SHOPLINE's Facebook Post Sales feature will soon support Facebook Group posts. You can offer attractive sales campaigns for exclusive members of the group to boost brand impression and sales.
Similar to the post sales campaign on Facebook Page, after the customer leaves a message in the post, the system will send the shopping cart link through Messenger by detecting the keywords, so that the customer can directly complete the checkout.
In this article, you'll find how to:
- Add a Facebook Group sale post
- Link Facebook Group post sales to a post
- Enable Facebook Group post sales
- Copy, end, or remove Facebook Group post sales
- Facebook Group post sales comment management
- Place orders by commenting on Facebook Group post
- Notes
⚠️ Before you start, please take note:
- Stores using the new Page version will soon support integrating with groups via the Admin. Please refer to Facebook's official note for more information regarding the new Page.
- Proceed to the store Admin to complete the Facebook Group integration. Please refer to this article for more information.
1. Add a Facebook Group sale post
Step 1
In the SHOPLINE Admin, go to [Social Commerce] > [Post Sales], then click the blue Add New Sale Post button.
Select Facebook Group and click Create.
Step 2
Enter the name for the Facebook Group Post Sales event and select the keyword order setting. Click Create to complete.
*Note:
- The name is only for internal use.
- The keyword order setting can be modified after the post sale is created.
Step 3
Select "Choose goods" or "Add Products" to add to your Facebook Group Post Sales. For more information, please refer to Facebook Post Sales | Social Commerce.
Step 4
Products that have been added to the Facebook Group Post Sales will appear in the "Post Products and Keywords" list. Click Add Products to add or select more products.
Click the icon on the right of the products to edit product keywords or remove them.
If you want to edit product keywords in bulk, click the Bulk edit button, select the products you want to edit, and then click Edit keywords.
Step 5
Scroll down to the "Settings" section to complete the relevant Facebook Group post sales settings.
1. Schedule
Set the start and end time for the Facebook post sales. The maximum time range is 14 days.
For example, if the start time is set to 15 July, 2022 16:00:00, and the end time is 29 July, 2022 16:00:00, the customer can only place an order successfully by leaving a message during this period.
Synchronize schedule according to the time the post sales is enabled/ends
- Scenario 1:
If you set the schedule start time as 16 June, but you only enable the post sales on 22 June, the post sales scheduled start time will be displayed as 22 June. - Scenario 2:
If you set the schedule end time as 28 June, but you end the post sales early on 22 June, the end time of the post sales schedule will be displayed as 22 June.
Once the post sales end, a prompt will appear indicating "the stop time will be synchronized to the scheduled end time".
2. Commodity Order Rules
A. Reserve inventory: Switch the toggle on the right to turn on the reserve inventory function, and you need to set the time to reserve inventory.
When a customer places an order through a keyword, the product inventory will be automatically locked, and the product will be reserved for the customer until the specified time. For details on how to reserve inventory, please refer to this article.
B. Keyword order rules: Click Edit to set up the keyword settings.
3. Comments and Message Setting
Click Order message settings to customize the keyword order message replies (by private message or by comment).
A. Reply by private message
Switch on the "Reply by private message" toggle and customize the reply content. It will automatically reply when customers leave a keyword comment. Switch off the toggle to disable.
B. Reply by comment
Switch on the "Reply by comment" toggle and customize the reply content. It will automatically reply when customers leave a keyword comment. Switch off the toggle to disable.
C. Out of stock message
When customers comment the products that are out of stock, the system will send this message to them.
- Due to the restrictions on Facebook's messaging policy, frequent use of comment replies may trigger warnings from Facebook. Please use this feature with caution! For more details, please refer to Facebook Community Standard.
- You can customize the out-of-stock message content.
2. Link Facebook Group post sales to a post
A. Created Facebook Post
Step 1. Scroll to the "Connect post" section at the bottom, and click Connect post.
Step 2. First select your group, then select the posts in the group.
It is highly advised that you first copy the copy authorization guide, then paste it into the post you would like to connect with, so customers can successfully complete the 2-step authorization.
*Note:
- A Facebook Group post can only be linked to one Facebook Group post sales campaign. You can still link the Facebook Group post to another campaign after removing the original Facebook Group post sales campaign.
- Facebook Group post sales do not support live-streaming posts.
- You can filter the posts by the post/comment update time. Posts updated by "Today, Recent 3 days, and Recent 7 days" are supported. The latest update time will be displayed at the top and sorted downward in order. For example, if you created a post 10 days ago, but it was not updated nor did anyone comment on this post within the last 10 days, the post will not show up in the pop-up window.
- Due to the limitation of Facebook interface, you can only link posts created within 90 days. Posts older than 90 days will not appear in the pop-up window regardless of recent updates or comments on the post.
Step 3. Once you are done with the setup, click Connect.
i. Supports connecting to multiple posts
When connecting to a post, selecting multiple posts is supported. Customers can place orders by commenting keywords under all linked posts, and you can view the sales overview for all posts.
*Note:
- Once successfully connected, you can still connect to a maximum of 20 posts.
- The number of linked posts will be displayed in the Sales Events list.
ii. Supports manually connecting using post link
If you encounter an error while connecting to a post, you can follow the following steps to connect manually:
1. Paste the post's link into the field and click Connect. You can click How do I find the post link? to view the guidelines.
⚠️ Before connecting, please make sure that:
- You are using the link of a general group post (live and live replay are special post types).
- You have turned off the professional mode for your Facebook personal account.
- The social channel in the SHOPLINE Admin > [Channel Integration] > [Facebook] > [Social Commerce] is connected properly.
- The group post has not been connected to other post sales or events.
2. Please confirm the post content on the preview window. Then, click Connect to complete.
If the post link is incorrect, you will be unable to preview and connect to the post.
*Note:
- If there are no available posts in the group, the system will recommend customizing the post/comment update time or you can select create a new post (Once selected, it will open the "Create post" page in the pop-up window).
- If the Facebook Page to which the Facebook Group is connected to is not connected properly in the SHOPLINE Admin, please click go to Channel Integration to check the connection status.
B. Uncreated Facebook Post
Step 1. Click the Create Post button in the "Connect post" section.
Step 2. Select the Facebook Group on which you would like to post, and enter the post content.
*Note: When creating a post, if you decide to switch Facebook Group, the created content and images will be cleared.
Step 3. Provides multiple quick inputs for you to create your post quickly.
- Product information: You can choose to input the information of all the products sold in this post sale, or select one of them to input, and click Confirm after the selection is complete.
- Order rules: Click to input the order rules you have set.
- Authorize guide: Click to input the authorization guide.
- Custom content:
1. Click Create to enter the title and content.
2. Click on the custom content you have just created to input the content into the post. In the future, you can just click to apply directly, making it easier to create posts.
Step 4. Click Add image to add images to the post.
*Note: Currently supports up to 20 images, the format is required to be JPEG, PNG, and not exceed 4 MB.
During the editing process, you can preview on the right.
*Note: If there are more than 4 pictures in the post, the right preview screen will not display the images after the 4th one. It is also not supported to view the larger image in the preview side.
Step 5. Once set up is complete, click the Create button on the bottom right to create the post.
The Facebook Group post will automatically link with the post sales.
C. Successfully linked with Facebook post
Once the Facebook post is successfully linked, click the icon on the right to view the original post, preview post, create a new post or connect to another existing post.
If you wish to adjust the Facebook post, you can also click the Preview icon and click Edit post.
Editing post content and images are supported, but not switching Facebook Groups.
*Note:
- If this post only contains 1 image, then adding and deleting an image will not be supported.
- If this post contains multiple images, please do not delete all images, it is suggested you keep at least 2 images to make sure the post can be edited normally in the future.
3. Enable Facebook Group post sales
Click the Enable button at the top right.
*Note: Before you enable the post sales, please confirm that the content of the post includes the description text of the product keywords to ensure that customers can view and place orders.
When this window appears, it means that the post sales has been successfully created and the status will be updated to "Open".
4. Copy, end, or remove Facebook Group post sales
Click the three-dot button on the right of the campaign to select to copy, end or delete the post sales.
*Note: You will see the latest 3 post sales campaigns on the page. Click All Sales Events at the top right to view all campaigns.
Bulk copy/ remove Facebook post sales
Click All Sales Events at the top right to view all campaigns.
Check the boxes to the left of the Facebook post sales (check the box on the top to select all), then click Copy or Delete to execute the action in bulk.
*Note:
- If you remove a post sales that is still "Open", customers will still be able to place keyword orders by commenting on the post.
- When you remove a post sales, a pop-up window will ask you to double confirm before proceeding.
- The copied post will show on the top of the post sales list.
- When you copy a post sales, the system will only copy the name, product, keyword, order placement rules, comment, message setup, and scheduled time of the post sales. The Facebook Group post link will not be included, so you will need to relink the Facebook group post.
5. Facebook Group post sales comment management
Click the "Message Management" icon on the left side of the page to view customer comments and sales performance.
A. Sales Overview
In the "Sales Overview" section, you can view the "Total Comment(s)", "Orders(s)", "Total Order Amount", "Unpaid" and "Unpaid Amount".
B. Comment management
In the "Comment Management" section, you can view all the comments, keyword order product(s), their current cart product(s), and created order(s). You can also filter out comments through the drop-down fields.
*Note: If the customer left a comment after the post sales ended, then this comment will not display in the Comment Management section.
On the right side of each comment, there are two feature buttons:
- Edit Cart: Edit the products in the customer's cart
- Create Order: Directly create an order for the customer
*Note: Instant messaging is currently not available on the "Comment Management" page.
6. Place orders by commenting on Facebook Group posts
1. Customers complete the 2-step authorization
Due to Facebook's privacy restrictions, customers need to perform a 2-step authorization and allow SHOPLINE to obtain relevant information before they can place an order by commenting on the group post.
*Note: Merchants are recommended to create a post on the authorization guide to help customers complete the process.
Click the View authorization guide button on the top left and select the group to authorize. Then, copy the authorization guide and publish it as a Facebook Group post.
Invite customers to click on the authorization link.
Authorization (Step 1)
Click on the authorization link. Then, click Facebook authorization.
Then, select the profile to proceed with the authorization.
Authorization (Step 2)
Copy the verification information and message the page on Messenger.
Ask customers to send the verification information to the store's messenger. The authorization is now complete.
*Note:
- The authorization link from before 13 April 2023 has expired. When customers click on the authorization link, it will ask the customers to get the new authorization link from the merchant.
- Each page has its own authorization link and customers need to complete page authorization individually. Customers only need to complete the authorization once for groups that are connected to the same page in the SHOPLINE Admin.
- Customers who have completed the authorization with the old authorization link no longer need to authorize the groups connected to the same Facebook page unless the page changes the authorization link.
- Please remind customers to avoid sharing the verification information with third-party to avoid authorization errors.
- The format for the verification information is as follows:
- Valid verification information: Authorize verification information:【sl_5909916874108050638_sl】
- Invalid verification information: sl_5886308288212550657_sl
- Completing the authorization from within the Messenger app is not supported.
- Since this feature is prone to compatibility issues with Android devices, once the authorization is complete, please do not repeatedly click on the authorization link to avoid system errors.
2. Ordering by commenting on Facebook Group posts
Customers place an order by leaving comments consisting of keyword + quantity to the Facebook Group post.
*Note:
- The keyword can only be detected when the customer leaves comments under the post. If there are multiple images in the post, customers will not be able to place an order if they leave a comment below the image.
- Customers will be unable to place orders with comments if they haven't completed the authorization. In accordance with Facebook's policy, sending a high frequency of comments with the same content may trigger a spam alert; therefore, customers will not receive an authorization reminder from the system.
Customers will also receive a Messenger message and can hit the Continue button to checkout.
7. Notes
- The Facebook Group posts for post sales have to meet the conditions below:
- They have to be published in the group linked to the Page connected to SHOPLINE.
- They have to be posts created after installing the "Messenger by SHOPLINE" application for the group. (Please refer to this article for how to add the Messenger by SHOPLINE app)
- They have to be published posts. Draft or scheduled posts are not eligible for Facebook Group post sales.
- A group can only be bound to one Page. If you change the Page, the original linked group cannot be bound to the new Page.
- The duration of Facebook Group post sales campaigns is limited to 14 days.
- Customers are required to complete the 2-step authorization for placing orders with keywords.
- If the customer does not complete the 2-step authorization, their message will not appear on the Message Management page.
- The Message Management page will take 1 minute to update after a customer successfully places an order.
- You can edit and send shopping cart links on the Message Management page, but private messaging customers is not yet supported.
Read more
- Facebook Post Sales | Social Commerce
- Instagram Post Sales | Social Commerce
- Social Commerce Overall Statistics Overview
- SHOPLINE Live | Integrating Facebook Group Live
- Integrating Facebook Group
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