What are Vkontakte products, is it worth using? VKontakte products VKontakte web version for selling goods

In the archives of the site there are a lot of materials devoted to the creation of online stores, I drew attention to the growth of questions related to stores on Vkontakte, at first it is not very clear what is meant.

Now, we'll figure out all the details ..

In the previous post, I outlined the main trend of the outgoing year =, the same strategy will be relevant for a very long time. Therefore, it is necessary to engage in attracting sales through social networks, as we know - the most popular social network in the CIS is VKontakte. It is believed that "Insolvent schoolchildren are sitting in VK", but if you look at the advertising budgets of companies going there every day, there is hardly any doubt that Vkontakte is an excellent generator of sales.

Moreover, you can see more and more examples of independent stores in VK, not just as an addition to the main store site, but as independent trading platforms, apparently this approach is already beginning to justify itself. Moreover, recently the social network launched the tool “ Products VKontakte". It includes tools for deploying full-fledged community-based stores. But first things first.

What an online store on VKontakte might look like?

Today, there are two formats for organizing a sales platform on VKontakte, whether to consider them as a full-fledged online store is a controversial issue, nevertheless, everyone who wants to “sell through contact” has more than enough opportunities.

The first option is to make an online store in the format of an application, recently the Vkontakte administration officially authorized sell real goods through applications, and even in any convenient way, just do not forget to read the list of rules.

Despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of VK applications are games and other entertaining things, the idea of organizing a store in this form makes sense, and can be implemented in the following ways:

1. Iframe

The easiest way is that when opening your application, the user sees in it the site of your online store without any differences, just in a lower resolution, and the application itself is a regular browser.

On the one hand, there are advantages:

No need to make a separate version of the store for VK
The user does not leave his familiar environment
All the functionality of the main online store remains
Fast and inexpensive implementation

On the other hand, there are obvious disadvantages:

Complete dependence on the main site
Incorrect display at low resolution
Possible errors and incompatibilities

It is worth trying to launch an Iframe application, the risks and investments will be minimal, the main thing is to provide for the correct display of the online store, even better - add adaptation elements, for example, automatic authorization via Vkontakte so that the user entering the site from the application does not re-enter his personal data when making purchases.

2. Standalone application

With a more serious approach to creating an online store Vkontakte, it is better to immediately think about an independent application specifically targeted for a social network.

If you follow this path, then again you can face a choice - order writing code from scratch or use ready-made services. It rarely makes sense to create a store application from scratch, as a rule, to satisfy all needs, there is enough functionality of special services that offer the creation of such applications in a semi-automatic mode.

Selection of services:

This platform offers to create an online store in its constructor and end up with the main site, its mobile version, + an application for social networks (VKontakte, Facebook), and a product showcase code will also be available that can be embedded in any site. The service provides services under several tariff plans: Free and three paid, costing from 790 to 4500 rubles. monthly. Examples of stores made with the service:

However, it is easy to get confused in all the functionality of the service + not all instructions have been translated into Russian, so using Ecwid solely to support the Vkontakte online store will probably not be very profitable. In any case, this platform is worth keeping in mind, it allows you to integrate with a huge number of popular engines, social networks and payment systems.

The module is only for Bitrix, which means it is not suitable for owners of online stores on other CMS. The owners of Bitrix are really lucky, this add-on allows you to integrate the entire store along with the product catalog into Facebook or contact. There is a ready-made template for an online store for applications, it looks like this:

It can be adapted to your store, the main thing is that glitches and errors are excluded, everything is already debugged and customized for you. This pleasure costs almost 9 thousand, the license is forever without monthly payments. A free 7-day trial is also available.

The popular online store builder offers its own version of deploying a commercial resource based on floating frames (iframe).

The effect of invisible "implantation" of the main site in Vkontakte is achieved through the use of a design theme, the style of which is combined with the design of standard social network pages.

Iframe-application allows displaying a showcase with goods and all the functionality for placing an order (shopping cart, order form) on a custom social page. In this case, in the form, some of the fields are filled with data from the Vkontakte user profile (name, surname).

To gain access to the application, you need to register in the constructor and an online store deployed on its platform. The management of the frame, as well as of the main commercial resource, takes place through the administrative panel of the constructor. There you can also configure the theme and connect to the API of the social network.

In addition, Shop-Script provides platform clients with a similar solution (based on an iframe) for displaying a storefront on a Facebook page. Thanks to this, this option is suitable for creating an online store "from scratch". But for an already existing commercial resource, this decision is unprofitable: moving a store from another site “on the rails” Shop-Script will be expensive. The cost of the "kit" - from 399 rubles. per month.

Unfortunately, this direction is just beginning to develop and, as you can see, there are few ready-made products, but do not despair, making an online store in an application format is not the only thing that Vkontakte allows us, there are no less interesting options.

It is important not to scare off the user - do not require access to the rights that are necessary to install the application. Access to personal data is enough, and the permission to publish posts or send mailings to friends can alert anyone. Also, be aware that you can notify your app users about promotions or discounts from time to time, but do not abuse it.

Online store in Vkontakte in the form of a showcase.

Rejoice, brothers administrators! You no longer have to "bend" and use an ordinary photo album as a showcase - a special trading functionality has been implemented for this.

It also allows you to add a short description of the product, additionally upload up to four photos, specify the delivery region and currency. Users can view the product image in regular and enlarged sizes, and to purchase it, contact the seller through the built-in contact form.

How to connect a showcase of goods to a group:

1. On the user page Vkontakte on the left in the menu, select "My groups". Then on the right, click on "Create Community". In the window that appears, enter the name of the group or public. And again on "Create a Community". This step is needed if you don't have a group.

2. If the group already exists, then you need to go to its settings: "My groups", "Management". Then clicking on the name of the community and on the right "Community Management".

3. On the options page at the bottom in the "Products" section, select the "Included" value.
And go to "Show settings".

4. Here you can set the regions for delivery, the seller's contact, set the base currency for settlements, enable (disable) comments on goods and edit the store description. After making changes, click "Save".

The Products section will appear on your community page. To form the assortment of the store, click on the bag icon.

4. This will open the "Add item" card. Here you can set a description of the product, its category, load the main photo and additional ones. The cost is also indicated in the currency selected in the settings.

After making changes to the card and clicking on the "Create" button below, the product appears on the community page in the section of the same name. To view, the user clicks on its name, and a new pop-up window opens in front of him with product photos, description and cost. To contact you regarding the purchase, the buyer follows the link "Write to the seller".

As you can see, the built-in trading functionality does not shine with its capabilities. Although they are quite enough for the sale of small consignments of goods

Group decoration

Suppose you already have a product showcase ready, but do not forget about other things - such as group design, you need it to be organized correctly and not make it difficult for users to navigate.

First, for the primary capture of the user's attention, you need to compose a competent heading for the group and an avatar in your corporate style, so that at the first visit it is immediately clear where you are and what may be interesting. It is better if in the headline you immediately present yourself as an online store, as well as indicate your brand and priority product categories, but try to avoid headlines that are too long.

The avatar of the online store group gives you a chance to really grab the user's attention, do not skimp on high-quality design, you should show uniqueness, stand out from the background of hundreds of other stores. Another good trick is to indicate phone numbers and contacts right on the profile picture.

Secondly, it is worth creating in the "discussions" several topics in which there will be information on common questions and payment for the goods. Below is an example of how this is done in a clothing store.

Knowing wiki markup will help a lot, if you want to consolidate full, visual navigation with quick links is a great advantage, take a look at the example below:

Use the group wall to announce promotions, it will also be effective to make regular selections of goods, for example, a clothing store can publish country combinations of things by color, style, shape ...

Hire a manager without fail, as in a regular online store you need a person who will advise customers and deal with support issues. Many users find it more convenient to write to chat than to call.

Vkontakte store promotion

Regardless of whether you decide to make the Vkontakte online store in the form of an application or a group, this is only the first stage of work and without promotion you should not expect that orders will fall straight from heaven. The subsequent success of your store is directly related to how effectively you promote it. You can refer to the traditional types of advertising, officially offered by the Vkontakte administration.

This is a relatively new ad format, or rather, it was a long time ago, but recently acquired an official status. As you know, Vkontakte has a large number of large communities in a variety of categories, both from entertainment and humorous, and to the most specific and narrow topics. Sponsored posts (records) i.e. posts on the wall of these groups or pages can bring an avalanche of conversions to your store. You need to be guided by the same principles that are voiced above, advertise only in those communities where your target audience can live.

Promotion of records.

A relatively new targeting format. Based on the promotion of services and products using entries in the user's news feed. Sponsored posts differ from regular posts only by the tag "Advertising post". They allow you to tell potential customers about your online store in an easy and unobtrusive way.

Special offers in games.

They play on Vkontakte, and how! The social network is full of various toys for the "immature". The trick is to offer users a certain reward in the game (the number of points, some super-powerful weapon, a superpower for the hero) for completing a certain task. This can be registration in a group, placing an order, etc. Most likely, you will have to spend money on the "game" reward, but it is worth it. The main thing is to interest them correctly.

In this lesson I will tell you about such a trick as VKontakte products, with the help of which you can open an online store in the community. This opportunity is provided for all groups and public pages that trade using a social network. You can connect the service regardless of the number of participants, and only managers can place products in the new section.

Thus, based on this option, you can safely open online store VKontakte... The main page always displays the last 3 added products.

In order to connect the product service go to the "Community Management" section.

On the "Information" tab, move the page down a bit and select the "Included" setting next to the "Products" item.

Here you can immediately add important information:

Specify delivery region- you can add several countries or cities;
Enable or disable the ability to leave comments to goods;
Select store currency- Russian ruble, Ukrainian hryvnia, Kazakhstani tenge, euro or US dollar;
Contact for communication- this is the user's personal page through which you will accept orders. The page must be among the leaders of the community so that it can be selected from the drop-down list;
Store Description- wiki page with a detailed description of your store, terms of payment and delivery, as well as other important information. This link will be automatically attached to each of the products.

After you have saved all the changes made, a special block with products appears on the community home page.

Clicking on the heading "Products" or on the link "Show all products", you can open a complete list of products. Here in the upper right corner there is a special link "Add product", through which you can add a new offer to your store.

Title and Description... The search will include both of these fields;
Main photo and up to 4 additional... When uploading the main photo, you will need to specify a square-shaped thumbnail. Uploaded photos must have at least 400 and no more than 7000 points on each side, and you cannot use photos with one side several times larger than the other;
Category- you must specify one of the product categories from the list. This is necessary to place your proposals in a single VKontakte directory;
A selection- with this option you can sort all the products more accurately. This field appears only when creating the collection itself, which we will talk about below;
Price- we indicate the price;
Item not available- using this checkbox you can show that it is currently out of stock. In this case, it is placed in a special tab "Inaccessible goods".

At the end, we press the button "Create product".

This is how the final view of the card looks like.

Now let's take a look at the Product Selections section. Using this option, you can independently specify the category of goods within the community and group similar ones accordingly. To create a collection, go to the Collections tab and click the Create Collection link in the upper right corner.

In a new window, you will need to specify the title of the collection and upload its cover. Also, here it can be made the main collection of the community and it will always be displayed first in the list.

There are 3 ways to add a new product to a selection. You can specify it when you create it, when you edit it, and also from the collection page. It will be possible to specify it in the new "Selection" list that appears, which I wrote about earlier. Thus, when editing, you can move products from one category to another, unfortunately, it can only be in one collection at a time.

After creating a collection, you can, of course, edit or delete it. This can be done inside the collection.

You also have the ability to edit individual products. To do this, hover the mouse cursor over the offer image and click on the pencil icon that appears. You can change any data.

You can also search in the "Products" section. When you click on the "Options" link, you will be able to specify the price range, as well as sort by added date or price.

For the convenience of the owner, a link to the product about which they write to you will be automatically attached to such a message.

Also, you can temporarily disable the "Products" service in the community settings. All settings and product cards will not be deleted, but simply will no longer be displayed.

If the user opens any of the offers via a direct link, it will be indicated that he is temporarily unavailable. It will also be impossible to contact the seller. You can get everything back at any time by enabling them in the community settings.

That's all, if you have any questions, then ask them in the comments below. The material uses the group's suggestions

"Products" is a VKontakte service that has become available in communities since September 2015. Today this is a very popular section, but still not all community owners design it in an interesting and tasty way for their clients. Therefore, we decided to conduct a small educational program and tell you what, how, to whom and why you need to do in "Goods" in order to get the result.

By the way, we note that since mid-December 2016, the service has become available to all users, although it is still in beta. If previously only communities could show a product to a client, now anyone who wants to sell it through a social network. In fact, this innovation gave another very important advantage to personal pages for business purposes, compared to public pages.

Now about everything in detail and in order. In the first part of the article, we will consider the opportunities for communities (after all, this is more business-oriented), and in the second, we will talk about a new product - about products in personal profiles.

Products in VKontakte communities

Just in case, I'll show you how goods are processed in communities (screen below).

Clicking on the "Show all products" button will open a full list of products that have been uploaded by the company to the community. As a digression, I note that you should not upload all 500+ titles to VK. Choose, for example, the most basic, popular, top-end, budget options that can be monetized through the social network. Of course, it makes sense to sell an expensive product, but it all depends on the offer, the seller and the buyer.

For example: if you have a real estate agency community, then it is very strange to believe that people will buy an apartment for 3,000,000 rubles. in a group. It is better to use this section more rationally and try to get maximum efficiency out of it. For example, place there consulting services that you can definitely sell within the framework of this format of communication with a client or an offer for renting an apartment.

Another important nuance: if you unload several categories of goods, then it is optimal to group them according to a generalizing criterion, so that in the full list of goods you do not get a prefabricated hodgepodge in which the client gets confused. Okay, if you have 2 directions, what if 10?

I'll tell you about this a little below, but for now take a look at the screen and move on to the settings.

How to create products for your VKontakte community?

"Products" is not a standard section included in the default community. If you decide that you will be building a showcase with products in your community, this section will be necessary. Regardless of the format (group or page), it is enabled in the settings, through the "Community Management" (under the avatar).

For the group

For the page

Apart from some difference in design, the functionality of the settings is the same. Let's go all the way to posting products in the community so that you can easily make a great selection in your public.

Now on the main page of the community, right below the menu description and the pinned post, you have a section "Products". Feel free to click on the button and add your first product.

A special form will open for you, it is on the screen below, now we will go through the fields and consider how to fill them out.

The name of the product or service. It should be short and concise (a card for a service can also be made) so that the client, looking at him, immediately understands what is at stake. For example, "Rent of an aqua studio". This is from the photography studio community.
Description. Here, tell about your product or service in the most attractive way. So that the potential client wants to part with their money in your favor. In the description, you can also give a link to the product page on the site, just do not forget to put tags in it and shorten it through a link shortener. Tip: develop a universal description format for product cards in VK so that information on different products / services does not "jump". Determine what exactly and in what order to indicate. In our case, this is a description of the interior, equipment that can be used for shooting in this studio, the size of the room, the presence of a dressing room, etc. We recommend that you indicate the most detailed and complete information that answers all the client's questions.
Photo. Upload a photo for the product: main and additional (up to 4 pieces). Here we recommend, as is the case with the description, to take unified photos.
Category. Everything is simple here: indicate the category to which your product belongs. To do this, select the one you need from the drop-down list.
Price. Indicate the price of the item. If you do not have a specific price (we very often hear this from our customers) or it depends on different parameters of the order, complete set, indicate the minimum cost, and add the conditions for the formation of the price in the description. This can also be done in terms of payment and delivery.
The item is not available. We put this checkbox on goods that cannot be temporarily purchased in your store.

When the product is created, the settings can always be adjusted. To do this, just under the main photo, select "Edit" and, after completing all the required edits, save the changes.

Or, in the general list of products, click on the pencil in the upper right corner of the corresponding product, the settings of which need to be adjusted.

After completing all the above settings, the product is added. You can use the same principle to upload other goods / services to the community.

Now let's see what collections are, how and why to combine products in them.

For example, we have a community selling bedding in St. Petersburg. The community has a variety of products: pillows, blankets, blankets, etc. There are 16 products.

It seems not so much, but, getting on the page, eyes run up. What is it and why is it all piled up? It's like going into a store, and there all the goods are mixed on the shelves. It will be much more convenient for the client to navigate your assortment if you take care of him and create a kind of catalog.

To do this, simply click on the appropriate Create Collection button in the upper right corner of the product page.

A pop-up window will open a special form with several fields to fill out.

In the first field "Name" we write the general name for the category, in our example it is "Pillows". You can also upload a general image for this category to orient the client. Well, if this is your main activity, put the checkbox "This is the main collection of the community." Then click "Create". And so for each category of goods. By doing this and grouping all the products into collections, you will receive a catalog. Just remember to give titles and upload covers in the same style.

When you make a selection, of course, there will be no products in it. We add them with handles. In the future, for new products, you will simply select the appropriate selection in the settings when creating. For already created products, uploaded before creating a collection, you need to add the corresponding collection. For this, a special field will appear in the editing settings.

If you mark the main collection of the community, then products from it will be displayed on the main page in the order they were added. The last one added to the collection will be the first in the line of products on the home page.

Well, that seems to be all for setting up the goods. As you can see, this is not difficult. Now about how to track performance.

Well, I'll finish this part of the article with a very appetizing and pleasantly designed product card from the "Food Party".

Here is an excellent clear name of the product, three high-quality pictures with additional information on each dish, a description. And also a link to detailed terms of delivery and payment.

Products on personal pages of VKontakte users

Literally on December 16, there were reports that the "Goods" service on VKontakte became available for personal profiles of users of the social network. The service was released from beta on January 25. As the developers promise, in the coming months it will be available in the mobile version and in mobile applications.

So, today each VKontakte member has the opportunity to create his own product, as well as view the products of friends in a single catalog, which can be accessed through the item in the left menu "Products" or by a direct link vk.com/market.

To start an active commercial activity, that is, to add the first product, just go to a single catalog. Now a few words about the catalog, and then I'll move on to creating a product.

So, first of all, you will see exactly the products of your friends and friends of friends.

In the version of the author of the article, friends are selling fresh from the tin, very funny things. Anyway. We are more interested in the functionality and what to do with it. So, we see the products of friends, and above them there is a search bar, you can search for exactly what you need.

By the way, since we are talking in such detail, please note that search results (or products on the page) can be displayed in two versions: a tile or a list. Choose a way of presenting information convenient for you. We also note that according to the search results, you will see 2 sections: user products and community products. Switch between tabs and view info.

Well, that's right, a digression on functionality. Now let's move on to creating our own product.

How to create your own product on VKontakte?

To add your ad about a product, you need to click on the "Submit ad" button in the upper left part of the screen. A window with settings will open, similar to the settings for the "Products" service for communities.

While I was talking, I simultaneously issued a product with our book on setting up Yandex.Metrica. This is how the product announcement on the wall looks like after creation and sharing.

When all the fields are filled in, click "Create Product". The finished product, just like in the community, can be edited after publication. And also mark "Product is not available" (the checkbox appears after creating the product) if it is out of stock.

You can also create a product and immediately add it to your wall right when writing a post. To do this, in the "More" item, select "Product", fill in the appropriate fields and save the info.

Please note that the added product will be in the single catalog for 30 days after the announcement is submitted or from the moment of the last editing. We didn’t keep up with the sale in 30 days, but the sale is still relevant, the product can always be returned back to the catalog. It will be in the "Discontinued" tab. By the way, the system will warn you when 30 days are running out.

Well, everything is ready. Product added. Now anyone can write to you as a seller of a product and get advice, and, of course, buy your product, otherwise why did you add it here.

In such correspondence, you can immediately pay for the selected product through VKontakte transfers, if your buyer is satisfied with the conditions that you offer.

As you can see, everything is quite simple and straightforward. Create your own ads and promote your VK business even from your personal page.

It is important to note that the publication of ads in the "Goods" service of VKontakte is free for users. What other updates await us in this section is not yet known, but today the developers are talking about plans:

Provide sellers with additional paid tools to promote ads in the directory.
Integrate the service "Products" with the site "Yula" so that ads created in one network are published in another.

Do not forget that conversion is influenced not only by the quality of filling in the "Products" service, but also by the design of the community as a whole. If you already have a community, our specialists will audit it and give recommendations for improvement. And if there is no community, then we will help to create it according to all the rules so that it works for the benefit of business development.

E-commerce is quite normal these days. People are gradually getting used to online shopping. And entrepreneurs are more and more willing to master the global network to find customers and sell their goods.

If you decide to go into trade, then you will need your own store. And you can do it within the VKontakte social network. This will significantly save your budget. Taking into account the fact that you do not need to hire expensive programmers and pay for promotion.

In this instruction, you will find a plan for creating your own VKontakte online store.

What do we need

First of all, we are. It is to her that we will tie our store.

After that, we will install and start using a special application, which will provide us with all the necessary tools to create a store, add products, connect payment methods, etc.

We go to the contact, and go to the section "My groups". Here we press the button "Create a community".

We will open a form where you need to enter a name and select the type "Group". Then we press the button "Create a community".

We use the application to create a store

Thanks to the developers of the Ecwid app. With it, you can create a fully functional store in VK. This is what we are going to do now.

Https://vk.com/app1800176

Follow it. You will see the start page.

Push the button "Install the application".

In the next step, we need to select from the list of groups that we manage, exactly the one that we created for the new store. You just need to click on its name in the list.

In the next step, we will create an e-mail address for our store. In the "Create a new Ecwid store" block, we fill in all the required fields:

E-mail address
Password
Password confirmation

And do not forget to check the box confirming our agreement with the rules. After that we press the button "Create store".

Next, we need to do the following. There will be a special link - we need to copy it. And then insert the group that we prepared in the previous step into the list of links. The description will contain a link, by clicking on which, you will immediately go to the desired tool.

Setting up our store

in the next step, we must configure the main parameters of the store, including those responsible for its visual appearance.

In the first section, we indicate the conditions for accepting payment and delivery of goods.

In the last section, you need to set the parameters of the visual display of the store.

When done, click the "Save" button.

Then we go back a little higher, and press the button "Store management".

Filling the online store

After you go to the control section, you will be taken to the main Ecwid site, where you need to log into the control panel. It is in it that the whole process of filling and setting up the store takes place. Within the framework of a contact, it is difficult to fit such functionality, and therefore the developers took it to a separate service.

There are so many functions and settings that it will be difficult to fit it within the framework of this manual. Therefore, I have prepared a video tutorial for you.

Conclusion

After all these manipulations, you will receive a completely finished store running on the VKontakte platform. You just have to work out the process of attracting potential customers.

Questions?

Please ask your question in the comments with a description of the problem you encountered

We and our users regularly discuss possible problems and difficulties. Together we will deal with your problem.

In September 2015, the social network Vkontakte launched a beta version of the free service “Showcase of goods” for groups and publics. The service can be connected to any online store or company that has a Vkontakte group. To connect, just go to the "Community Settings" - "Information" section. At the very bottom of the section there is a “Products” function that can be enabled or disabled.

In the general settings of the section, you can manage the country and regions of delivery, price currencies (Russian ruble, Ukrainian hryvnia, Kazakhstani tenge, euro and US dollar are available). You can also manage the details of the contact person you can contact for purchasing and shipping. The contact person can only be the person specified in the group administrators or editors.

The store description is a standard wiki markup, with default fields: payment methods, store description, description of main products or goods.

In the card of any added product, you can select the category of the product. Subsequently, Vkontakte plans to launch a general catalog for all stores on the social network, where the user can filter products by price, date of addition, category and keyword (both the name of the product and the description are taken into account).

The purchase directly from the group has not yet been connected, integration with any payment system has not been configured - the purchase process must be negotiated directly with the seller.

Video instructions for connecting the free service "Vkontakte Product Showcase"

We will follow the development of the service :)