to claim your Yelp business listing\n2. Get more online reviews\nWhen you have your online profiles created, you can start getting online reviews. Reviews are a powerful conversion tool that will help sway consumers toward your store. \nTry these methods to get new customer reviews:\nProvide great customer service and ask for reviews\nPut signs up that encourage customers to leave reviews on your online platforms\nInclude links to your Google listing in email receipts\nInclude instructions to leave reviews on print and email receipts\n3. Respond to your reviews\nWhen you start getting reviews, it’s important to respond to them too. Develop a rapport with your online followers and customers by engaging with them when they leave nice feedback about your store. \nIt’s especially important to respond to any negative reviews that may come in. You want everyone to have a good experience with your store, so find out what went wrong and try to improve the relationship. This also shows potential customers that you are willing to resolve any issues that may come up. \nGo deeper: \nHow to respond to negative reviews\n\n4. Find more listings sites to post your store on\nBeyond Google and Yelp, there are tons of other free listings sites that you can use to advertise your retail business. When you do start creating these profiles, just be sure that your business name, address, and phone number (also known as NAP) are consistent across all of these. \nInconsistencies with your NAP info can make it difficult for search engines to verify your information, which could result in lower search result rankings. \nGet started with \n25 free business listing websites every small business should be on\n. \n5. Set up a free website\nWhile free websites aren’t always the most user-friendly (for the creator of them) they are a great way to get started if you’re strapped for cash. And every business should have a website. \nSome of the free resources we like for building websites include:\nWix\nSquarespace\nGoogle My Business\nThere may be some fees associated with owning your own domain and hosting the website, but these are usually very manageable and totally worth it when you consider the total cost of creating a website with a professional web developer. \n6. Boost your local SEO\nSEO, or search engine optimization, is how you get your website and business to show up in the search results on Google, Bing, and other search engines. Some of these methods we’ve mentioned, like setting up a website and claiming your online listings, can help you with this. \nWe also have \n15 free tips for better local search engine rankings\n that you’ll definitely want to check out. \n7. Start a blog\nA blog is another thing that can contribute to your SEO efforts. But it can do more than just that. A blog provides value to consumers without them having to purchase anything from you. It can help customers learn more about you and your business too. But remember, you need to keep posting new content regularly for your blog to be worth anything.\nHere are some ideas that you can use for your store’s blog:\nPhotos of new products as they come in\nEmployee features\nVideo tutorials (how to create the perfect budget outfit, how to use specific products you offer)\n8. Start social media accounts\nWhen most of your target customer base is spending at least 30 minutes of their free time on social media, it’s good to take advantage of that. Create social media accounts for your store on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter—whichever is relevant to your business that you can keep up with posting on. \nCreate lots of fun content that users will feel enticed to engage with. Here are some ideas to get you going:\nDiscounts and deals\nNew products\nOutfit pairings (for clothing stores)\nCustomer testimonials\n9. Partner with other local businesses\nGet together with other local businesses and partner with each other on social media. Share each other’s followings by doing a Facebook Live video together and tagging each other’s business page in it. \nMaybe you’re a clothing store that just got a new shipment of workout clothes in. Partner with a local gym to do a fun workout tip post. Get creative with this and have fun. \n10. Send out email newsletters\nEmail might seem like old news, but there’s still a lot of power in this. For retail businesses, send out emails that offer online specials or sweet deals. Use the subject line of the email to mention the deal and entice your customer to open it. \n11. Get involved with your local chamber of commerce\nYour local \nchamber of commerce\n is all about helping small businesses in their community succeed. Take advantage of their resources, like marketing materials and a free listing on their website. This will help get your business out in front of your community. \n12. Get involved with community events\nAnother way to get known in your community is to get involved in local events. Maybe there’s a 5k or a blood drive going on. Volunteer yourself and your employees to help out. Where your logo and display your branding to help spread awareness. \nYou might even offer some free swag to participants like pens, bracelets, or coupons for your store. \n13. Host an online Q&A\nDo you get a lot of questions from customers about the products in your store? Maybe you sell cleaning products and customers want the know what works best to get pet smells out of carpet. Or maybe you sell clothing and jewelry and customers are concerned about what goes best with their hair color and style. \nHost an online Q&A for customers to ask their questions or with a list of common questions that you hear from customers and answer them. Post this on your website, in your blog, and on your social media channels.\n14. Offer discounts and promotions\nWe all love to save a few bucks. Offer some sweet deals to your customers to entice them to come into your store and share those deals with their friends. Never underestimate the power of referrals when it comes to great deals. \n15. Start a loyalty program\nSpeaking of saving some money, loyalty programs are a great way to advertise your store and get customers to buy more items. Use a point system or punch card and after they spend so much money, give them some store credit. \nCheck out our guide: \nThe 6 elements of an effective customer loyalty program\n16. Make promotional videos\nMake promotional videos to share on your website, online listings, and social profiles. One resource we like for this is \nBiteable\n. You can create a free video that looks professional and shows off the great qualities of your store. \n17. Start a YouTube channel\nWhen you make your promotional videos, online Q&A’s, or video tutorials, share them on a YouTube channel. This is another great way to spread brand awareness, attract new customers, and build up your online reach. \n18. Put customer testimonials on your website\nReviews are powerful. And sharing a video testimonial that shows a customer who is genuinely happy with their experience at your store can go a long way. You can use these as a part of your promotional videos, add them to your social media accounts, and gain more opportunities to bring in customers. \n19. Post on the Facebook Marketplace\nTake advantage of every platform out there for putting your products in front of new customers. People are constantly searching for great deals on things they need in the Facebook Marketplace. Post popular items from your store in the Marketplace to get them in front of more people. \nYou’ll have to do this from your personal page, but customers want to connect with real people, so it’s really a win-win. \n20. Print out flyers\nSpread awareness of your store the good old fashioned way with printed flyers. Get a friend or local college graphic design student to create a professional-looking flyer with an enticing promotion and post those things everywhere! \nTest out these strategies to see what works best for your store as you’re getting started. Get new customers, and start growing your business!

20 free local advertising ideas for your retail business

In this article:\nWhat is Facebook Marketplace?\nWays to use Facebook Marketplace for business\nHow to list your inventory\nHow to sell individual items\nHow to set up a shop on Facebook\nFacebook isn’t just for funny memes and old-time friends anymore. It is a powerful marketing tool that businesses, sole proprietors, solopreneurs, microbusinesses, and all types of side-hustlers can and should take full advantage of. And a large part of that includes the Facebook Marketplace. \nWhat is Facebook Marketplace?\nFacebook Marketplace is a platform where individuals and businesses can buy and sell items via Messenger. Users can look to the Marketplace for specific items they are in search of (like a new vehicle, furniture, or clothing item) using filters and selecting categories, or they can browse the entire Marketplace. \nSellers have the ability to add the price and details of each product so that they are placed in front of those who are searching for it.   \nWays your business can use Facebook Marketplace\nUsing Facebook Marketplace is just another avenue to get your products and inventory out in front of customers in a place that they are spending a lot of time. With almost 2 billion daily active users, it’s worth the effort. \nThere are a few ways that businesses can use Facebook Marketplace to list their products or inventory:\nSpecific types of businesses, like auto dealerships, event venues, and real estate agents, can list their inventory on Facebook Marketplace by working with a Marketplace listing partner\nYou can advertise your store or specific items in the Marketplace, even if you aren’t directly posting there\nEligible sellers can also display items on their Facebook Page shop and add them to the Marketplace for free. If you’re not able to share your shop items in the Marketplace, you’ll need to contact Facebook’s support team to see if you are eligible\nHow to list your inventory in Facebook Marketplace\nIf you have an online retail store, it may already have the ability to integrate with the Facebook Marketplace. A number of ecommerce solutions can help you add the products from your online store to the Marketplace. \nHere’s the list of ecommerce listing partners that Facebook currently works with:\nadMixt\nBigCommerce\nCedCommerce\nChannelAdvisor\nCommerceHub\nDataCaciques\nFeedonomics\nProductsup\nQuipt\nShipStation\nShopify\nZentail\nIf you use any of these solutions, find out what their capabilities are for integrating your products with the Marketplace. \nNote, as of September 13, 2021, Facebook Marketplace has discontinued the distribution of vehicle, home rentals, and homes for sale listings from partner catalog feeds. Listings provided to Facebook via partner catalogs will not be displayed on Marketplace, including the homepage, category pages, browse experience or in search results. \nRead more\n.\nHow to set up a shop on your Facebook page\nYou can set up a shop on your Facebook page and then share those items to the Marketplace (if your business is eligible). \nWe’ll walk you through setting up your shop first. \nStep 1: Go to your Facebook page and click “Manage Shop” and move on to Step 3. If you don’t have the “Manage Shop” option, then go to “Settings” and follow Step 2. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: After clicking on “Settings,” click on “Templates and Tabs” in the left menu bar. Make sure that the “Shop” option is toggled on. Go back to your page and click “Manage Shop.”\n(Image)\n\nStep 3: Click “Start Shop Setup”.\n(Image)\n\nStep 4: Choose where you want customers to complete their purchases: your website, Facebook or Instagram, or direct message. You also have the option to use a partner platform (like Shopify or BigCommerce) or an API. Click “Get Started.”\n(Image)\n\n \nStep 5: Create your shop. Go through Facebook’s shop creator. Choose the business page you want your shop to be on, choose or create a business manager account that will connect to the shop, choose the visibility you want your shop to have, and add your items. \n(Image)\n\n \nHow to sell an individual item on Facebook Marketplace\nIf your business isn’t eligible for adding a shop or you can’t connect with an inventory partner, you can always share products from your individual Facebook page. \nEvery Facebook user has the ability to add items to the Marketplace. Just make sure that you are following Facebook’s \ncommerce guidelines\n if you want your products to show up. \nStep 1: Log in to Facebook and go to Marketplace. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: Click on “Create New Listing.”\n(Image)\n\nStep 3: Choose your listing type: item for sale, vehicle for sale, or home for sale or rent.\n(Image)\n\nStep 4: Add your photos and product details, including title, price, category, condition, description, and tags. \n(Image)\n\nStep 5: Choose your delivery method. Some items may be eligible for shipping. But you can also just have the customer pick up the product at your store. \n(Image)\n\nStep 6: Choose the groups that you want to list your item in and publish it! You can share your product to any buy/sell/trade groups that you are a member of. \nNow you can sit back and wait for someone to reach out about that product! 

Facebook Marketplace step by step: how to get set up and list items

In this article:\nCreating and optimizing your business Facebook page\nBest types of Facebook posts\nSetting up a Facebook marketing strategy\nUtilizing Facebook reviews\nMore and more people are turning to Facebook (now Meta, but who are we kidding.... everyone still calls it Facebook) to find businesses they want to shop with. Whether it’s the first point of contact someone makes with your business or they’ve been researching your offerings for a while, it’s important to make sure you have a great Facebook presence and a strategy for getting customers to your business from your Facebook page. \nFacebook has more than 2.5 billion monthly users and over 1.6 billion daily users worldwide. That’s a lot of opportunity to reach more customers and grow your business. \nAnd that’s why we’ve put together this guide. We’ll walk you through the best types of Facebook posts for businesses, how to put together a cohesive Facebook marketing strategy, and how to best utilize your Facebook reviews. \nCreating your business’s Facebook page\nMore goes into managing a Facebook account than simply creating your business page, but that’s definitely where you need to start. \nHere’s a quick overview of how to create your business Facebook page:\nLog into your personal Facebook account or create a dummy account. You’ll need a personal account to manage your business page. \nWhen you are logged in, click “Create” in the top right corner and then click “Page.”\nFollow the prompts to fully set up your page.\nFor a more in-depth look: \nHow to create and claim your Facebook business page\nOptimizing your Facebook page\nOnce you have your page created, it’s important to optimize it to give it the best chance to show up in Facebook search results and to provide an appealing image of your business to customers. \nA few things you need to add to your page to optimize it:\nA cover photo that represents your business well\nA profile photo that is recognizable, like a logo or storefront\nYour website, physical address, and contact information\nAn about section for customers to learn more\nYour services or products and prices (when applicable)\nFrequent posts and customer reviews to show that you are active on Facebook (more on each of these shortly)\nBasically, the more information about your business you can provide, the better. Eliminate as many unknowns as possible so potential customers feel connected to you and like they know you, making it easier for them to reach out. \nPosting on Facebook\nHaving a Facebook page is one thing, but if you aren’t actively posting on it then it won’t do much for you. This doesn’t mean that you need to post multiple times a day–nor should you–but you should have a strategy in place for posting relevant and engaging content that will drive customers to you. \nUnderstanding Facebook’s algorithm\nMuch like Google and other search engines, Facebook has an algorithm that determines what posts will show up in a user’s news feed. This is no longer based on the time that a post was published, but rather the likelihood that a user will have a positive interaction with that post. \nWith Facebook’s algorithm, even the people who like and follow your business page might not see each post that you put out there. \nFacebook has four factors that go into its algorithm for user posts:\nInventory: all of the posts that are available to show\nSignals: these tell Facebook what the post is, in other words, the actual content of the post\nPredictions: how Facebook thinks a user will react to a post\nFinal score: this is based on all of the above factors and ultimately determines whether or not a post will be shown and how high in a user’s feed it will be\nThis is why it’s important to create engaging content and to have a strategy for your posting. Facebook is becoming more concerned with its user experience to make sure that people keep coming back. When consumers find posts that they like and engage well with, they are more likely to come back. This goes the same for your page and the kind of content that you put out there. \nTypes of Facebook posts that convert\nSo, how do you know what kind of content is right for your business? You want to attract the right customers while providing them with interesting and engaging content that keeps them wanting more. \nThe types of posts that will do well for each business are going to be different. After all, every business has a different audience they are targeting. But the elements that you should have to guide your post creation will be relatively similar to any other business. \nWhen creating your Facebook content, use these elements to guide your posts.\nStunning visuals\nIt’s very difficult to draw attention to a wall of text. Pull in your users with images or videos that speak to your audience and will capture their interest. \nGo deeper: \nHow to get and use professional photos for your business\nCompelling copy\nMuch like your visuals, the actual written content in the post needs to appeal to your audience. It should provide additional information, incentives, or some kind of interest factor to keep their engagement up. \nCall-to-action\nEvery great social media post has a call-to-action that invites a customer to do something. Whether that’s to call your business, check out a blog post on your website, or share a giveaway post is up to you. Drive conversions by inviting specific action. \nIncentive\nPeople want to know what they are going to get by completing your call-to-action. If it’s a Facebook giveaway, then there’s the chance to win a prize. If it’s information about your product, then they may have a problem that your offering will solve. \nWhatever you post, make sure there is some kind of value that the user gets from acting on your invitation. \nTargeting\nYou should know your audience better than anyone else. Use this to your advantage. \nWhen creating content for your Facebook page, use the information you have about your target audience to curate content that appeals to them. \nThese five factors will help you to create posts that engage your audience and convert well. \nYour Facebook marketing strategy in 6 steps\nYour conversion rates and engagement on Facebook are only as good as your marketing strategy. Just like any other marketing platform, you need to have a plan in place to get results. We’ll walk you through six steps of creating a winning Facebook marketing strategy. \nStep 1: Define your audience\nYou can’t perform well if you don’t know and understand your audience. Define who that is so that you can create the content they are likely to engage with. \nThink about these factors:\nAge\nGender\nIncome level\nInterests\nLocation\nWhat motivates them\nWhat problems they face\nStep 2: Set your goals\nWhat do you hope to achieve from your Facebook marketing campaign? Do you want more conversions, more customers, or website visits? Do you simply want to provide more awareness for your company?\nSet specific and measurable goals so that you can track how well your Facebook campaign is performing. \nStep 3: Create a content calendar\nCreate content that appeals to your audience and helps achieve your goals. Schedule out a couple weeks or a month of posts at a time. Determine what kind of posts you think will perform best with your audience and test out a few different options. \nStep 4: Identify Facebook tools you can utilize\nFacebook has several tools that can help enhance your \nsmall business marketing strategy\n. Identify which tools align with your business goals best and how you can use them to your advantage. \nFacebook groups\nYou can join relevant community and topical Facebook groups to help expand your reach. Post in these groups often to keep your name out there, but make sure your content is valuable to the audience of that group. \nFacebook Messenger\nMessenger is Facebook’s chat application. Each business page has its own Messenger that customers can contact you through. Make sure you have someone managing this inbox to ensure that you don’t miss any opportunities. \nYou can even set up automated replies on Messenger to ensure that every customer gets a response. \nBusiness Manager\nFacebook’s Business Manager allows you to create and manage full-featured advertising campaigns. \nFacebook Stories\nUse the Stories feature to post snippets and quick updates that don’t need a permanent post. \nFacebook Live\nEngage your audience by posting live videos that show what you are up to. Whether you are at an event or launching a new product, keep them in the loop. \nStep 5: Facebook advertising\nFacebook has awesome advertising capabilities. It can be as simple as boosting a post for a few dollars or as complex as creating a full-featured advertising campaign. \nAdvertising on Facebook is relatively inexpensive and helps you expand your reach. Remember the Facebook algorithm? Even if you create compelling content, it might not reach all of your followers. \nAnd of course, you want the opportunity to gain even more followers, so you might need to boost a post every now and then to make sure people actually see it. \nCheck out our guide: \nHow to set up Facebook Ads Manager for your small business\nStep 6: Analyze and refine\nAfter your posts have had a couple of weeks to a month to perform, check back on them and analyze the results. What kind of posts performed well with your audience? Did you receive calls, more page likes, high engagement rates?\nDetermine which types of posts performed the best and use those to guide the creation of future posts. \nIf you set up an advertising campaign, analyze the results for the same reasons. See what kind of potential customers the ads reached and how well they engaged with your posts.  \nFacebook reviews\nFacebook reviews should definitely be a part of your marketing strategy on Facebook, but review management in and of itself is such a large part of customer conversions that it really should have its own strategy in place. \nConsumers rely on reviews to tell them whether they can trust a business or work well with them. You should be working to grow the number of reviews you have on your Facebook page. \nAlong with getting more positive reviews on Facebook, you should be monitoring all reviews and taking action especially if a negative review comes in. \nLearn more: \nHow to remove Facebook reviews from your local business page\n\nSources:\n
\nhttps://tinuiti.com/blog/paid-social/facebook-algorithm/\n
\nhttps://zephoria.com/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/\n

The complete guide to Facebook marketing for small businesses

In this article:\nWhy your business needs to be on Facebook\nHow to get access to your page\nHow to create your Facebook page\nWhat to add to your page\nManage your online reputation\nWhen 68% of Americans are using Facebook on a daily basis, that’s a pretty good indicator that your business should be there. More and more frequently, people are going to Facebook Messenger as their initial point of contact with any given business. \nFacebook is a powerful resource for increasing your brand awareness, growing your customer base, and showing up better in the search engines. \nWhy your business needs a Facebook page\nYour business can gain several advantages from starting and maintaining a Facebook business page. Some of the biggest benefits of putting your business on Facebook include the following:\nLow-cost, high-reach \nlocal advertising\nAdding a personal touch to your business\nProviding more information for customers\nMore opportunities to interact with customers\nImproved online visibility\nFollow the steps through the rest of this article to claim or create your Facebook page and start reaping the rewards. \nHow to get access to your Facebook page\nThe first thing you’ll want to keep in mind is that in order to manage or create a Facebook page, you need to have a personal Facebook profile. It is from your profile that you can claim and create pages. \nBefore you create a new Facebook page for your business, you’ll want to be sure that there isn’t already a business page out there. There are two instances when this will be the case: Facebook created an unofficial page for your business, or someone \nelse\n created a page for your business. \nHow to claim an unofficial Facebook business page\nSometimes Facebook automatically generates an unofficial business listing for your company. This can occur if users are trying to “check-in” to a business that they recently visited, but for which no official Facebook page has been created. \nIf enough people are trying to check in, Facebook recognizes that as a real business and tries to provide that information for its users. \nFacebook has also generated “unofficial pages” based on Wikipedia articles. If a business is listed on Wikipedia and the owners didn’t create a Facebook page, Facebook may just create one for them. \nWhen a page is unmanaged, it will indicate “Unofficial Page” below the cover photo. \n(Image)\n\nFollow these instructions to claim your unofficial page:\n Click “Is this your business?” below the cover photo at the top of the page. \n A window will pop up with two options: “Merge *your business* into a Verified page you manage” or “Claim and verify *your business* with a phone call or documents.” Select the appropriate option. If you don’t already have a Facebook page, select “Claim and Verify…” and click Continue.
\n(Image)\n\n You will have two options to claim your listing: verify by phone or verify with documents. \nTo verify by phone:\nEnter your business’s phone number and click “Call Now.” You will need to make sure you can answer an incoming call from Facebook to that number, which will give you a 4-digit verification code to enter on the following page to verify your account. \n(Image)\n\nTo verify with documents:\nFacebook will prompt you to scan an official business document to prove that you are the business owner. This option can take up to 24 hours because Facebook has to verify the documentation. \n(Image)\n\nOnce your page is claimed, you’ll have access and can update all of your business information, update your profile and cover photos, add new photos and videos, and post content on a regular basis.\nHow to claim a Facebook page that someone else owns \nThis process can be a little more tricky. If you took over a business that someone already created a Facebook page for, or if another employee (or someone else) created a business page and you don’t have access, you’ll want to go through the process of adding yourself as an “admin” to that page. \nThe easiest way to do this (if possible) is going to be for the person who created the page to give you admin access to the page. \nFor this, they just need to follow these instructions:\n Go to the business page. \n Click “Settings.”\n Go to “Page Roles,” and under “Assign a New Page Role” enter the name or email of the person whom you wish to give access.\n Change the dropdown item next to the name to “Admin” and click “Add.”\n(Image)\n\nIf you don’t know who created the page or the person has left your company and you can’t get access by asking them to grant it, that’s when things get a little hairy. Your best bet is to instigate a chat with Facebook’s customer support team to work this out. \nFollow \nthis link\n for quick access to Facebook’s support team. Click “Get Started” and give Facebook as much detail as possible into your situation. \nFacebook will usually ask for documents to verify your affiliation with the business and will work to move the page ownership over to you. \nHow to create your Facebook business page\nNow, if you know that your business does not have a Facebook page, it’s time to create one. \n Start by logging into Facebook with your personal Facebook account on a desktop computer or laptop. \n Click “Create” at the top right of your window, and select “Page.”
\n(Image)\n\n
\n Click “Get Started” on the “Business or Brand” option to create your business page.
\n(Image)\n\n
\n Name your Page with your business’s name. Be sure that the name is the same name you use on your \nGoogle Business listing\n and other online profiles. Select the category that best describes your business.
\n(Image)\n\n
\n Upload your profile and cover photos. Your company logo and a staff or office photo are perfect for this.
\n(Image)\n\n
\n(Image)\n\n
\nAfter these steps, your business page is official and yours!\nWhat you should add to your business’s Facebook page\nNow that your Facebook page is official and created, it’s time to add all of the relevant information your customers need. \nGo to the About section on your business page to update your company’s information. \n(Image)\n\nBe sure to include all of the following information:\nCreate a page username\nCompany start date\nBusiness type, if relevant\nCompany mission\nPhone number (should be the same number you list on Google)\nEmail\nWebsite\nLinks to other social accounts\nCompany overview\nAwards\nProducts or Menu\nPrivacy Policy\nYour story\nLastly, be sure to add plenty of photos and start posting to your Facebook page to help customers get to know you better. Invite your friends and family to like and share your page to start building up your Facebook reach. \nManage your online reputation\nNow that you’ve got your Facebook page claimed and you have added everything your customers need to know, it’s time to start pushing reviews to your page and building up your online reputation. \nSources:\n
\nhttps://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/\n
\nhttps://sproutsocial.com/insights/index/\n
\nhttps://www.facebook.com/help/168172433243582?helpref=uf_permalink\n

How to create and claim your Facebook business page

In this article:\nWhy sell on social media?\nHow to add your products to Facebook and Instagram\nHow to start selling on Facebook and Instagram\nCompatible 3rd-party eCommerce platforms\nSmarter small business owners have been moving more aspects of their businesses online over the last few years. The world is strongly transitioning to a more digital commerce space, and even local businesses are having to compete with the likes of Amazon, Facebook Marketplace, and other online stores. \nLocal brick-and-mortar stores still have lots of appeal and unique benefits, primarily in a personalized customer experience and great service. But even this type of business should have a strong online presence, and ideally be selling in a “unified commerce” model where your products and services are available in multiple sales channels.\nSuper small, one-person shops, microbusinesses, freelancers, and sole proprietors can get started or even flourish by selling their products and services entirely online.\nThrough your business Facebook page, you can now set up an eCommerce store that allows you to get more visibility for your products from your social media audiences on Facebook and Instagram. You’ll even be able to advertise your products easily to reach your target customer. \nWhy sell on Facebook and Instagram?\nNow is the time for your business to take advantage of the number of people using these two social media giants. With nearly 3 billion active monthly users on Facebook and 1 billion users on Instagram worldwide, you have a lot of opportunity to reach new customers. \nWith more people opting to order online pickup from grocery stores, do their shopping on Amazon, and spend hours each day on social media, it’s more important than ever for you to be selling online. Facebook and Instagram are the perfect place to get started if you aren’t already there, and if you have an online store, it might be easier to start a social media shop than you think. \nHow does a Facebook store work for small businesses?\nSetting up a Facebook shop will allow you to sell products directly from your business Facebook page. You’ll have two main options for getting your page set up: upload your products directly to Facebook or import your products through a third-party eCommerce system. We’ll go more in-depth on each of these options below.\nSet up a your business Facebook page\n if you don’t already have one. \nOnce your products are loaded onto your Facebook page, visitors can click on your “shop” tab in the menu on your page and start purchasing from you like any other eCommerce site. Make sure that you continue to grow your Facebook audience in order to gain more opportunities to get new customers. \nHow does shopping on Instagram work?\nMost companies that have a Facebook page also have an Instagram account because the two are so closely connected (Facebook owns Instagram and many of the features and demographics interconnect between platforms). You can link your Facebook page to Instagram and easily cross-post content without having to heavily manage each platform individually. \nSet up your business Instagram account\n if you don’t already have one. \nWith the eCommerce options on Instagram, there is a little bit of this integration with Facebook as well. In order to set up an Instagram store, you’ll need to have your Instagram profile connected to a Facebook catalog, which comes back to those two options we mentioned previously: uploading directly to Facebook or using a third-party eCommerce system. \nOnce your page is connected, you can share posts and stories that tag your individual products and link back to them on Facebook to allow followers to complete their purchases. \nLet’s go over how to get this started. Before you can ever sell anything, you need to get your products uploaded properly to each of your accounts. \nHow to start selling on Facebook\nThe first step is to upload your products to your Facebook page. Now’s the time to dive deeper into the two ways to do this. \nOption 1: Add your products manually\nGo to your Facebook business page and click on Shop in the menu bar. If you don’t see this, follow these \ninstructions to change your page template\n.\nClick “Go to Commerce Manager” where you’ll be redirected to Facebook’s Commerce Manager to add your products and manage your store. \nNext, follow the prompts to link your business accounts, set your shipping and return options, and set up payouts. \nOnce the shop is set up you can add a catalog of your products. Select “Create Catalog” in the eCommerce manager. If you don’t see this option, go to \nhttps://www.facebook.com/products\n. \nSelect the category that best describes your business: ecommerce, travel, real estate, or auto. For most businesses, you’ll likely select ecommerce. 
\n(Image)\n\nClick next and then select “Upload Product Info.” Under “Who owns this catalog?” make sure that the correct Facebook business page is selected. And then name your catalog. Click “Create” and then “View Catalog.”
\n(Image)\n\n
\n(Image)\n\nIn the menu on the left, select “Products” to start adding products to your new catalog. 
\n(Image)\n\nFollow the prompts to add your products. Click “Add products.” From here you will have the option to add each product manually or to create a Google sheet to bulk upload your products (recommended if you have a large inventory that regularly changes). We’re going to walk you through the individual product loading in this guide. Select “Add Manually” and click “Next.”
\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nUpload an image for your product and add the following information: name, description, content ID or SKU (if you have it), link to product on your website, and price. Repeat this process for each product.
\n(Image)\n\n
\nOnce your products are uploaded, click “Use Cases” on the left menu bar.
\n(Image)\n\n
\nSelect “Get Started with Page Shops” and connect a Facebook Business page to your shop. Once your page is connected, your shop items will automatically be generated in the “Shop” section of your page. 
\n(Image)\n\nOption 2: Use a third-party ecommerce platform\nSeveral third-party ecommerce sites are partnering with Facebook to help their customers easily add their products to their business pages on Facebook. If you are currently using a third-party service to sell your products on your website, find out if your provider is offering Facebook integrations that will allow you to automatically add each of your products to your page. \nHere are some of the ecommerce sites that are working with Facebook on this:\nEcwid\nShopify\nBigCommerce\nWoo\nChannel Advisor\nCedCommerce\nCafe24\nTienda Nube\nFeedonomics\nMake sure your Facebook page has a shop section and follow the instructions from your individual ecommerce solution to upload your products to your Facebook page. \nHow to start selling on Instagram\nIn order to sell and advertise your products on Instagram, you’ll need to get your products added to a Facebook account that is connected to your Instagram account. Follow the instructions above for adding your products to Facebook. \nOnce you have your products added to Facebook, go to your Commerce Manager and click “Use Cases” in the left menu bar. Click “Get Started with Instagram Shopping” and connect your Instagram account to your Commerce Manager. \n(Image)\n\nWhen that is done, you’ll be able to tag products from your Facebook catalog on your Instagram posts and stories for users to easily click over to your Facebook store or website to make their purchase. \nDon’t wait to get started. It can take a little time to get everything verified on your Instagram and Facebook accounts, so get the process started as soon as possible so you can reach your customers with this new method of shopping online. \nAs you begin selling on Facebook and Instagram, these pages are going to become online extensions of your business, much like your website, so make sure you stay on top of it!\nSources:\n
\nhttps://techcrunch.com/2020/05/19/facebook-shops/\n

Small business guide: How to sell your products directly from Facebook and Instagram

In this article:\n23 free listing sites to add your auto shop to\nWhat you should do next\nMost everyone has a car, and what do they do when their car suddenly has a problem? They Google the nearest auto shop and look at the reviews of the top-ranking listings on Google. Is your auto shop showing up?\nOne way to help your auto shop show up better on Google is to add your information to several online listing sites. This shows Google that other places are verifying your information so it will transfer that trust to potential customers. \nSeveral of these websites are also popular for reviews and other places that customers search when they are in need of an auto repair. \nAs you get started with this list, just keep this important note in mind: make sure your business name, address, and phone number (or NAP) is the same on each of these sites. Inconsistencies can cause confusion with the search engines and make them less likely to show your listing. \nLet’s get started!\n1. AutoMD \nAutoMD was created specifically for customers to find auto repair shops near them. It offers easy Q&A’s to help customers diagnose the car issues they are experiencing and then guides them to the right shop for them. \n2. Carwise\nCarwise is an awesome site with its own auto shop directory. Not only that, but it allows your customers to book appointments from this platform when they find your business. Get your auto shop listed and opt-in to their scheduling capabilities for maximum opportunities. \n3. BimmerShops\nBimmerShops is the perfect place to get your auto shop listed if you specialize in servicing BMWs. They want to help their users find trusted mechanics with the knowledge and experience necessary to work on their BMW. \n4. AutoBodyAlliance.com\nAt AutoBodyAlliance.com, users can find auto insurance carriers, repair shops, and report their claims. List your auto shop here to be placed in a specialized directory for auto repair shops. \n5. BiznisDirectory\nMost online directories sort out their business by category to help their users find the thing they are looking for as quickly as possible. BiznisDirectory is no different. They have a specific directory just for auto shops that you can submit your business to for free. \n6. VolvoMechanics \nVolvoMechanics is—you guessed it—all about getting the best service for Volvo owners. So if you specialize in fixing up Volvos, be sure to list your auto shop on volvomechanics.com. \n7. ExtremeWrench.com\nExtremeWrench.com is another directory devoted to auto repair specialists. Users can search by their vehicle type to find the best auto shop for their needs. Add your auto shop to this directory for free and get found by more customers. \n8. Google My Business is a no-brainer\nYou can’t show your business on Google maps without a Google My Business listing. With Google as the top search engine, you definitely want to make sure your auto shop is showing up here. Include all of your relevant information, add photos, and make sure your hours are correct. \nQuick guide: \nHow to claim your Google Business listing\n9. Bing Places, believe it or not\nBing is still a widely used search engine, especially as the default for Microsoft Edge. So, you’ll want to make sure you have a listing here as well. If you already have a Google My Business listing, you can log into Bing Places with your Google account and import your Google listing. \n10. Yelp for auto shops? Yep!\nYelp is a huge source for customer reviews across several industries—including auto shops. Ninety percent of Yelp users that make a purchase based on their searches say they were influenced by positive reviews. Get your auto shop listed on Yelp and start getting positive reviews for more opportunities to get in front of customers. \nQuick guide: \nHow to claim your Yelp business listing\n11. \nSolo \nprofile\nWith a free Solo profile, even the smallest local one-man auto shop or detailer can have a helpful, functional SEO-friendly online presence for free. Building and maintaining a traditional website is simply too much for many super-small businesses to deal with. This is one reason a Solo profile can be such an amazing benefit. \nYour customizable Solo profile can list your business’s location, relevant contact information, links to your social pages, and any business details you want included. Sign up at \nSolo.co\n.\n12. Don’t ignore Facebook\nFacebook does count as an online listing site that Google crawls, so make sure your auto shop’s information is consistent here, too. \nCreate a Facebook business page\n for your auto shop and be sure to add your logo, photos of your shop, and other relevant information to help reinforce your brand. \nIf you need help getting set up on Facebook, follow our simple tutorial: \nHow to claim your Facebook business page\n. \n13. TripAdvisor is a must\nWhen someone is on vacation and their car breaks down, they just might be conducting their searches on TripAdvisor. This popular listing site gets 390 million unique visitors each month, so don’t miss out on any opportunities.\nQuick guide: \nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\n \n14. Foursquare\nFoursquare gets more than 55 million views each month. Users can check into your auto shop and leave tips to help other customers get the best experience at your business. \n15. MapQuest (yes, really!)\nAnother popular site for tourists and vacation goers. List your auto shop on MapQuest to capture this particular group of customers. MapQuest support is awesome and will help get your listing up within days. \nCheck out their guide to \nadd a basic business listing\n. \n16. YP.com\nThe traditional YellowPages created an online directory to stay relevant in this digital age. With more than 60 million users each month, it’s safe to say that there are plenty of opportunities here. \nClaim your free business profile\n on YP.com now. \n17. Better Business Bureau (BBB)\nThe Better Business Bureau is a common platform for people to use when they want more information on a particular business, whether they are considering working for it or shopping there. BBB grades its businesses and tells people whether or not they can trust your business. \nFollow \nthis guide\n to get listed on BBB. \n18. Angie’s List is hugely important\nAngie’s List (now Angi.com) is a popular site that is most frequently used to find home and auto services. You can offer deals from your listing here to entice more customers to choose your auto shop over your competitors. \n19. BrownBook: lots of detail\nBrownBook.net is a global business listing database that allows you to add a free listing with much more detail than most listing sites. Add your logo, tons of photos, videos, a history of your company, and so much more. \n20. Use your local chamber of commerce\nYour local chamber of commerce is dedicated to helping small local businesses get off the ground. They likely have an online directory or businesses in your community, so be sure to find out how you can get your auto shop listed. \n21. Manta\nManta is a pretty cool directory site because it has a tool that allows you to check your listings across the web to see where your information is inconsistent or missing. Use this to help you list your auto shop correctly and to get another free listing checked off your list. \n22. Get listed on CitySearch\nCitySearch is all about helping its users find the best places in their neighborhoods. They want to make their platform a fun place to find new businesses, so they’ve added features like voting and award badges to help entice customers. \nTo get listed on CitySearch, add your auto shop to the \nCityGrid database\n. \n23. Try MerchantCircle\nMerchantCircle helps small businesses network with other businesses and get found by local customers search for specific services. With free marketing tools and social media features, this is more than just another site to get listed on. \nWhat next?\nThis is only a small list of the places you can list your auto shop for free, but it’s a great start to helping you rank better on Google and increase your online visibility. \nGo deeper with this article: \nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search rankings\n

34 articles found in “Social media”

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Facebook Marketplace step by step: how to get set up and list items

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How to create and claim your Facebook business page

Small business guide: How to sell your products directly from Facebook and Instagram

23 free listing sites every auto shop should be on

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