What is Facebook Marketplace?
Facebook Marketplace is an online shopping channel. It is a place for Facebook users to buy and sell from each other locally.
As of May 2018, more than 800 million people use the marketplace every month in more than 70 countries. Here's how you can access Facebook Marketplace on the Facebook app and desktop:
1. On mobile, click the white Storefront symbol at the bottom of the app on iOS and at the top of the app on Android.
2. In a desktop web browser, click the red and white Storefront symbol in the left corner.
Listings on Facebook Marketplace are organized by categories such as entertainment, vehicles, housing, and hobbies. Shoppers can filter searches by price and location and save listings for future reference. Each listing can contain up to 10 images with product descriptions.
Interested customers can directly message sellers on Messenger to ask questions.
What is Facebook Marketplace?
Facebook Marketplace Ads
Facebook Marketplace ads appear in-feed as someone browses. These placements have the advantage of reaching where they are shopping. Advertisers have seen significant increases in conversion rates compared to News Feed placements.
List of Facebook Marketplace stores
Brand listings currently appear in two areas in the Marketplace: the Shop category and the Daily Deals category. Only hand-selected businesses that offer brand-name products at discounted rates are eligible for the deals program.
Facebook does not charge listing fees or commissions. So for brands allowed to list products, the marketplace is essentially a free distribution channel. But Marketplace listings require a Facebook checkout integration, which charges 30 cents plus a 2.9 percent fee for each transaction.
Deal program
The deals program has three tiers: daily deals, featured deals, and the beacon program.
Better deals are placed at higher levels that offer higher exposure. For example, brands that offer exclusive deals in the Lighthouse program can benefit from top placement, consumer subsidies, on-site marketing, and influencer outreach.
Ads and store listings take advantage of Facebook's targeting algorithm, which will expose your content to the most likely customers.
Who is eligible to sell on Facebook Marketplace?
Right now there are two primary avenues for businesses interested in selling on the marketplace. You can either apply for a listing on the Facebook Marketplace Shop or apply to become a Deals Partner.
How to Apply to List on Facebook Marketplace Shop
To apply to sell on Facebook Marketplace, Page admins must fill out the Marketplace E-Commerce Retailer Interest. Since access to the marketplace is limited, working with Facebook-listed partners like BigCommerce, Shopify or Gentile is a definite advantage.
To apply, retailers must be able to meet these requirements:
1. Sell new products to consumers
2. Orders must be filed within three days and received within seven days
3. Accept returns for up to 30 days
4. Product listings must include a name, description, additional product images, and a thumbnail image on a solid background. Images should not contain any graphic overlays, text, icons, or badges.
Companies in the following industries are prioritized for sale on the Marketplace:
1. Beauty-related products
2. Clothing and accessories
3. Bags and luggage
4. Mother and baby products
5. Home decorator
How to apply to become a Facebook Marketplace Deals Partner?
Businesses that meet the criteria to be listed on Facebook may also qualify for the deals program. To be considered, the deal price must be at least 15 percent of the manufacturer's suggested list price (MSRP).
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Categories prioritized for daily deals include Consumer Electronics, Home, Gift Cards, Gaming, Toys and games, intimate and hosiery, Footwear, Sports and outdoors, Beauty, Jewelry and watches, and Apparel and accessories.
Facebook has launched a beta partnership program for companies in the automotive and housing rental industries. If your company is eligible, you can apply here.
How to Prepare Your Business Page for Facebook Marketplace
1. Open a Facebook Page Shop
2. All Facebook Marketplace listings must have a Facebook Shop on their business page. Plus for a limited time, there's a chance that businesses with stores may be exposed as products roll out on the Marketplace.
3. Stores are your Facebook storefront. Any business page can have a store, but the availability of various features will depend on your location.
4. Payments in your Facebook Shop can be set up for checkout on your website (or another one like PayPal), or directly on Facebook through integration with Facebook Checkout.
5. Your store content can be shared, stored, used in advertising, and transferred to marketplaces. To open a store, you need to add at least one product for review and approval.
Integrate with Facebook Checkout
You can run a store without Facebook checkout, but online retailers who want to use the marketplace should add the store to their Page.
With Facebook's payment feature, people can buy products directly on Facebook without the website's app.
Another benefit of Facebook checkout is that customer forms are pre-populated, making the checkout process smoother.
5 Ways to Use Facebook Marketplace for Your Business
Whether listing products or running ads, there are many opportunities for businesses to benefit from marketplace channels.
1. Experiment with Facebook Marketplace Ads
Whether you can list products on the marketplace or not, placing ads on the marketplace is a good way to test the waters for your business.
In an effort to grow its business, Barkbox decided to run a split-test campaign to promote its monthly dog treat and toy subscription service. They segment the audience for their ads only between news feeds and marketplaces and news feed placements.
To create an ad in Marketplace, go to Ads Manager and select Reach, Traffic, Conversions, Catalog Sales, or Video Views as your objective. Marketplace is not currently available as a standalone placement. That means you should edit your automated placements or placements to include news feeds and marketplaces in your campaign.
2. Increase your budget
Because there is no cost to list and no cut of commission, marketplace listings are a budget-friendly way to promote product sales. But even without access to inventory in the marketplace, advertising in the shopping channel has reduced the brand's conversion costs.
For example, Apartment Guide, a rental listing service, set up a two-week trial to test the marketplace's impact on cost-per-conversion. Studies have shown that Marketplace ads contribute to a 200 percent lift in conversions and a 45 percent reduction in cost per incremental conversion.
3. Daily deals and promotional offers
Facebook has been experimenting with the Daily Deals feature for over a year, and it's likely to remain an important part of the marketplace channel.
In August, the e-commerce company announced Daily Steel as an early Facebook Marketplace deals partner for PlayStation 4 controllers.
Placement in the daily category translated to five times faster sales for Daily Steel compared to similar offerings sold elsewhere. Companies see twice as high conversion rates when they use Facebook checkout as opposed to completing payments on their website.
4. Increase your sales
If you are running a small or medium-sized business with a perfect online retail setup, Marketplace can be a good option. However, the biggest businesses with best-selling properties can increase sales by adding another distribution channel to their online retail portfolio.
5. Think beyond the sale
Selling is not the only job in the channel. For example, apartment rental company Apartment List used Marketplace advertising to increase registrations on its site. The ad copy targets the buyer's mindset with the tagline: “Moving home? We can help you find your next home. "
Marketplace ads reach 17.5 percent more than News Feed ads alone. They reduced the cost per website registration by 16 percent.
More importantly, the apartment listing was able to establish lasting connections with potential customers.
As you plan your next online retail and social media marketing strategy, make sure your marketplace efforts align with your overall goals.