This is a guest post by Joe Linford, who contributes on behalf of Broadband Genie, the social e-commerce website for broadband, mobile broadband and smartphones, such as the iPhone 4S.

With over 900 million users that spend 700 billion minutes a month on the website (May 2012), Facebook has surpassed traffic volumes received by major e-commerce players like Amazon and eBay, making it a mandatory marketing tool for B2Cs and even B2Bs. Facebook provides a great platform for small business and startups to build a buzz around their brand and generate sales, and they can do all this with zero investment. If using Facebook ads or Sponsored Stories, they can achieve this with minimal investment.



Whether you want to use Facebook for brand awareness, sales, or traffic, here is how you can do it:


Use Shares and Likes to increase customer engagement and drive sales

The “Shares” and “Likes” feature on Facebook is one of the best ways to drive engagement, and the easiest way to increase shares and likes is to create share-worthy content.

By understanding the nature of your audience and what they like, you can create posts that they’ll love to read. For example: an e-commerce store specializing in home furnishings will want to target women in the age group of 20 and 45, with a specific monthly earning. By understanding this target audience, they can create updates which this set of people will like, such as deals on products or even engagement related posts on home décor, furnishings, and home renovation.

You may also want to integrate the share and like features on your website, making it convenient for users to share products on Facebook.


Use external applications such as reviews, customer service numbers, and favorite products

Facebook pages can be integrated with multiple third party applications, and with the new Facebook Timeline feature, these apps can be displayed as tabs under the cover photo, allowing fans and users to view business information easily.

For an e-commerce website, adding a “Reviews” tab is a great idea as it allows people to read unbiased feedback of your products. If you have a brick-and-mortar store in addition to an e-commerce website, add information like store location or even include a map to help those who wish to visit your store.


Share images of best selling products and introduce discounts for Facebook fans

Introduce a special coupon code or deal for Facebook fans only, and ask fans to spread the word about your brand. You can also introduce social logins for your e-commerce store.

By adding product images, you can ask fans who own the product for feedback, which in turn can influence others to buy it.

Although there are multiple ways in which you can promote an e-commerce website on social platforms, remember to first create content that is worth sharing, and always write posts that are relevant to your audience.