How can businesses benefit from the Facebook app? The social media giant’s Facebook Marketplace feature offers a simple and convenient way to buy and sell online. Whether small business owners are looking for tools or supplies, or they want to market their products to a local audience, Facebook Marketplace can help them meet their goals.
What Is Facebook Marketplace?
Facebook launched its Marketplace app in 2016, with the goal of providing a “convenient destination to discover, buy and sell items with people in your community.” Available on the Facebook app, as well as on desktop and tablet versions of the platform, Marketplace serves as a popular sales channel that reaches Facebook’s 2.91 billion monthly users. Marketplace is available to users in 70 countries, where Facebook buyers and sellers typically close deals in their local areas.
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How Can a Business Use Facebook Marketplace?
Businesses can reach a new target audience by listing their products on Facebook Marketplace. Start by researching Marketplace to get a better understanding of any competition and what products are listed under specific Facebook Marketplace categories.
When you are ready to create a new listing, be sure to include a title, description and as many as 10 photos of whatever item you’re selling. Be sure you use relevant keywords so your listing will appear before interested buyers. You’ll be able to review your product listings before publishing them, so you’ll get an opportunity to ensure the best representation of your brand.
Benefits of Facebook Marketplace for Businesses
There are plenty of benefits for a business marketing products from its Facebook page. In fact, some will achieve better results from a Marketplace listing than through other marketing efforts. If you are considering using Facebook Marketplace for your business, be sure you take into account the following:
1. User-friendly Mobile App
Users can buy and sell on Facebook Marketplace from practically anywhere thanks to the platform’s convenient mobile app.
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2. Simple Posting
There’s no complicated process to list items for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Just take a photo of an item and add it to Facebook, enter the product description and price, confirm the location and category then post it.
3. Local Focus
While Facebook users can broaden their geographic search, Marketplace automatically displays listings within a local vicinity, so it’s easy for sellers to reach buyers nearby.
4. Optimized Browsing
Facebook Marketplace’s browsing feature is optimized to display items based on each user’s browsing history, which can help save time.
5. Browse to Buy Feature
Marketplace’s Browse to Buy feature filters users’ feeds with products they can purchase from Facebook communities and groups they belong to.
6. Customer Engagement
Facebook Marketplace provides opportunities for buyers and sellers to interact with one another. This engagement helps brands build business relationships with potential customers on the platform.
7. Trust-based Communities
Facebook doesn’t verify items posted for sale, which means Marketplace activity is based on trust between buyers and sellers. Therefore, a business has an opportunity to foster trust and positive relationships with its customers.
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8. Recruiting Opportunities
Facebook Marketplace’s job offers feature lets users sell their services to specific groups.
9. Support of Multiple Photos
Facebook allows users to include as many as 10 photos when selling items on Marketplace, giving businesses opportunities to visually showcase their goods.
10. Quick Posting Process
Since Facebook allows Marketplace users to post product pictures and descriptions in real-time from inside the app, businesses can post products quickly and conveniently.
11. Direct Messaging
Purchasing arrangements can be worked out with ease on Marketplace since buyers can message sellers directly.
12. Free Listings and Low Fees
Unlike competitor online marketplaces, Facebook doesn’t charge users to list their items. Once a sale is made through Marketplace, the platform automatically deducts just 5% of the price.
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13. Massive Market
Facebook boasts almost 3 billion monthly users, so selling products on Marketplace exposes them to potentially millions of users around the world.
14. Multiple Payment Options
Customers can pay with a credit card, a debit card or a PayPal account when making purchases through Facebook Marketplace, offering them extra flexibility.
15. Brand Exposure
Listing products for sale on Facebook Marketplace not only increases exposure for the items, but for the brand selling them since the business name is listed below the product.
How Much Does It Cost Facebook Users to Sell on Facebook Marketplace?
It costs nothing to list items for sale on Facebook Marketplace from a personal Facebook account or from business pages. When a sale is made, Facebook automatically deducts a 5% selling fee from the payment or a flat 40 cents for items priced at $8 or less. Facebook’s parent company Meta, however, has temporarily waived the standard selling fee for all orders marked as shipped through June 30, 2023.
Do You Have to Pay for Facebook Marketplace Ads?
A business owner can do more than list items for sale on Facebook Marketplace, they can also pay to place ads using the Meta Ads Manager. The precise cost to advertise on Facebook varies based on a few factors, but businesses can control their expenses by customizing the budget they have available for Facebook promotion.
While the advertising cost is dependent on how many people click on the ad, the campaign typically will stop once that budget has been exhausted. In the United States, the average cost per click for Facebook Marketplace ads is about 28 cents.
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How Do You Post on Marketplace as a Facebook Business Page?
While a business can post items for sale on Facebook Marketplace in the same way an individual can list them, a business account can also create a Facebook Shop and upload its entire catalog. Doing so allows a business owner to choose payment options such as inviting customers to interested buyers pay via Facebook or Instagram, completing the purchase on the company’s website or accepting payment through the Facebook Messenger app.
The business will also need to add payout details to Facebook’s Commerce Manager for Facebook Checkout, which allows third-party payment processors to complete transactions and appear as the merchant of record.
