How Facebook can help E-Commerce firms with marketing

By Charlie Britten
07 Jan 2020

Facebook is the most widely used social media platform on earth. But that is just one of the reasons it is extremely useful for helping E-Commerce firms with marketing.

E-Commerce and social media logically go together. Both are exclusively online enterprises, but with offline implications.

While it is true some people enjoy social media as an escape from real life, many others use it as an enhancement tool; it is a means of arranging social meet-ups, staying in touch with distant friends and relatives, planning purchases, finding new jobs and developing commercial ventures.

For its part, E-Commerce is from a consumer’s point of view a swift, easy, convenient means of shopping at any time of the day or night. Like social media, it is constantly available.  

This offers an obvious synergy. All sorts of firms and service providers might market their wares on social media, but with E-commerce the digital nature of the transaction means someone keen on responding to the ad can do so as soon as they like; nobody has to wait for opening time the following morning. 

Why is Facebook a prime site for E-Commerce? 

There are several reasons Facebook is particularly well-suited to E-Commerce marketing:   

  •          The size of the audience: Facebook has 2.4 billion users
  •          Demographics: While Facebook has a wide user demographic, the largest numbers of users are in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups - this means many people with significant disposable incomes 
  •          Facebook offers a range of tools for communicating with people, including text, static images and video, offering numerous opportunities to get a message across
  •          Facebook users tend to check the site numerous times every day, providing many opportunities for them to see marketing messages.
  •          There is the pay-per-click option offered by Facebook Ads  

What should your Facebook posts be like? 

There are several characteristics Facebook posts should have in order to attract custom to your E-Commerce site:

  •          There should be a strong focus on user benefits and meeting the needs of your buyer persona  
  •          Posts should be brief and to the point, as attention spans are usually short
  •          Be engaging: Remember that social media is a two-way thing and if you can get positive interaction between your brand and its fans, this helps build up your reputation.
  •          You should also look to engage people who have already bought from you to encourage repeat purchases 

Where might it be hard to advertise on Facebook?

Every so often Facebook changes its algorithms to alter the kind of content that can gain prominence. Any commercial enterprise needs to be aware of this. 

In particular, it is now much harder to get commercial content published via the news feed, as Facebook puts strict limits on this. That means posts need to use less direct selling and more general content, which means applying the principles of indirect selling used in content marketing. 

What can influencers do for you?

E-Commerce influencers can also be very helpful to your efforts. If they are helping plug your brand or products, that can make a major difference. If they are particularly well-known, that could help grab the attention from those who might otherwise be quick to scroll on down. 

How can BeUniqueness help you get going?

At BeUniqueness, we have extensive knowledge of social media marketing and can help you find the right combination of posts, messages, design and selection of platforms to maximise your brand presence and return on investment. 

This means we can not only help you get started on your Facebook campaign, but also combine this with other tools to give you the best combination to help your E-Commerce firm grow. 

Back to stories