Today, people are using social media for everything from connecting with friends and family to reading the latest fanfiction, so it only follows that social media would be used as a way for people to sell products from their home businesses. Keep in mind that there are formal and informal ways of selling products through social media, as some sites are designed specifically to allow users to set up stores and sell products, while others concentrate more on the social side of things.

Social Media Platforms

When you’re working from home and selling products on social media, it’s important to remember who your audience is, whether you’re selling to children, older adults, or even businesses. This plays a role in determining which social media platform you choose to sell through. Some of the most popular social media platforms for selling products are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

Facebook

Facebook has become synonymous with all things social media. Chances are you or someone you know already has a Facebook profile.

Advantages of selling products on Facebook:

• Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world
• Facebook allows users to create an online store through which they can sell products
• Facebook allows users to create ads targeted to a user’s age, interests, location, and other demographics

Instagram

Because it’s highly visual, Instagram is another popular social media site that allows users to sell items. In order to sell items on Instagram, you’ll want to make sure you have a business profile set up.

Advantages to selling products on Instagram:

• Instagram, which is owned by Facebook, is nearly as popular as Facebook
• Track the number of new followers your business profile gets
• Instagram allows you to keep in-depth demographics about your followers
• Create an online storefront

Twitter

Although you might not readily think of Twitter when it comes to selling products online, the social media platform can be used as a way to promote your home business.

Advantages to selling products on Twitter:

• Option of promoting your tweets (for business purposes) or running Twitter ads
• Opportunity for affiliate marketing
• Twitter gives you the option of tweeting links to your products or services

TikTok

Tiktok is one of the newest players in the game when it comes to selling products online and one of the fastest-growing.

Some of the advantages of using TikTok:

• TikTok skews younger, for the most part
• TikTok, like Instagram, is highly visual
• Allows users to create a business account
• Provides detailed analytics

Craigslist

One of the oldest and most obvious sites for selling items online is Craigslist. Craigslist was one of the first sites to allow users to sell items, so it may be the most familiar to some people. Of course, just because it’s the most familiar doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best.

Selling items on Craigslist is as simple as going to the site and posting what you have for sale, whether it be wooden figurines you’ve carved or scarves you’ve knitted. A drawback is that Craigslist doesn’t allow users to set up an online store like other sites. Still, some people find that Craigslist leads them to more hands-on ways to promote their home business.

Other Ways to Sell Products Online

There are also sites such as Shopify and Wix that allow users to create online stores whereby they can sell their products. Although these sites are not considered social media sites in the strict sense of the term, they could be viewed as a more direct way to sell products online.

It’s worth noting that although there isn’t a strong social aspect tied to e-commerce sites like Shopify, many allow users to partner with other sites that have a stronger social element.

There seems to be an almost endless number of ways to sell goods and services online, whether that be through sites that offer traditional online stores such as Shopify and Wix or through sites known more for their social aspects like Facebook and Twitter. All are effective ways to sell your products online and get them from your home business into the hands of your customers.