A recent survey has revealed that 50% consumers value a brand's Facebook page more than its website. This makes it pretty clear that every brand irrespective of its intention towards social networking has to have an active Facebook presence to be able to connect with the consumers.

Facebook is no longer just a medium to interact with your consumers, although this is still the primary purpose but there is so much more you can do with your Facebook page now, that it can get a little overwhelming at times. Selling on Facebook for example, a lot of brands work very hard to drive their audience towards their FB page, and subsequently to their website to increase their sales. They come up with creative campaigns, strategies, ideas and promotions that help them successfully sell their product on Facebook.

One can safely say that Fcommerce is increasingly becoming a necessity in the world of eCommerce.

A recent report revealed that in the second quarter of 2012 SMBs (Small and Medium Sized Businesses) who chose to directly sell on Facebook enjoyed 38% increase in their revenue.

So what does it take to successfully sell your product on Facebook?

Grady Burnett, vice president of global sales and operations at Facebook says, "It's a matter of trying to encourage your customers to communicate with their friends. Facebook enables small businesses to build connections with their customers. Then, how do you inspire that fan to tell your story to their friends?"

That's is a very important question, a question that can lead to hours of brainstorming sessions. Before you make any strategy, you have to stop and think about 'likability', that's what Facebook is all about.

An example is a 'Snake Cake' baked by Francesca Pitcher from North Star Cakes. She baked this cake in a shape of a Albino Burmese Python for her daughter's birthday and shared it on Facebook.

Look at the image below, the moment you realize this is a cake, you instantly hit the like button, and then realize that this is something that you should share with your friends and hence post it on your wall. This image was shared over 4000 times and received more than 800 comments. Of course, after this the sales for North Star Cakes increased considerably.



























The point is that, one should not seem desperate to sell on Facebook, even if you are, you should pretend that you are just making it easier for your customer by creating a presence on Facebook.

Facebook's Promoted and sponsored posts are undoubtedly one of the best ways to target the right audience and appear on their newsfeed. But these promotions can do wonders for you if you couple it with creative content. " "Someone is 50% more likely to remember an ad when a friend is attached to it, when it’s in a social context." says Burnett.

Perhaps, these few tips will help you come up with creative ideas that will help you sell your product on Facebook:

• During a promotion, let your fans feel special by letting them know that certain discounts and offers are exclusively for your Facebook fans. 

• If you have a physical store, then encourage your customers to use Facebook check-ins and award them in someway for doing that. 

• Conduct fun giveaways contest for your existing fans and encourage them to invite their friends if they like. 

• Invest a little on Facebook ads, it can cost as little as $5 to $50 a day and can do wonders in terms of targeting the right audience for you. 

• Make sure that other than content, you share interesting images with your fans, it always helps in grabbing their attention and their friends as well. 

• Many eCommerce merchants tend to ignore Facebook presence on their website, make sure that you have a Facebook like, share or recommend button strategically placed on  your website. 

• Always respond to messages, queries or wall posts on time. Whenever someone asks you a question on Facebook, consider it to  be sales opportunity knocking on your door. 

• Share content at optimal time, according to Bitly, the most click-throughs occur between 1-4 pm from Monday to Thursday. The best time to share content during the entire week is on Wednesday at 3 pm. I recommend that you also refer to Facebook insights to analyse the best time for you to share content on your Facebook page. 

These are some of the many ways to make sure that you sell your product successfully on Facebook, I would love to hear your views and ideas as well. Do share them with us in the comment section below.

You can also check out our recent Facebook promotion, where we are offering 3 months of free service to our South-East Asia customers: http://www.e-junkie.info/p/e-junkie-and-paypals-special-offer-for.html