How to connect Shopify store to Facebook: Step by Step guide

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Do you want to increase your Shopify business reach? Are you looking for ways to connect the Shopify store to Facebook and Instagram?

If you want to have a successful business, you have to reach your customers where they are already present. Facebook, one such platform; makes this happen. On average, around 2.5 billion users log in daily for engagements, buying, and selling. In this case, if you are a merchant and you aren’t selling on Facebook Marketplace or Instagram Shopping, you are missing a huge opportunity. Here is your chance to learn about the basic requirements and steps to connect your Shopify store to the Facebook family of apps and profoundly grow your business.

Why should you expand on Facebook surfaces with partners?

Choosing a partner to onboard to Facebook surfaces offers you a broad range of solutions to help you set up your business, sell your products, and engage with customers more effectively. This is the fastest way to enable connectivity across the Facebook family of apps. Besides, you can leverage various benefits through partners such as:

• The option of checkout within the app. (US merchants)
• Uploading your products in bulk.
• Offering synchronization between the inventories across both platforms.
• Managing your orders from a centralized location.

What all do you need to connect your Shopify store to Facebook and Instagram Shopping?

To sell on Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shopping, you need to have:

• Facebook Page/Business Manager admin: You need to be the admin of the Facebook page or Business Manager account to create your Shop across Facebook and Instagram.
• Tax identification number: (US merchants) As a merchant, you need to provide a federal tax identification number and a state tax registration number; matching your legal name; and every state where you have a business.
• Payout details (US merchants): If you opt for checkout, you need to have your bank account information to get your payouts.
• Shipping information: (US merchants) As a merchant, you need to provide your shipping information. Also, as soon as you receive the orders, you need to ship within three working days.
• Return policy and help ID (US merchants): Mention the return policies for the products. You can add up to 30 days of the return policy. Also, mention the customer email address, so your client can contact you in case of any issue.
• Business physical address: You need to provide your physical business address and a business email id.
• Product Category: Mention the product category that best represents your business. Mention the type of business you deal with.
• Business representative name: Mention your business representative name along with SSN and DOB.

Additionally, you also have to follow the Commerce Product Merchant agreement and Commerce Policies to experience effortless selling across the platform.

How to onboard your business to Facebook and Instagram?

Having an eCommerce website provides you an opportunity to connect your Shopify store with the Facebook network. The listing partners ease your selling process and assist you right from the account setup to onboard across the Marketplace. Let’s dive into the essential components required to onboard to Facebook Marketplace & Instagram Shopping one by one:

Connect the app with Facebook Account

The first step to onboard to Facebook or Instagram Shopping is to connect the app with your Facebook account. This step is necessary since it synchronizes your Facebook page and catalogs with the app. Thus, easing your selling process across the platform. If you have an existing Facebook account, it will be displayed on the screen as soon as you open the app. After this, you need to:

• Click the Connect button.
• The app will be connected to your existing Facebook account.

The other situation that you can face is when you don’t have a Facebook account. You can create an account by signing up through Facebook. For this, you need to:

• Enter your name
• Your email id or phone number.
• Create a new password.

After completion, you can proceed to the next step of connecting the Business Manager account to your Facebook Page.

Connect your Business Manager account with the app

Business Manager helps you manage your business, get an insight about your product, services, and let you experience hassle-free selling across Facebook commerce surfaces. After connecting your Facebook account with the app, the next step will allow you to connect your Business Manager with the app.

• Click on ‘Continue’ to select the Business Manager Account.

You can now create multiple Business Manager Accounts and manage ads and run your business on Facebook from the same account.

In case you do not have a Business Manager account. You can create one; in the following steps:

• Go to the Business Manager.
• Click on ‘Create Account.’
• Provide business details such as:
  • Business name
  • Your Name
  • Work email address
• Click Submit to create a Business Manager account.

Connect Facebook Page with the app

Selecting your preferred Business Manager account would display all the Facebook Pages associated with the account.

From here, you can choose a Page on which you want to create a Facebook Page Shop or Facebook Shop. By default, the app will enlist your Facebook Page on these three criteria:

• Recommended Facebook Page
• Facebook Page with Business Manager unavailable
• Facebook Page with Catalog unavailable

Dive further to understand the categories mentioned above and get an idea about what you can do in these situations.

A Recommended Facebook Page

This page is recommended by the app. These are the Facebook Pages connected with the Business Manager account and having a well-built catalog. Selecting the ‘recommended’ option means you can easily set up your Shop across a Facebook family of apps.

Facebook Page with Business Manager unavailable

You can also view the option of Business Manager unavailable. This option means that your Facebook Page is not associated with the current Business Manager account.

To sort this situation, once you select these pages, the next window will let you choose the Business Manager account associated with the Facebook Page. For this;

• Click on the option of ‘Connect with Business Manager’ and select the Business Manager Account. OR
• Go to the previous step and select the Business Manager with which the page is connected.

Facebook Page with Catalog unavailable

Suppose your Facebook Page doesn’t have a catalog attached to it. You can also view the option of Catalog Unavailable from the same window.

To connect a catalog with your Facebook Page, you can either:

• Click on the option of ‘Configure catalog.’ OR
• Create a new catalog through Catalogue Manager and connect it through the app.

If you don’t have a Facebook Page

The exceptional situation that can sometimes arise is when you don’t have any Facebook Page associated with your Business Manager account. Or you want to make your Facebook Page compatible with Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shopping. In this situation, you have to configure the Commerce Manager. For this:

• Click on ‘Create a new Facebook Shop’ present at the bottom of the page. (US sellers can also enable checkout on Facebook and Instagram)
• You will be redirected to the Commerce Manager, from where you can set up your Page Shop or Shop through your new Facebook Page.

After completing the Commerce Manager setup, your Facebook Shop is ready. You can view the information by selecting your Facebook page supporting Facebook Shop.

Default mapping and product import

The option of Default mapping and Product import lets you configure the default settings for Facebook surfaces. This step enables you to manage your orders between Facebook and Shopify stores from a centralized location.

The app automatically fetches your available Shopify products and the warehouse location. Through this tab, you can manage:

• Category Mapping: Import your Shopify products into categories and sub-categories on Marketplace. By doing so, you can make it easy for shoppers to find your products by searching via different filters.
• Warehouse location: Map your Shopify product location and manage your inventories across Facebook and Shopify stores. To do so, tick-mark the location you want to map to manage your inventory from it.

Make sure to map the correct warehouse location for the Marketplace and Shopping. If not, then the order will not be placed as the uploaded inventories will differ. If in case you have want to make changes in your warehouse or category selections that can also be done later in the app.

Attribute mapping

Provide a gateway to a high-quality shopping experience to your customers by enhancing your catalog. You can grow your brand reach across Facebook apps by adding additional attributes to your products such as gender, material, age, gender group, etc. Besides, by doing so, you can make your inventories more accessible, making it easier for shoppers to browse a broad range of products and find the product they want to purchase through search, filters, and recommendations.

You need to add up to 3 attributes for each product. After fulfilling all this information, you get your Facebook Shop in action. It takes approximately two weeks for Facebook to verify your Shop for publishing after you have applied for it. Once approved, you can surface your business across the Facebook network and manage your stores effortlessly with the Facebook & Instagram Shopping app.

You may come across these: 

Well, setting up your business through Facebook & Instagram Shopping is relatively easy. But sometimes, while setting up your Shop through the listing partners, you might find yourself in a catch-22 situation. You may be wondering why? Because you already fulfilled all the requirements and followed every step correctly.

Worry not, explore further to know the specific conditions you might face with its most suitable solutions.

How to authenticate Facebook Page with the app?

After connecting your app with the Business Manager account, all the Facebook pages associated with the Facebook account would be visible in your window. Select a Facebook Page with the Recommended option. It is this page that is connected to your prior Business account and has a catalog within it. In case you cannot authenticate your Facebook Page with the app, it may be because your selected Business account is not connected with the app. For this, you can simply go back to the previous step and set another Business Manager account connecting with the Facebook page.

How can you convert your Facebook Page Shop (offsite services) to Facebook Shop (checkout)?

 If you are a US seller, and you want to convert your Facebook Page Shop to Facebook Shop offering in-app checkout. You simply have to go to the order section of the dashboard and;

• Click on ‘Connect new’ of the order section of the app. This option will let you set up your Commerce Manager and provide you with the offsite services. OR
• Click on ‘Configure now’ of the order section of the app. From here, you can fulfill your payment information. By doing so, you can offer in-app checkout to your buyers.

How to sell on Instagram Shopping through the app?

After setting up your Facebook Shop, you can click on Connect now on Instagram. This will take you to the Commerce Manager setup for Instagram Shopping. Fill in the required information like:

Wrapping it up

That’s it! You’ve just learned how to connect your Shopify store to Facebook Marketplace and Instagram Shopping. In the end, you aim to choose a social storefront that gives you the option of syncing your store’s feed with Facebook and saves you from the hassle of managing your business manually. So, leverage the opportunity to sell across Facebook apps with partners and get hold of the listed benefits. Now!