In today’s digital landscape, selling your products online has become more accessible than ever. With Meta’s Commerce platform, you can create a shop that allows you to reach customers on Facebook and Instagram, making it easy for them to browse, interact, and buy your products all in one place.
Setting up a Meta Commerce Shop is a seamless way to take your boutique or business to the next level by tapping into Meta’s massive user base. Let’s explore how a Meta Commerce Shop can benefit your business and provide step-by-step instructions to get you started!
How a Meta Commerce Shop Benefits Your Business
Setting up a Meta Commerce Shop opens doors to a global audience and enables a streamlined, social shopping experience. Here’s how it can benefit your business:
- Access to a Broader Audience: Facebook and Instagram collectively have billions of active users. Setting up a shop on these platforms allows you to showcase your products to a wider audience and connect with new potential customers.
- Integrated Shopping Experience: With Meta Commerce, customers can browse, ask questions, and purchase without leaving the platform, creating a smooth shopping journey. You can manage customer interactions and transactions all in one place.
- Enhanced Brand Visibility: A Meta shop gives your brand increased exposure on both Facebook and Instagram feeds. It boosts visibility through tagged posts, stories, and ads, making it easy for users to discover your products.
- Customer Insights: Meta provides valuable insights into customer behavior, helping you understand what products are performing well and how to tailor your offerings to match your audience's interests.
Step 1: Create a Meta Commerce Shop
Navigate to Meta Commerce
- First, log into your Facebook Business Manager account at business.facebook.com.
- If you don’t have an account, sign up for one and ensure you have an existing Facebook page for your business. If not, you can create one during this process.
- Once logged in, select All Tools on the left-hand menu and then select Commerce Manager.
- Under Commerce Accounts, select the blue + Add Account button to begin setting up your shop. You’ll be prompted to answer a few questions about your business.
- Select Next on the bottom right corner.
Add your Business Information and Products
- Meta will ask if you’re using a partner platform such as Shopify or BigCommerce. If you are, select it, otherwise, select ‘I don’t use these platforms’ to proceed directly with Meta’s tools.
- Select the country where your business is located.
- Select your Sales Channel. Select whether you want to manage your shop through Instagram, Facebook, or both and eenter your business email address.
- Select Create a Facebook Page if you don’t have one. Enter a name, select a category, and add a bio to describe your business. Once done, select Create Page.
- Add products to your shop. Select an existing catalogue or, if you don’t have one, select Add New Catalogue to create one. You’ll be able to add your products to this new catalogue later.
Set up Delivery and Return Policies
- Select the regions you deliver to in the U.S. or other applicable countries and specify the types of addresses (residential, business) you can deliver to.
- Set the expected delivery window, selecting the number of days you need to deliver orders. To comply with Meta’s merchant policies, ensure orders are delivered within this time frame.
- Enable toggles for each delivery method you offer, set rates, a minimum for free delivery (if any), and estimated delivery times.
- Define your return window, specifying the number of days customers have to return products after receiving them.
Add Contact Information
- Enter Contact information so customers can reach out with questions or order assistance. This can be updated later as needed.
- Toggle the Allow Messaging option to enable customers to message you directly on Facebook or Instagram for quicker support.
Set up Email Opt-In
- Link your privacy policy to comply with data privacy regulations and provide transparency to customers.
- Enable the Capture Customer Emails Automatically at Checkout toggle to allow customers to opt-in for marketing emails during checkout.
Once done, review all entered details and check the consent box at the bottom. Once everything looks good, select Finish Setup to submit your shop for review.
Step 2: Set up Payouts
Once you submit your shop for review, you will be redirected to the Payouts page. Here you will prompted to add your business and bank details.
- Add Business Information. To learn more about these requirements, visit our Meta Help Center.
- Add Business Address.
- Submit a scan or photo of one of these (Your business licence, credit card statement, insurance statement, tax assessment, utility bill) items. The item must be dated within the last 12 months and must not be a PO box.
- Select Business Category.
- Configure Tax Settings.
- Add Bank Account Information.
Step 3: Verify your Business Information
Review Pre-Verified Information (If available)
- Navigate to your Commerce Manager dashboard.
- Look for the top banner, guidance card, or pop-up with a Verify Now button. Select Verify Now to initiate the process.
- If Meta has pre-verified information about your business, a pop-up will appear with pre-filled details.
- Review the information thoroughly and, if everything is correct, select Confirm info.
Provide Business Details (If pre-filled information is not available)
If pre-filled information isn’t available, you’ll need to enter your business details manually.
- Use the exact details you provided when registering your business in Commerce Manager. Accurate entry will ensure a smoother verification process.
- Meta will attempt to find a matching business record based on the information provided:
- If a Match is Found: You’ll be shown a list of possible matches. Select the organization that aligns with your business.
- If No Match is Found: Meta will prompt you to submit documentation to confirm your shop’s identity. Gather documents such as business licenses, tax records, or other official documents that verify your business’s existence.
- Select a preferred email or phone number for verification.
- Meta will send a confirmation code to the selected contact. Enter the code when prompted to complete this part of verification.
- You’ll need to submit documentation to verify your business address. This could be a utility bill, lease agreement, or any official document displaying your business’s registered address.
Once you’ve submitted all required information, Meta will review your account. The review typically takes a few business days. During this time, Meta ensures your shop complies with commerce eligibility requirements. To monitor the status, go to the Shops tab in your Commerce Manager.