Social media is now more than a place of entertainment, but also a place for bustling business activities. With 5.22 billion users globally (63.8% of the global population), people spend an average of 2 hours a day using their phones.
The exciting part is that people are not just scrolling, they’re buying too. I'll show you how to convert those endless scrolls into steady sales. Let's get started!
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Tips To Choose the Right Social Media Platforms
There are many ways to make money today – open a physical store, create a blog, earn from ads & affiliate programs, do an office job, or take a remote job. And using social media is a popular choice for many today.
It's super important to pick the right platform if you want to sell on social media. It's because each has its target customers, style, and distinct way of doing business.
Here is a quick breakdown to help you choose wisely:
| Platforms | Explanation |
| Best place to reach a mix of ages and interests. | |
| Perfect for showcasing stunning products. Great place for fashion, beauty, and decor. | |
| TikTok | The go-to for fun, viral videos. Offer great opportunities to reach a young audience quickly with creative, bite-sized content. |
| YouTube | Ideal for products that need a little visual explanation. Tutorials, product demos, reviews — A Place to publish longer videos. |
| A fantastic platform with beautiful pictures and videos for lifestyle, home decor, and DIY brands. |
A quick tip: Think about where your ideal customers often hang out — and start there.
How to Sell on Social Media
We will start with one of the most popular platforms nowadays – Facebook. With over 3 billion people using Facebook every day, there’s a huge chance there to sell your products.
Sell on Facebook
Facebook is still leading the social media world. Let's see how you can sell and make money from it.
Let’s start by setting up your very own Facebook Shop!
Set Up a Facebook Shop
With a Facebook Shop, people can browse and purchase your goods directly from your Instagram and Facebook pages. It is a super handy way for them to do shopping.
Here’s how to set up a new Facebook shop:
- Go to the Get Started page on Facebook Commerce Manager.
- Click “Create a Shop” and follow the steps
- Choose your selling platform (like Shopify, or else select “I don’t use these platforms”)
- Pick your payment method
- Select your Facebook Page or Instagram Business account
- Pick a business portfolio or create a new one
- Choose your product catalog
- Review your details & then agree to the Seller Agreement
- Finish the process by clicking on “Finish Setup.”
- Add your products to the catalog.
- Create product collections to keep your shop organized
- Customize your shop layout
Use Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace is an easy and free place to sell, especially if you're aiming for local clients. You can list products quickly and connect with people nearby.
Here are some tips to make your listings stand out:
Clear, eye-catching pictures: Include close-ups and display your product from all perspectives!
Clear & specific title: Instead of saying “Nice table”, try “Solid Oak Dining Table – Seats 6, Great Condition”.
Useful description: Provide the product's condition, highlight features, & any further information that buyers should know.
You can visit Facebook's Help Center and these resources if you need any additional assistance.
Run Facebook Ads
Ads are a wise choice if you want to sell on Facebook.
Why?
Because they enable you to connect with customers who are really interested in your product. Facebook advertising targets people according to their geography, interests, age, and hobbies.
For instance:
If you sell handcrafted candles, you can target ladies in the 20–40 age range who enjoy online shopping and home décor. Then, your ad might pop up to a 28-year-old woman who recently searched for “relaxing scented candles”.
But the important thing is: Ads are not enough. You need eye-catching pictures, honest words, and the right targeting.
You can learn how on sites like Coursera and Skillshare. If you prefer to leave it to the professionals, visit Fiverr.
Connect With the Shopify Store
Here's my pro tip:
Integrating Shopify with your Facebook store is super simple. You can manage anything from your Shopify dashboard, like running Facebook advertisements and syncing your product catalog.
The best part?
You can sell on Facebook, Instagram, and your own online store simultaneously, without needing to switch between them.
If you need to learn more about Facebook selling tools, check out Meta Blueprint. It has many free courses to help you master those skills.
Sell on Instagram
Every month, over 2 billion people use Instagram. This makes Instagram far beyond a simple photo-sharing app. Businesses can showcase their goods and engage with customers in this bustling online marketplace.
And as you know, you can manage both Instagram and Facebook in one shop. This means you can sell the products on 2 platforms at the same time.
Set Up an Instagram Shop
Ready to get your shop up and running? Here’s a simple walkthrough:
- Switch to a Business Account
- Go to the Get Started Page, reach Commerce Manager & click “Create a Shop.”
- Choose your platform
- Select a checkout option for how customers will pay.
- Link your business Instagram account & Facebook page (if you have one).
- Select or create a business portfolio & product catalog
- Review & finish setup
When you're finished, you can begin adding products and making collections. You can also tag items in your Stories and posts so that followers may make purchases directly from your feed.
Run Instagram Ads
Have you ever seen those ads on Instagram with product tags? Yes, and this is how Instagram advertisements operate:
- The ad features a product
- People will see more details about the product when they tap the tag
- They can buy directly from the app
- Or the ads can redirect them to the website to finish the purchase there.
You can visit Instagram’s Help Center for guides on setting up product-tagged ads and using Meta Ads Manager.
Sell on TikTok
83% of users say TikTok influences their purchase decisions. And thanks to TikTok Shop, you can easily sell your stuff right inside the app.
Set Up a TikTok Shop
TikTok Shop is gradually expanding to more nations. If TikTok Shop is available where you live, here's how to get started:
- Go to TikTok Seller Center & sign up with your TikTok account or email.
- Choose your country and submit the required business documents. Then wait for being verified.
- Connect a bank account after approval.
- Add your products along with their prices, descriptions, and clear product images.
Pro tip: TikTok offers helpful tools like LIVE Shopping, Shoppable Videos, Shop Page, and Shop Tab to showcase your products.
And if you’re unsure about any step, check out TikTok Shop Academy.
Run TikTok Ads
The next step to boost sales is to use TikTok Shopping Ads. The ads will display your products while people browse, search, and purchase on the app. It means that your products will be promoted to a wider and better audience.
How To Do?
You must connect your TikTok Ads Manager account with Seller Center. After that, you can begin creating ads that show up in the main feed, search results, and shopping tabs on TikTok.
Video ads, Product ads, and LIVE ads are the 3 main advertising types that TikTok provides. You can choose the ad format that best suits your objectives and content style.
Sell on YouTube
YouTube is not just a place for entertainment; it's a powerful platform for selling both products and services. You can sell nearly anything and connect with your customers naturally and engagingly.
Promote Products in Videos
You won't want to create something so pushy or salesy. Instead, focus on creating high-quality and useful videos about what your audience enjoys and wants to watch.
You Need Smart Strategies
Keep producing content continuously to keep your audience. Here are some ideas that will work for creating YouTube content:
- Product Reviews & Unboxings
- How-To Tutorials
- Tips & Hacks Videos
- “Get Ready With Me” (GRWM) Videos
- Storytime Video
- Behind-the-Scenes Content
- Product Usage Challenges
- Animated Explainers
- Trend-based content
Once you have your videos, use YouTube Shopping to tag your products. Viewers can buy directly while they are watching the videos.
Here is a quick instruction on how you can sell on Youtube:
Quick Instruction
Ensure your channel meets YouTube’s requirements for monetization & access to Shopping features.
Connect your online store
Tag products in videos, Shorts, and live streams.
Customize product displays by using YouTube Studio
Track your product performance by checking YouTube Analytics
Note: Your associated shop (like Shopify) will handle all steps in the payment process.
Sell on Pinterest
Pinterest differs slightly from other social media sites. It is not simply a social media site, it’s an amazing place for to search for things they like, explore new ideas, and get great inspiration.
One great thing is that pins on Pinterest last longer than posts on most social networks. A Pin today can continue to generate hits and traffic months later. This gives you long-term value from every post.
Set Up a Pinterest Shop
You need a Pinterest Business account to start. This unlocks important features for businesses like analytics, ads, and product tagging.
Keep In Mind:
Pinterest doesn't have a separate “Shop” section like other platforms. Shoppers can find and buy products while browsing their home feed, search results, or category pages.
Here’s how to set up your Pinterest shop:
- Create a business account
- Add your product catalog by using Pinterest’s Catalogs feature
- Link your eCommerce store (like Shopify and WooCommerce)
- To present your products to viewers, tag them in pins.
- Use Shopping ads to promote your business. You can also tag products in your organic (non-paid) Pins to boost their shopping potential.
Important note: Pinterest doesn’t have in-app checkouts like Instagram or TikTok. Instead, it redirects customers to your online store or app to finish their purchase.
Run Pinterest Ads
Do you know this? Compared to other social media platforms, 90% of Pinterest users are 90% enjoy shopping. This turns out to be a very big opportunity for you to bring your products to the people.
Pinterest offers several types of ad formats that help you to reach potential customers, including:
- Image Ads: A single eye-catching image to showcase your product or service.
- Video Ads: Short, engaging videos about your brand story or how your product works.
- Carousel Ads: A set of images in one ad that users can swipe through, perfect for showing product collections or different features.
- Collections Ads: These have a primary image or video with smaller images underneath. This makes it simple to showcase several products at once.
- Idea Ads: Multi-page, interactive ad styles that work well for product demonstrations, instructional materials, or imaginative narratives.
- Showcase Ads: Ads that highlight a carefully chosen selection of goods or services in one place
Pro Tip: To help your products appear in Pinterest search results, use relevant keywords in the titles, descriptions, and ad copy.
Visit Pinterest Academy if you need assistance.
Final Thoughts
My final advice is that regardless of the platform you choose – Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Pinterest – the content is king. You need to produce high-quality content and run effective ad campaigns.
Start small, refine your strategy along the way, grow your brand, and earn profit.