By Jumoke Adekanye

Online or out! That’s the digital trend taking over the entire world. Online means leveraging on the power of social media, websites, search engine optimisation, content marketing to increase sales. With about 82 million Nigerians online, you definitely need to leverage the power of online for your business.

 

This is where Facebook Sales Groups come in. Last year, there were predictions that Social Commerce will take over 2016 and this prediction is becoming a reality. Statistics say that 85% of all social media orders came from Facebook.

 

While Facebook seems to be dominant in social commerce, Instagram and Twitter also work for specific brands. How many times have you seen a product on Instagram and ordered for it? There is a Make Up artist in Lagos who makes about N200,000 every weekend, she gets her clients via Instagram.

 

Right now, I am going to teach you how to leverage the power of Facebook Sale Groups to drive sales for your small business. Creating a sales group is quite easy although you can create add a buy button if you already have an existing group.

 

All you need do is go to the create group tab and click, once you have worked out the specifics like choosing a cover photo and adding a great group description, you are good to go. When adding a group description, ensure that you include keywords that are relevant to your business.

 

If you own a clothing store, you can write something like “Exquisite Ankara Dresses for Trendy Lagos Women.’

 

Ankara Dresses will help improve your search results when someone types in that keyword in the Facebook search box. Ensure that your description includes keywords and it’s easy to understand. Choose a tagline that works for your brand.

 

Once you have put all this in place, choose a group type, Buy, Sell and Trade. While choosing a currency, as a Nigerian you are limited to just two options, US Dollars and Pounds. Sadly, the Naira has not been included in that long list.

 

Don’t let this deter you, just calculate the dollar equivalent of your product and post. You also have the option of putting the Naira equivalent beside the product description. You have the option of adding a photo of the product.

 

Once you post, everyone in your group will see this post and they have the option of liking or commenting on the post. Once you have sold this item, you promptly have to mark it as sold.

 

You can include your friends and family in your sales group, you can also include new and old customers.

 

A Facebook Sales Group helps you to announce new products to customers. They might not always visit you store or office but when they see the new products listed on your Facebook group, they can order as many as they want.

 

Never underestimate the power of social media, especially Facebook.

 

Jumoke Adekanye is the Founder of Araba. Jumoke is committed to empowering female entrepreneurs and career women to live up to their true potential and succeed in all their endeavors. Jumoke is a Content Writer, Social Media Whiz and Dream Catcher. Connect with her on Twitter @Susiebull