A Beginner’s Guide to Facebook Marketplace

What often comes to mind when thinking of Facebook Marketplace is an online car boot sale, where sellers unload their unwanted items onto the public for a discounted rate.

However, this is not the case. Facebook Marketplace is fast becoming another channel in the marketing landscape that can provide a significant return on investment if it’s used correctly.

What Is Facebook Marketplace?

Facebook Marketplace is essentially a social Craigslist or Gumtree where users can list everything from furniture and clothing to cars and housing.

Facebook does not facilitate transactions but instead acts as a venue for sellers to advertise their goods, leaving the details of any sales such as price, shipping and other logistics between the buyer and seller.

Increasingly, local businesses are also starting to capitalise on the possibilities that Facebook Marketplace presents.

Why Use Facebook Marketplace?

Facebook has over two billion active monthly users, even if only 10% of these use Facebook Marketplace, your business has an audience of 200 million people to market and sell to, and of these two billion, around 800 million people in 70 different countries use the feature every month.

This is especially beneficial to SMEs who may only be receiving as little as 1,000 to 2,000 Sessions a month through traditional digital marketing methods. Providing a global platform from which to sell their goods and services.

Conduct market research

With such a large audience to take advantage of, Facebook Marketplace offers an excellent location to perform market research.

You can select a few different products and test out different advert headlines, descriptions and prices to understand what garners the most demand for your product.

You may find that a different adjective or phrase, which your business has not previously used, has more success than what you currently use in your marketing communications?

Test marketing automation

Two words that spread fear through many marketing managers, marketing automation, does not have to be the big scary creature lurking in the dark.

Facebook can provide a platform outside of your business from which to test marketing automation methods to understand how to best use them within your company.

Furthermore, if you’re a small business that’s just getting started, Facebook has a wide variety of tools that can help you get started with marketing automation.

Find out more about the tools available to businesses using social media by visiting our social media page.

This could be as simple as creating an automatic reply for any buyer enquiring about your products, or you could test yourself by creating a chatbot (link to chatbot blog) to answer frequently asked questions.

Facebook Marketplace offers a unique opportunity to further your business’ marketing activities.

What can I sell on Facebook Marketplace?

Facebook Marketplace will automatically ask if you are selling either a vehicle or if you are selling a generic item as well as a home to rent.

You’ll also be required to enter a product category that spans a wide variety of product types.

It’s worth keeping in mind, that people shopping on Facebook Marketplace are most likely looking for great deals and are also looking to pay by cash for your products.

However, these two elements of Facebook Marketplace make it a fantastic home for local businesses that are digitally savvy and have the ability to sell products via their online store as well as over the counter.

It is also worth reading Facebook’s Trust and Safety information too, to ensure that you avoid any issues when selling with Facebook Marketplace.

How Do I List Items on Facebook Marketplace?

Selling an item on Facebook Marketplace is an easy process, and can be achieved in four steps:

• Click Marketplace in the left column of News Feed.
• Click + Sell Something.
• Enter your item info.
• Click Add Photos to upload a photo of your item from your computer and then click Post.

And voila, you have successfully listed your first item!

Facebook Marketplace Selling Tips

• Upload quality images – Ensure that buyers know exactly what they’re purchasing, don’t leave any room for doubt or hesitation, and be upfront and honest.
• Be contactable – You do not need to be available 24 hours a day, but give buyers the opportunity to contact your business with any questions they may have about an item.
• Search for wanted items to find waiting buyers – Facebook Marketplace is unique, as it presents an environment where buyers want sellers to come to them, search in the wanted items section for your products or service and see if there are any potential customers waiting for what you’re offering!

Facebook Marketplace provides a unique opportunity for your business to extend its footprint in the marketing environment and to test things that you previously may not have been able to experiment with before. To find out more about listing products on Facebook Marketplace, get in touch today!