If your business actively promotes its products or services on Facebook but struggles to successfully tempt its followers into hitting the “buy” button, there could soon be solace in the form of Facebook Pay, the social media giant’s recently-unveiled online payments service.
Like competing services like Apple Pay and Google Pay, the Facebook equivalent is aimed at streamlining the online checkout process. However, for businesses already entrenched in the Facebook ecosystem, there are especially good reasons why Facebook Pay warrants consideration.
Facebook Pay has been made easy to set up
In a press release announcing the service, Facebook’s VP of Marketplace & Commerce, Deborah Liu, is coy about exactly where Facebook Pay will be unveiled and when. However, we know that, by the time you read this, the rollout should have commenced on Facebook and Messenger in the US.
Once Facebook Pay is available, someone can configure it by selecting it in Settings on the Facebook app or website and then choosing a payment method, such as a credit or debit card or PayPal.
Shoppers do not have to keep re-entering payment details
When shoppers choose to abandon an online basket at your checkout, the prospect of having to manually input a username and bank details in a cumbersome and time-consuming fashion could be to blame. However, Facebook Pay will strip out this friction.
Facebook Pay will even accept biometric authentication. Therefore, when you offer Facebook Pay as a payment option, you could emphasise how time-efficient it is to use.
Facebook Pay can be set up across multiple apps
Here’s another reason why, over time, Facebook Pay could increasingly prove an enormous time-saver: Facebook Pay will eventually be brought to Instagram and WhatsApp, other apps under the Facebook umbrella. This is great news if you are already active on these social media portals.
Perhaps your business is already using Instagram as a storefront or WhatsApp as a customer service channel – in which case, integrating Facebook Pay should have “convenience” written all over it.
The service is designed with security at the forefront
Facebook isn’t going to skimp on security with Facebook Pay, at least according to the previously-mentioned press release. Liu tells Facebook users that the Pay service will “securely store and encrypt your card and bank account numbers”.
Facebook itself, meanwhile, will “perform anti-fraud monitoring … to detect unauthorised activity”. Facebook Pay’s security is worth bringing up as you encourage shoppers to use the service.
The service can be effectively twinned with customer support
Facebook is clearly endeavouring to make Pay easy to use, having even gone as far as setting up real-time customer support for Pay users to utilise over live chat. Well, in the US, at least – but Facebook says that it will bring this support to “more places around the world in the future”.
Combined with customer support your firm already offers via Messenger or WhatsApp, Facebook Pay could form a strong part of your social media marketing strategy – provided you get the SEO fundamentals right.
