Tips for Selling on Facebook

Social marketing is becoming more and more important on networks like Facebook.

It is attracting innovative marketers that are taking advantage of new technologies and responding to their consumers.

Working with fans to create unique shopping and sharing opportunities empowers the kind of viral experiences that were fundamental to Facebook’s own rapid growth and consumer engagement.

How can you maximize facebook to gain sales for your business? Here are some tips to help you design a Facebook presence that makes buying your products more desirable and easy.

1. Encourage Collaboration

Facebook is the perfect environment to create a collaborative experience. People love sharing on Facebook!  It’s what the site is built for. Letting people share this information is a great example of how marketers can join the conversation in a relevant way.

Marketers who harness the potential of comments, likes and shares will empower messages to go viral. Facebook makes it easy for your fans to share deals and purchases. Offering incentives, loyalty programs and other word-of-mouth generators will not only spread your reach further but give your fans a reason to make a purchase because of your Facebook Page.

2. Create an Exclusive VIP Experience

We know that people like to be “in the know” and they like to invite others to join the club. Let your Facebook fans be first in line to access new info, limited edition offers and products that are only available to them through Facebook. Your fans are more apt to share their limited-access purchase with other fans. This builds buzz for hard-to-get products and prompts Facebook users to become fans to get involved.

3. Privacy and Security are Paramount

Facebook apps that immediately ask permission to access personal data are a major deterrent for all consumers, especially those who are simply looking to browse. Offer an experience that doesn’t require fans and consumers to install an application. Consumers are wary of their personal data being tracked, so if you do require an application installation, specify what information you are going to access and what you’re going to do with it.

People like familiarity, especially when it comes to their financial data. Offering familiar alternative payment methods like PayPal or AlertPay will extend greater buying confidence.

Your website is not the community, and Facebook is not your company site. Don’t just copy and paste between the two. There is a reason why Facebook is unique — it is a community for sharing, collaborating, being the first to know, and much more. Give your fans something of value and make it fun, and they’ll reward you by telling everyone they know.

Do you have any other suggestions?