5 Best Practices to Sell on Social Networks Without a Website

We have previously talked about the benefits of using social networks to promote your business, but now that many physical establishments must comply with social distancing measures to avoid the increase in infections by Covid-19, entrepreneurs can turn to digital channels to continue generating income. 

Usually, your social networks are another way to start a direct conversation with your customers and reach a wider audience of potential customers. On this occasion, we want to recommend you how to use these tools so that you inform your clients of how they can support your business and, in this way, use Facebook or Instagram as a sales channel, especially if you do not have a website or e-commerce of your business.

Design digital catalogs

The key to reaching a wider audience is posting relevant content. For example, if you sell natural beauty products, make content that explains in detail the benefits of incorporating these types of products in daily use.

This is something that will help you attract new followers but once those people already know about these products you need to find a way in which those potential customers can see in a general way everything you sell, that is digital catalogs. 

For this, there are two options: a PDF document that you can send in private messages or put together that catalog on social networks. 

To implement either of the two options, you can use different online design tools (with free options) so that your products can stand out. Some of these tools are Canva, Easil, or Crello. These platforms already have a wide variety of templates for making presentations, social media visuals, posters, postcards, etc. 

To design the PDF document, try to put one or two products per page so that on the sheet you put characteristics (materials from which it is made, measurements, etc.) and benefits of the product, instructions, or recommendations for use.

Remember, the objective of this document is that you give all the information so that your customers’ purchase decision is as informed as possible.

To make this catalog you can use featured stories on Instagram or albums on Facebook.

Plan your deliveries well

You must define how you will deliver your products: will you only make deliveries in your locality or will you do so throughout the national territory? To define this you must analyze the costs and the frequency with which you will make these orders very well.

If you decide to make deliveries in your locality, in a vehicle of your business, you can consider the possibility of planning those shipments on specific days. For example, Monday and Wednesday you deliver products in one part of the city and Tuesday and Thursday you can cover the other part. 

Use technology to make payment quick and simple 

Due to contingency circumstances, your clients may be taking care of their cash reserves, so it is best to have tools such as Remote Payments. 

It can be said that it is an online payment method as it allows customers to create a payment link. In this way, customers who receive it can open it, enter their debit or credit card details and pay as if they were on an e-commerce site. 

If this is the first time you hear about this payment method, you are surely wondering how it works. The first thing you have to do is download a Clip application and open your business account. If you already have this, just go to the main screen of the application and enter the amount you want to charge the payment concept and the contact information of your client.

With this, your client will receive a payment link and when opening it in a browser window, they will be able to enter the necessary data to pay by card.

In other words, it is the technology that allows your business to have a ” checkout ” without having a web page. In this way, transactions are simplified and you can build a more professional image towards your clients. 

Have an FAQ section

This is an element that many web pages have to inform your client about the purchase and delivery process, among others. This is a good practice that can save you a lot of time answering questions from your customers. 

The goal of this section is for you to specify these points: 

• How to make a purchase process
• Bills
• Returns
• Shipment
• Payment options
• What to do if a product is out of stock
• Shipping
• Additional information on product use
• When there are promotions or how to receive notifications when there is a discount

You can place this FAQ section on your Facebook page as notes or as featured stories on Instagram. 

Even in the configuration of your Facebook page, you can preset questions in your private message box, so that your clients only have to press a button when they contact you. 

Get digital reviews and recommendations of your business 

One of the great lessons e-commerce businesses have learned is to value customer feedback as an integral part of the operation.

According to experts, they have found that 90% of online shoppers read reviews before visiting a business and making a purchase.

Therefore, you must make sure that your Instagram profile settings allow comments and your Facebook page has reviews enabled. 

You should also consider that for each order you make, you should ask your customers for comments or reviews on your social networks to collect as many as possible.

This part may seem a bit intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. What you can do is start by asking customers you know well, who have given you positive feedback, or just those you feel comfortable asking about. 

If you’re not sure how many customers to contact at once, you can always start by asking a single customer for a review and go from there.

Extra tips

Remember the importance of sharing diverse content. That is, it is not only about publishing posts that sell, it tries to publish posts that educate and others that answer frequently asked questions. 

Finally, we know that it is a complicated period but now the key is to control fear to try new ways of working or update your product offer. The goal is to get creative and see what works and what doesn’t.