Published - Wed, 26-Jun-2024

You cannot set up Facebook Shop in South Africa anymore...

You cannot set up Facebook Shop in South Africa anymore...

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in South Africa. Until November 2023, you could set up a shop on Facebook and Instagram in South Africa. However, now you cannot set up an e-commerce shop on Facebook in South Africa anymore. How does this affect your retail business? Is the platform still doable? Let's find the answers to these questions in this article.

Facebook and its Significance in South Africa

Throughout the years, Facebook has retained its top position amongst other social media platforms in South Africa. South Africans primarily use Facebook and WhatsApp (collectively under Meta) for their daily life entertainment, social activities, and of course, business activities.

You could set up a retail shop on Facebook in South Africa before. This was especially beneficial for small and medium retail businesses led by individual owners. But since December 21, 2023, Facebook has made the shop features unavailable for South Africa. These are the changes as mentioned in the Meta notice.

  • Shops on Facebook and Instagram and associated features are no longer available, including product tagging (in posts, Reels and stories) and creating custom and lookalike audiences derived from people who visited a shop.

  • People can no longer see your shops and associated features if your shop is located in these countries.

  • On Instagram, ads with product tags are still available. Businesses running ads with product tags do not need to take any action and campaigns are not impacted.

While this may seem discouraging for SMEs looking for influential platforms to list their products and earn profits, Facebook and other Meta platforms (Instagram, WhatsApp) are still more than doable for conducting business and advertising or selling your products online.

So, how do we sell via Facebook/Meta in South Africa?

Through your Instagram handle or Facebook page, of course. We have been doing this for ages. The Facebook Shop was not deemed necessary for and by all retail businesses out there.

On Instagram, you can advertise your products with professionally captured pictures or videos. Instagram is a visual platform where each picture is supposed to tell you a story. This opens a lot of opportunities to entice customers with creativity in your advertisements.

On Facebook, there are two ways to go about selling your products in South Africa.

First, via a Facebook Page. Facebook Page gives your brand an identity the other option would not. Apart from displaying your products, you can tell stories about your business, post business updates, or host quizzes to engage with your audience. A personalised business sits better with your target audience. Even though you cannot set up shops anymore, Facebook still allows you to post product images and information on your page. Then, you can advertise these products to garner or appeal to a larger audience, who can redirect to your website to make a decision.

Second, Facebook Marketplace. This is a peer-to-peer selling and buying platform without any seller protection or payment gateway options. While retailers rarely choose to utilise the platform, it can open some unique opportunities for your business. For example, finding buyers for a product that rarely gets sold, such as collectables or antiques.

Bonus - WhatsApp Advertising

South Africa loves using WhatsApp for their primary over-the-internet communication needs. As a South African, you likely have noticed their brand new 'Community' and 'Channel' features. You can use WhatsApp to push updates and products via a personal channel or create a community of loyal customers. Having loyal customer programs often works positively for your business.

Facebook Advertising can make customers contact your business via WhatsApp. You can use this opportunity to build rapport with your customers and provide them with prompt and best possible services.

Conclusion

Setting up an actual retail shop with payment gateways is no longer possible in South Africa. But that has not made Facebook obsolete. The point of this article was to inform you about the changes and the alternatives to selling your products on Facebook/Meta platforms.

Skill Space is developing a course on Meta Advertising for Facebook and Instagram. As a South African entrepreneur, harnessing the power of Meta advertising can empower your business to perform better and generate better revenue.

Meanwhile, if you are looking for a platform to start selling your products, we also have created a Takealot Seller Course. It is available for free for a limited time. Take advantage of the offer today! If you have any questions, you can always reach out to us via the contact page.

Search
Popular categories
Latest blogs
How do I View Returns on Takealot in South Africa?
How do I View Returns on Takealot in South Africa?
Being an online retailer on Takealot is not always going to be a smooth ride. Sometimes, your customers may return their orders for several reasons, and that's okay. However, what's not okay is not understanding why they did so. Because it does not give you room for improvement. In this article, let's see how you can view returns on the Takealot Seller Portal in South Africa.View Returns on Takealot in South AfricaIf you are a Takealot Seller, then you can view all returns on the Takealot Seller Portal in South Africa. The returns window provides detailed insights on the product details, why the product was returned, and whether or not you can resell it.Let's understand how you can view returns on Takealot in South Africa.Log into your Takealot Seller Account.Then, from the left-hand menu, click on 'Sales' and select 'View Returns'.This will open the 'View Sales' window that displays all the sales within a defined date range and other parameters.You may not be able to manipulate data in this panel, but you can view specific information via keywords, IDs, and date ranges.What information does the View Returns window show?To understand what's going on in the View Returns section, you should understand all the sections/classifications. If you are a seasoned seller, understanding this will be easy as pie for you.We have explained View Returns in Takealot in our video right here. We highly recommend giving it a watch.The section includes the Return Date, RRN, Order ID, Product Title, SKU, TSIN, Return Reason, Quantity, Distribution Centre location, and Evaluation Outcome.The section will look something like this.If you observe the image above, you can see that certain sections have either a search bar or a filter. For example, you can search for a specific returned product with keywords, RRN code, SKU, or TSIN.You may also filter the list according to the reasons for returning the product, Takealot DC information, or evaluation outcome.The evaluation outcome is Takealot deciding whether the product is still sellable. If it is in a sellable condition, the product will be sold as an in-stock item in the future. If it's not, then a removal order will be declared for the returned product.Under the RRN code of each returned product, you will find the 'View Details' button. You can click this button to view all the details of your product, along with the return reasons and submit a dispute against the return (whenever applicable).How do I file a dispute on returned products in Takealot in South Africa?So, you wish to file a dispute against the reasons because you feel it was returned for the wrong reasons. Then it's time to file a dispute.Here's how you can do that.As you already know, you can see the complete information about a returned product from the link under the RRN code.Under Dispute Ticket ID, click on the Log a Ticket link.This should take you to a Google Form. Fill out all the relevant information accurately and submit your ticket.After submitting your ticket, you will receive an ID on your query, which you should save for tracking purposes.You can save that ID by going back to the View Returns page and pasting the Dispute Ticket ID in the block under the full details of the product.Please note that only certain return reasons allow you to file a dispute. Furthermore, you can only file a dispute on a return within 30 days after the collection of the returned item.Alternatively, you may also consider contacting Takealot via their support centre. Make sure you keep your dispute ticket ID at hand.ConclusionAnd that's all about the View Returns window on Takealot in South Africa. It allows you to see all the returns and file any disputes, thus giving you a fair ground in the retail trade.We have a full-fledged Takealot Seller Course that is FREE for a limited time. Head over to the link and take advantage of the offer today!For any queries, feel free to connect with us today.

Thu, 05-Sep-2024

How to Create a Key Event in GA4 in South Africa?
How to Create a Key Event in GA4 in South Africa?
Key events, also known as conversions, are important conversion events that define your website's success. Any event can be a key event but you have to mark it as a key event. Depending on your business goals, you may have different key events and they may change over time. In this article, let's take a quick look at how you can create a key event in GA4 in South Africa.Google Analytics 4, Events, and Key EventsA quick word about Google Analytics 4. It is a free-to-use online software that tags and records events on your website and generates analytical reports for your understanding. A GA4 report can help you understand your strengths and weaknesses and enhance your marketing strategy accordingly.Now, as we have seen in our previous article, you have to create events manually to instruct GA4 what it should record. For a complete tutorial, we highly recommend giving the article a read or watching this video for a visual demonstration.Now, let's talk about Key Events. A Key Event is an event you deem important for your business. For example, customers making a payment on your website is important for your revenue projections. Thus, customers making a payment could be a key event for your website.But how do you set up a key event in Google Analytics 4?How to Create a Key Event in GA4 in South Africa?To create a key event in GA4 in South Africa, you must set up your events first. Links to a complete guide on setting up events are provided above.Now, assuming you already have defined a few events in your GA4 account, it is time to mark them as key events. At least some of them. Let's dive into it!Log into your Google Analytics 4 Account.Next, click on 'Admin' from the left-hand menu. The 'Admin' section lies at the bottom of this menu.On the next window, scroll down to the 'Data Display' section, where you will find your 'Key Events' option. Click on it.Now, you will see a number of events that you have set up already. (Image below)Simply mark the events as 'Key Events' that are important for you.And you're done!Wait, the event I have set up is not on this list...Oh, that may happen sometimes, especially if you have set up a brand new event recently. Fret not, there's a workaround to this.Assuming you're on the 'Key Events' window, click on 'New Key Event' from the top right corner of the list.All you have to do is name your new key event. Make sure the name matches the event that you want to mark as a key event but does not appear in the list.And that's it. Now, every time the event triggers, GA4 will consider this event as your key event and generate reports accordingly. Eventually, this key event will show up under the key event list as well.ConclusionA key event in Google Analytics 4 can help you keep records of the most important events on your business website. It is very simple to create an event or a key event in Google Analytics 4. For more information with a visual demonstration, we highly recommend visiting our YouTube channel. New videos are uploaded every week.Besides that, we are also currently developing a Google Analytics 4 course. To further your knowledge of GA4 and master analytical and marketing skills, head over to our Google Analytics 4 Course. It is still a work in progress, so stay tuned with us!For any queries, feel free to contact us today!

Fri, 30-Aug-2024

How do you View your Sales on Takealot?
How do you View your Sales on Takealot?
Understanding how your sales are performing on Takealot is important for understanding your business's growth. Fortunately, this information is readily available with 100% transparency on Takealot. In this quick article, let's understand how to access and view sales information via the Takealot Seller Portal in South Africa.View your Sales on Takealot in South AfricaTo access sales information on your Takealot shop, you need to log into your Takealot Seller Portal account. From there, select the Sales tab from the left-hand side menu and select 'View Sales'.This should open the window that looks something like this.This window lists all your business sales in detail with full transparency on Takealot Seller Fees. Let's understand how you can read and sort data in this window for a better understanding of the sales data.Understanding the View Sales WindowThe Takealot View Sales window sorts the information into the following categories: Order Date, Sale Status, Order ID, Product Title, SKU, TSIN, Quantity, Distribution Center Location, Gross Sales, Total Fees including VAT, Net Sales, and Shipment Details.These categories help you understand the data better. Some of the categories also have special filters which help you sort out the information or search for specific information.For example, under the Order Date, you can set a date range to filter out older sales. Or if you want to find specific products, you can search for keywords in the search bar under the 'Product Title' section.For a full practical demonstration, we highly recommend watching this video. Shipment details are not showing up for some products...The reason for this is that the products have not been delivered yet to your customers. However, if you only see the shipment details missing but the total fees present, then that means you sold an in-stock item. Shipment details along with the total fees only show up when you fulfil an order via the Leadtime Order method.Total Fees details are not showing up...If the Total Fees details are not showing up for any product, that means the product has not been delivered yet; the order has not been fulfilled. Wait for the order fulfilment process to be done and then check back here after some time.Exporting Sales DataYou can also export your sales data via the 'Export Sales Details' button on the top left corner of this window.ConclusionAnd this is how you view the sales on Takealot and understand the data. For a practical demonstration, watch the video above. We have simplified the View Sales window in our video with practical demonstrations.Meanwhile, did you know that our Takealot Seller Course is free for a limited time? It's true. Register an account with us, head over to our Takealot Seller Course, and join today! For any queries or assistance, please feel free to connect with us.

Fri, 30-Aug-2024

All blogs