In this guide we’ll provide the resources to set up your Facebook and Instagram shops using the “do it yourself” catalogue method. We will then cover how to link your social media stores directly to your Crafter’s Market shop.
Usually this feature is reserved for website owners, however because of our unique custom domain feature that’s available to all vendors, we’re able to link Facebook & Instagram directly.
When you create a shop on Crafter’s Market, you automatically are given a default URL and three custom domains which redirect to our primary marketplace. These are:
- crafters.market/shop/[your-shop] – Default
- [your-shop].crafters.market
- [your-shop].cmuk.shop
- [your-shop].craftersmarket.uk
Most of the linking process is done within the Facebook platform.
What is a Facebook Shop
With Facebook Shops, you can display and sell products on Facebook (and Instagram). People who visit your shop can browse your products, make purchases and get to know your brand. You can create your shop in Commerce Manager, a platform that you’ll use to manage your product offering including pricing.
You can choose one of three checkout methods for people to purchase your products, we’ll be using the Checkout on your website method.
What is an Instagram Shop
Much like the Facebook shop, Instagram shops allow you to advertise your products and link directly to the product page on your website. The main difference with Instagram is that it’s much more of a visual experience – Instagram allow you to tag your photos with product tags that will take the user off to the product for a seamless sharing experience.
Before you begin…
- In order to have a visible shop you need to have a business page and a ‘catalogue’. If you don’t have a Facebook business Page or catalogue yet, you can create both when you set up your Facebook shop.
- If you want to make your shop visible on Instagram, you’ll also need an Instagram business account. Your Business Manager must own the Instagram business account and the Page that it’s connected to.
- You should decide which URL you’d like to use for your Crafter’s Market shop (we offer three), when you add a product to your catalogue on Facebook, you need to enter this URL as the “Shop link” to your product. (more on that later):
- [your-shop].crafters.market
- [your-shop].cmuk.shop
- [your-shop].craftersmarket.uk
Create your shop
To create your shop in Commerce Manager:
- Go to the Create your shop page and click Next.
- Choose Checkout on your website. Click Next.
- Select the Facebook business Page that you want to sell from, or create a new Page if you don’t have one yet. If you also want to sell on Instagram, select your Instagram business account. Click Next.
- Select your Business Manager account or create a new one. Click Next.
- Select the catalogue that you want to use for your shop and click Next. You can’t switch this catalogue later.
- Note: If you don’t already have a catalogue, you won’t see this step. Facebook will create a catalogue for you automatically in Commerce Manager called “Items for (name and ID of your Page)”. You can add your items later when you’ve finished setting up your shop.
- Look over your shop details, review and agree to the Seller Agreement and click Finish setup.
You’ve now created your shop!
- Manage your catalogue to add any products you want to sell.
- Create a collection, a group of products you want to feature in your shop.
- Customise the look and feel of your shop.
- Publish your shop. People can see your shop once we’ve reviewed and approved your collections.
Product Tagging
Tag products in your Instagram posts
- Tap + to create a new post.
- Select a photo or video and add a caption, effects and filters. Tap Next.
- Tap Tag products. Tap the products in the photo or video that you want to tag. You can select up to five products per single image and video post or 20 products per multi-image post.
- Search for the products that you want to tag, then select them as they appear in the search box.
- Tap Done.
- Tap Share.
You can tag products in both new and existing posts from your Instagram professional account. When you share a post with product tags on Instagram, you can also share the same post on Facebook with product tags. You can do this by toggling Facebook before posting.
Tag products in your Facebook posts:
- Upload your photo or video post.
- Click the Tag products icon.
- In a photo, click the product that you want to tag and type in the product’s name. In a video, you can start typing the name of the product.
- Click Publish.