Shopify does more than just help you reach global audiences. It lets you start conversations where they live online. Learning how to sell on Facebook with Shopify – as well as other platforms – will help you grow your reach and expand your sales opportunities.
Using Shopify for an online store is an excellent choice for us with basic tech skills and limited resources. If you just want to make it easy for your audience to buy your products without hiring a web developer, Shopify offers you an all-around scalable platform, with a thriving community that offers feature-rich plug-and-play apps that make online sales easier.
While user-friendliness is one of its top benefits, Shopify offers sellers the chance to reach customers in other parts of the internet. And while online promotions and social media platforms are a natural extension of online selling, direct sales through Shopify via different sales channels is a much-overlooked opportunity.
Why sell on other platforms?
One of the hardest parts of running an online store is making potential customers aware of the products you offer. Social media, email campaigns, and targeted advertising can help, but you can also consider tapping into other online platforms to get your products in front of customers.
Different platforms attract different customers, and tapping into these platforms allows you to access a broader, more diverse audience. If you were to learn how to sell on eBay with Shopify, you could start selling to another 171 million potential buyers.
It’s not just the growth in exposure that makes extending your sales capacity worthwhile. Different platforms offer access to unique global markets. If you want to learn how to sell on Shopify using Amazon, you get access to a platform with over 310 million active shoppers across globally segmented marketplaces.
And other platforms are more prevalent in geographic locations. Alibaba is famous in the Asia-Pacific region, while Shopify with eBay lets you tap into lucrative markets in North America and Europe.
However, just because you can access these potential customers doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to drop a full list of products on every platform. Each platform has its subtleties, rules, and buying habits. Some of these platforms charge sales commission, while others charge listing fees. It’s essential to measure each platform’s pros and cons before you reach out to their customers.
Pros of selling on other platforms through Shopify:
- You can access customers in new geographic locations.
- You can find new profitable product mixes.
- You can change price points to optimize profits.
- More reach means it’s easier to respond to changes in demand.
Cons of selling on other platforms through Shopify:
- The increased workload from inventory management.
- It takes experience to get the product messaging and mix right for each channel.
- Each new platform takes more time and resources.
- Some platforms only accept certain currencies.
The basics to selling on Facebook with Shopify
Perhaps the most obvious choice when expanding your market reach with Shopify is Facebook. It offers global reach, targeted advertising, and an expansive customer base.
Facebook Ads target user demographics and interests. You can refine your audience based on what they say they want, not just what they search for. You can also post regular updates via your store page.
Plus, when you set up Shopify’s Facebook channel or Facebook shops, a Facebook pixel is added to your online store. The pixel uses advanced matching to track customer behavior on your store, sending your customers’ details (first name, last name, email address) to Facebook.
It is essential to mention that Shopify is currently rolling out new functionality for Facebook, where selling via Facebook Shops or Instagram will be managed in one place. The change was announced by Shopify recently that selling with Facebook Shops will become even more accessible. We will cover selling with Facebook Shops in detail in one of our future articles.
Popular platforms to sell on with Shopify.
Facebook stores aren’t the only way to extend your Shopify store’s reach. Other social media platforms give you access to different tools and demographics that can help you grow your Shopify brand.
How to sell on eBay with Shopify
Shopify and eBay is an excellent combination, as eBay offers access to a massive range of customers with niche interests across a large number of countries. It also lets your products be found in what is essentially one of the world’s top product search engines. Best of all, you can manage your eBay store all this without leaving your Shopify account!
- Log in to your Shopify account.
- Locate the Sales Channels list and click on the ‘+’ button, and select eBay.
- Accept the permissions eBay needs to connect.
- Link your eBay account to Shopify by clicking the ‘Connect’ button to the right. If you have an existing eBay account, enter your ID and password to log in. If this is your first time selling on eBay, click the ‘Register’ tab and follow the instructions.
- Grant Shopify access to your eBay account.
- Configure your eBay policies. Where possible, accept eBay’s “best practices”, as they’ll give you the highest chance of success as an eBay seller.
- Select products to publish as eBay listings.
- Customize and publish selected products with keywords to listing titles and ensuring that your descriptions are clear, informative, and appealing.
When you’re done, you’ll be returned to the eBay channel overview in your Shopify account.
How to sell on Instagram with Shopify
Instagram has proven to be an excellent platform for sellers in multiple countries. Boasting a user base of over one billion accounts, and with over 500 million daily active users scrolling through their Instagram feeds, there are many opportunities to reach your target audience. Instagram users spend a good amount of time researching how other people use different products. So these are some basic steps on how to sell Shopify products on Instagram.
- From your Shopify admin, click the ‘+’ button beside the Sales channels heading.
- On the Add sales channel dialog, click Instagram to learn more about the sales channel. Click ‘Add Channel’.
- Log in to your Facebook account page to authenticate your Instagram account in the sales channel.
- After you’ve added your Instagram business profile, your account will be reviewed by Instagram for access to the product tagging feature for your store. When you’re approved, you’ll see a notification in your Instagram business profile.
- Add your product catalog from the Shopping page in your Instagram business profile options.
It’s a simple matter of managing your product details, uploading Instagram posts and stories, and tagging your products for sale. Instagram has some hints and tips on how to make posts that sell. If you ever asked yourself a question of how to sell on Instagram without Shopify, then there is an answer for that as well. Basically, everything is managed via Instagram and Facebook catalog. The topic is quite comprehensive, so we will cover it next time.
How to sell on Amazon using Shopify
With multiple domains available in countries across the world, selling online on Amazon makes it easy for Shopify store owners to access new customers from a huge range of geographic regions. So how do you sell Shopify products on Amazon?
Amazon charges a US$39.99 monthly fee for a Professional Seller account, plus a referral fee based on your product’s category.
Once you have created your Amazon Professional Sellers account, it’s time to add the Amazon Sales Channel to your Shopify store.
- From Shopify, click the ‘+’ button next to Sales Channels.
- In the Amazon by Shopify section, click ‘Learn More’.
- Next, click ‘Add Channel’ to confirm.
- On the last page, click ‘Connect to Amazon’. Accept the permissions needed to allow information to be shared between your Shopify and Amazon Seller Central accounts.
When you’re done, you’ll be redirected back to Shopify. You can now create your product listings for selling products on Amazon via Shopify.
- Click ‘Amazon’ to navigate to the Amazon sales channel you’ve already installed.
- Click ‘Create Listing’.
- Find the product from your Shopify catalog that you want to list on Amazon and click ‘Select Product’ at the bottom.
- Fill out the product details. Click ‘Publish’ when you’re finished.
- Set your inventory tracking policy. You can choose between having Shopify track your inventory, telling Shopify to ignore inventory tracking from Amazon, or allowing customers to purchase your product when it’s out of stock.
- Start selling!
Your orders on Amazon will automatically sync up with Shopify on the Orders page. All new orders placed through Amazon appear in your orders list and are marked as Amazon. Shopify syncs all of your orders, including orders with products that haven’t been listed through Shopify. You must fulfill your order through Shopify; otherwise, the order will not be updated in Shopify. So that’s how you sell on Amazon with Shopify in a nutshell.
However, there is another option here. If you sell products on Amazon and want to create your store using Shopify, you would eventually ask a question of how to sell Amazon products on Shopify. It’s a bit different from what we’ve just described and deserves a separate article to uncover this subject.
How to sell on Pinterest with Shopify
Pinterest is a worthy inclusion on this list for two reasons. First, it’s a leading social media source for sending traffic to online stores. And second, Pinterest and Shopify have launched a joint venture that lets Pinterest users buy directly from Shopify sellers via “Buyable Pins”.
Before this Shopify feature, customers would have to click through a Pinterest image and purchase your item through your Shopify store. Now customers can buy your Shopify products without even leaving Pinterest – the rich pins removing a significant barrier to impulse purchases. At the same time, Shopify sellers still get insight into their customers’ thanks to some intelligent shopper tracking elements in their product pins
Getting started is easy.
- Log in to your Shopify account and navigate to the Pinterest/Shopify introduction page.
- Click on the ‘Add the Pinterest Sales Channel’ button.
- Pinterest will review your store for inclusion in their Buyable Pins scheme.
- That’s it! Every product found on your Shopify store is enabled for Buyable Pins.
There is no setup or fee for listing or selling your product on Pinterest. And all your Pinterest customers, products, and orders will be synced with the Shopify interface. This lets you measure engagement, track pins, repins, clicks, and Pinterest orders in the Pinterest Channel Dashboard, found in the Shopify Admin. You can also use promoted pins to reach more potential customers on Pinterest.
How to sell on YouTube with Shopify
YouTube gives you a substantial chance to grow your customer base using a range of methods. From product placement, educational or promotional videos, sponsored influencer content, and advertising. There’s no doubt that people are watching, with YouTube users consuming over one billion hours of Youtube videos every day.
If you have the skills and the time, starting your own YouTube Channel can give potential buyers the chance to see your products.
- Log in to YouTube with the Google account you want to use to manage your Brand Account
- Navigate to the YouTube Channel Switcher and select ‘Create A New Channel’.
- Give your new Brand Account a name and click ‘Create’.
- Upload your logo and a banner.
That’s it! You’re ready to start selling your Shopify merchandise through YouTube!
But first, you need content. So here are some guidelines on what to make and how to make it.
- Shoot short videos – two minutes is enough to capture attention and gain traction.
- Deliver regular content – commit to a posting calendar, with a new post at least once a month. Make sure your content is consistent in tone and message.
- Make use of analytics – YouTube’s data-gathering tools lets you see what works and what doesn’t. Trust the data!
- Use on-screen annotations to engage your customers – set up prompts with commentary, comments on the products in question, facts, or even just links to subscribe. Brevity is key here, so don’t go overboard!
- Content is king – you should be proud of your products and videos, so make sure the content matches your brand, and be sure to share them around through all your channels.
If you’re a bit limited on time or want to spread the word more organically, influencer marketing via YouTube can offer an alternate means of getting your products in front of your audience. Finding an influencer that matches your needs can take time, but there is a range of tools available to simplify the process.
Alternatively, you can advertise directly on YouTube with AdWords for Video. This advertising channel lets you select from three different spaces – a pre-roll ad shown before the videos that users watch, an ad banner displayed while watching a video, and as a promoted video when people search for similar videos on YouTube. This option is great if you already have advertising collateral that’s ready-made for Google AdWords. Just select your daily budget, identify your relevant keywords, and choose the demographics for your audience.
How to know when to sell on other platform with Shopify
If you’re looking at reaching a global audience through social media and other online platforms, Shopify gives you the tools you need to start conversations where they live. It combines the convenience of screen-ready, user-friendly features you need to track and manage sales with scalable apps that make connecting platforms easy.
The benefits of accessing news customer bases and building marketing mixes that maximize profits are apparent. Just keep in mind a couple of things. Some platforms charge fees for listing and selling products. Other platforms will only conduct transactions in specific currencies. And if you ever find yourself running multiple Shopify stores in addition to selling on different platforms, feel free to try out Multi-Store Sync Power which will help you to manage inventory better.
If you are prepared to deal with these issues and have the resources on hand to manage the increased workload, then selling on other platforms using Shopify may let you open up your brand to new profitable opportunities.
