How Local Businesses Can Benefit from Facebook Collections

Facebook is testing a new feature dubbed "Collections," which has the potential to add a whole new level of depth to the social media gargantuan. When participating businesses create a Collections post, viewers have the option to "Want," "Collect," or "Like" the item. Wanting the item adds it to a wishlist, while collecting or liking it will add it to the user's saved products list. This new feature offers some of the same functionality as sites like Amazon, Google+ and Pinterest, which is why they're unveiling it to begin with. Small businesses and e-commerce sites can make use of the new feature in several ways... Easy Purchasing Products that are posted via the Collections feature will have the added buy option included in the post. This allows users to easily proceed to the point of purchase in just a few clicks. Promote your latest sales or newest products and you can make sales quicker and easier than before. Collection Building Showcase several items with a similar decorating or fashion theme to encourage users to build whole collections around your signature style. Easy Wishlists Building a holiday wishlist can be streamlined with this feature and shared with others. Encourage users to show off the pieces they most want to receive as a holiday or birthday gift. Added Incentives to "Like" Users can only access the Collections function for pages that they actively like. Promote this fact and you have a new incentive for your fans and followers to go ahead and like your page. (This also highlights the importance of telling your customers both in-store and via email to promote a more steadfast social following.) Coupon Sharing Promote items that are on sale through the Collections feature, or offer your goods at a special price through the Facebook page. Buyers will pay more attention to your feed and your brand when they know they can expect great deals, and because Collections makes it a heck of a lot easier to actually purchase the item(s), so there is a much higher chance that your customers will actually do so. Craft and Recipe Ideas The main draw of Pinterest is the ability to collect ideas for crafts, designs and recipes. Include a craft idea with your supplies or a recipe with your food products so users can get the same benefit when they want or collect your items. For example, if you're selling baking pans, make different items and include both the recipe AND photos of you making it (with your product of course). Adding a human touch is what people really want to see -they want evidence that what you're selling will serve a legitimate purpose for them.