Do you Need Facebook for Your E-Commerce?

How long have you been postponing that brilliant business idea that you have? And how long have you been wondering how to cut down on costs, especially from your marketing budgets?

Well, some good news here. There is a way to slash those ballooning figures while doing that which we all love most – staring at a screen, like you’re doing now!

According to recent studies, over 60% of the African population uses social media, with reports of Facebook being the most used platform.

What this means for SMEs is that opening a business without taking it out there on social media, would be like opening one and not telling anyone about it!

What Exactly is E-Commerce?

You have probably come across this practice and even taken part, without your knowledge. In fact, you are well-versed with the E-Commerce business model than you imagine yourself to be.

The process is simple; see that product you like listed for sale on Facebook, develop a liking to it and decide to buy. Or post an old phone on your timeline for sale, and someone develops interest and decides to buy. That’s basically it. 

Why Bother with Facebook?

So, you have your online business model set up. Say an E-Commerce website, where people can buy one of your products, things are well, and as far as you are concerned, you are making profits. So why bother with Facebook?

Think of Facebook as a market place, where you take your business or product, so that people who are interested in it may buy. Unlike the usual market place, Facebook is much better, and here is how you can leverage on its potential.

Say you decide to set up a dial-a-gas delivery service in Kilimani area, Nairobi. You have this stunning website in place, very friendly prices, and a team of riders ready to make your first delivery. But question is, who will they be delivering to when no one is aware of your business?

At this point, there are two options. One of them is to contract your riders to move door to door all over Kilimani, informing people about your new establishment. This could work for you, but there is no guarantee that everyone in Kilimani would like to have a cooking gas. Some may opt for cheaper and more efficient alternatives like biogas. You cannot shoot them for making a choice. So what do you do? You either start making mental calculations of how much you would spend on this and not get anything in return, or start considering option two, Digital Marketing activities, a.k.a., Search Engine Optimisation, Paid Ads or Facebook.

Facebook possesses tonnes of information from the billions of people using the platform. Such information includes people’s ages, location, average income, interests and so much more. Through this, you should be able to target your business to just the right people, likely to get you value for your efforts.

An efficient way of doing this would be to create a well-targeted community on Facebook through a page. People with the likely interest of using your product. After that, use this page to drive the community, otherwise known as traffic, to the e-commerce website you set up and, convince them that they should be shopping from you.

Remember, you also need to have an edge over competition here; something that would keep your fans coming back to your page. Just like with supermarkets, you are not the only one selling gas cylinders! So how do you do it? Content. Content is king, and strategy is queen! Have a good one. Do not bombard people with sales post after sales post! In as much as you want to make profits, remember that these are humans and may get bored with you, and your business altogether.