Terms of payment and delivery VKontakte. How to create products in a group or on your VKontakte page. This is a must do for anyone who wants to create a store.

In September 2015, the social network VKontakte launched a beta version free service“Product showcase” 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 turned on and off.

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

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 product category. Subsequently, VKontakte plans to launch a general catalog for all stores on the social network, where the user will be able to filter products by price, date added, category and keyword (both product name and description are taken into account).

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

Video instructions for connecting to the free service “VKontakte Product Showcase”

We will monitor the development of the service :)

How VKontakte products work

VKontakte products are a product showcase that displays the names, images of the product and its cost. Users can view the product catalog and then learn more about a specific product by selecting it from the list. When you select a product, an additional window opens with expanded information about the product: description, additional images, as well as a button to contact the group administrator.

How to enable VKontakte products

To connect VKontakte products, you need to go to a group or public page, select “community management” in the menu and find the “Products” item in the “Information” tab. At the time of writing, this item is the bottom of the list.

You need to change the mode from “disabled” to “enabled”, after which additional settings will appear:

Disadvantages of VKontakte products

At the moment, one of the disadvantages for group and community leaders is the lack of ability to select several administrators or group managers to respond to purchase requests from users; so far only one of the group administrators can answer questions and orders.

There is no way to place an order and pay online; you need to contact the group administrator, who, in turn, may be absent and it will take time to process the order before he visits the page and reads the message.

Is it worth using VKontakte products?

VKontakte products are new opportunity to attract potential customers and additional sales market. Of course, sales in social network were carried out before, for this purpose photo albums were created with images of goods and their prices, but now, with the advent of a showcase, sales in VK have reached a new, more convenient level.

There are a considerable number of people for whom the Internet begins on VKontakte and ends there, so the opportunity to offer your services on this social network in a convenient format will help you find new potential clients, as well as increase the loyalty of existing ones.

A positive factor is that VKontakte products are new format And new section, which in turn will attract new curious customers who will want to try the new product.

Everyone who is involved online sales consumer products, it is definitely worth using the new section. You need to start offering your products and services in a new section right now and create an online store based on Vkontakte. The sooner you start using it, the larger the knowledge base you will have time to obtain and the more competitive advantages you will have. Do not forget that existing shortcomings will be eliminated over time, and the section itself will acquire new functions.

“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, who and why needs to be done in “Products” in order to get results.

By the way, we note that since mid-December 2016 the service has become available to all users, although it is still in beta version. If previously only communities could show the product to the client, now anyone can 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 look at the opportunities for communities (after all, this is more business-oriented), and in the second, we will talk about a new product - products in personal profiles.

Products in VKontakte communities

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

If you click on the “Show all products” button, a full list of products that have been uploaded by the company to the community will open. As an aside, I’ll note that you shouldn’t upload all 500+ titles to VK. Choose, for example, the most basic, popular, top-end, budget options that can be monetized through a social network. Of course, it makes sense to sell expensive goods, but here everything 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 Group. It is better to use this section more rationally and try to get maximum efficiency from 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 to rent out apartments.

Another important nuance: if you are uploading several categories of goods, then it is optimal to group them according to a general characteristic, so that the full list of goods does not turn out to be a hodgepodge in which the client will get confused. Okay, if you have 2 directions, what if 10?

I’ll tell you about this below, but for now, look at the screen and let’s move on to the settings.

How to create products for your VKontakte community?

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

For a group

For page

Apart from some differences in design, the functionality of the settings is the same. Let's go through the entire process of placing products in the community so that you can easily make an excellent selection in your public.

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

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

Name of the product or service. It should be short and concise (you can also make a card for the service), so that the client, looking at it, immediately understands what we are talking about. For example, “Rent an aqua studio.” This is from the photo studio community.
Description. Here, tell us about your product or service as attractively as possible. So that potential client wanted to part with my money in your favor. In the description you can also provide a link to the product page on the website, just don’t forget to tag it and shorten it using a link shortener. Advice: develop a universal description format for product cards in VK so that information on different products/services does not “jump around”. Determine what exactly and in what order should be indicated. In our case, this is a description of the interior, equipment that can be used for filming in this studio, the size of the room, the presence of a dressing room, etc. We recommend that you provide as detailed and complete information as possible to answer all the client’s questions.
Photos. Upload a photo for the product: main and additional (up to 4 pieces). Here we recommend, as in the case of 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. Enter the price of the product. If you do not have a specific price (we hear this very often from our clients) or it depends on different order parameters, configuration, please indicate minimum cost, and add conditions for pricing to the description. This can also be done in terms of payment and delivery.
Product unavailable. We put this checkbox on products that are temporarily unavailable for purchase in your store.

Once the product is created, the settings can always be adjusted. To do this, simply select “Edit” under the main photo and, after making 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 whose settings need to be adjusted.

After completing all the above settings, the product is added. You can use the same principle to post 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 for selling bedding in St. Petersburg. The community offers a variety of products: pillows, blankets, rugs, etc. There are 16 products in total.

It doesn’t seem like much, but when you get to the page, your eyes widen. What is this and why is everything piled up? It's like walking into a store and 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 it and make a kind of catalog.

To do this, simply click on the corresponding “Create a selection” button in the upper right corner on the product page.

In a pop-up window, you will see a special form with several fields to fill out.

In the first field “Name” we enter the general name for the category, in our example it is “Pillows”. You can also upload a general picture for this category to guide the client. Well, if this is your main type of activity, check the box “This is the main selection of the community.” Next, click “Create”. And so on for each product category. Having done 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, naturally, there will be no products in it. We add them manually. In the future, for new products, you will simply select the appropriate selection in the settings when creating. For already created products that were loaded before creating the selection, you need to add the corresponding selection. For this purpose, a special field will appear in the editing settings.

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

Well, that seems to be all for setting up products. As you can see, there is nothing complicated about this. Now let's talk about how to track efficiency.

Well, I’ll end this part of the article with a very appetizing and nicely designed product card from “Food Party”.

Here is an excellent, clear product name, three high-quality pictures with additional information for each dish, description. As well as a link to detailed terms of delivery and payment.

Products on personal pages of VKontakte users

Literally on December 16, reports appeared that the “Goods” service on VKontakte had become available for personal profiles of users of the social network. The service came out of 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, every VKontakte member has the opportunity to create his own product, as well as view the products of friends on unified catalog, which can be accessed through the item in the left menu “Products” or via a direct link vk.com/market.

To start active commercial activities, 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 the product.

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

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

By the way, since we’re going into such detail, please note that search results (or products on the page) can be displayed in two options: tiles or lists. Choose a method of presenting information that is 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 information.

Well, this is so, a retreat in terms of functionality. Now let's move on to creating your 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 of the “Products” service for communities.

While I was telling you, I simultaneously designed the product with our book on setting up Yandex.Metrica. This is what a product announcement looks like on the wall after creation and sharing.

When all fields are filled in, click “Create Product”. The finished product, just like in the community, can be edited after publication. And also mark “Product unavailable” (the checkbox appears after the product is created) 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 information.

Please note that the added product will be in the unified catalog for 30 days after submitting the ad or from the moment of the last edit. We didn’t meet the sales deadline of 30 days, but the sale is still relevant, the product can always be returned back to the catalog. It will be in the "Discontinued from sale" 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 the seller of the product and get advice, and also, of course, buy your product, otherwise why did you add it here.

In such correspondence, it will be possible to 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 clear. Create your own ads and promote your VKontakte business even from your personal page.

It is important to note that publishing advertisements in the “Products” service on VKontakte is free for users. It is not yet known what other updates to this section await us, but today the developers are talking about plans:

Provide sellers with additional paid tools to promote listings in the catalog.
Integrate the “Products” service with the “Yula” website so that advertisements created in one network are published in another.

Don’t forget that conversion is affected not only by the quality of 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 make recommendations for improvement. And if there is no community, we will help you create it according to all the rules so that it works for the benefit of business development.

Anna Koneva

For the buyer:

There is no need to go to other sites to choose a product.
Easy to contact the seller.
You can also leave a review after purchase.

For the seller:

Easier than making a store from scratch. It is not necessary to buy a domain and worry about hosting.
Social proof works: likes and number of subscribers. If a store’s social media page has 2,000 followers, it immediately inspires trust. But some unknown site on the Internet – no.
It is easier to attract customers from the same social network to an online store’s page on a social network than to a third-party site.

In a regular online store you can make a purchase at any time: on weekends, at night. On VKontakte, the buyer writes to the seller and waits for a response. To avoid losing a client, provide additional contacts (email, messenger). Write what time you answer, and when it is better not to wait for an answer. And respond to requests as quickly as possible.

Please describe in detail about delivery and payment: what payment methods are available, what delivery options are, how much delivery costs, whether returns are possible. This way you will avoid unnecessary questions and save time for yourself and your customers.

If you are technically savvy and the product catalog is huge, use VKontakte API and download products in bulk. But if it comes to this, perhaps it makes sense to create a full-fledged online store.

Create an application

Another way to sell VKontakte is to create a store application. It looks as if one site is inserted into another.

The application works like a full-fledged online store: customers place an order and pay on their own, all data on sales and clients is saved (and can be synchronized with accounting programs). Plus, the application automatically creates an online store website that can work on its own.

If you already have a website with an online store, create your own application (entrust this to a programmer). To help developer section And rules for placing app stores.

If there is no online store, use ready-made solutions:

Online store designer. For VKontakte, Ecwid has its own application, which is configured separately for each client. As a result, you don't need to create a new application as such. To use the service:

Go to VKontakte application page and click the “Install application” button.
Select (or create) the store page you want to connect the app to.
Enter your email, password and click “Create a store.”

Copy the link (it will be the application of your online store “VKontakte”) and add it to the “Links” tab on the store page.

Click “Add link”, in the window that opens, create short description like “Our VKontakte store.” Done, the application has been added.
Access it from the community page.

Fill out the fields describing the store and seller (VKontakte requirement, this information will be visible at the very bottom of the application page) and save.
Click the "Manage Store" button. You will be taken to the control panel, where you need to add products and descriptions, select payment and delivery methods (use).

The finished application with products looks like this:

An online store is automatically created on the Ecwid domain of the form store4324033.ecwid.com (the numbers are the store ID, yours will be different). It can be used separately and linked to its own domain.

Cost: up to 10 products free for an unlimited period, then from 790 rubles per month (if paid for a year - 659 rubles per month).

Shop-Script

CMS for creating websites and online stores. To sell on VKontakte, you need to create a separate application using the Shop-Script service.

Register a new account and confirm registration (you will receive an email with a link). You will have a website with a technical address like w160404-849.host.webasyst.com (you can replace the characters up to the dot “w160404-849” with any name when registering). If necessary, you can link to your own domain.
Go to the control panel (backend) and fill the online store with goods. Use the setup instructions and help.
1. Register an online store account, confirm using the link in the letter. A website is automatically created with the address shop.shoppyboom.ru (instead of “shop” there will be a name that you come up with yourself).
2. Set up a store and fill it with products (see

If you sell things, equipment or something else, then previously, in order to become known about you on the Internet, you had to open your own online store. Naturally, this entails costs, but if you do it yourself, it will take a lot of time.

Now, an excellent alternative to an online store would be to create a VKontakte group in which you will display products for sale. Well, if you just need to sell a couple of personal items, maybe flowers or, for example, a kitten, then you don’t have to create a group, just post the items for sale on your VK profile.

The advantages of such trading: You do not spend money on creating a website, your friends will know about you, you can always find out when someone is interested in what you are selling. Considering how many people are registered in this social network, we can say with confidence that there will definitely be those who want to buy your things.

Now let's figure out how to add new product to your profile or VKontakte group, and what to do if you need to remove some items from the list.

Adding products to your VKontakte page

If you want to add items for sale directly to your profile, then go to your page and select “Products” in the menu on the left.

If there is no such item, move the mouse cursor over any other menu item and click on the gear on the left.

In the “Item Settings” window, on the “Basic” tab, check the box next to “Products” and click “Save”.

The page will immediately open a list of what your friends are selling. We need to place your item, so click on the “Submit an ad” button.

Now you need to select a photo that will be displayed in the catalog (as in the screenshot above) - this is the cover. To do this, click “Select Image”.

Through Explorer, find the photo you need, select it and click “Open”.

If the image is the right size, then use the markers to select the area of the thumbnail that will be used in the list and click “Save Changes.”

If the dimensions of the uploaded image are not suitable, a warning message will appear telling you what the minimum photo size should be. Also, one side should not be much larger than the other. Rework your photo, for example in Photoshop, and upload again.

In addition to the cover, you can add 4 more product images. To do this, click on the button with the image of the camera and the inscription “Add”.

To view the list of advertisements added to your page, go to the corresponding menu item on the left, and on the right go to the “My Products” tab. What we just added will appear in the list.

When another user is viewing a catalog of things for sale and clicks on yours, it will open in a separate window. Here, in addition to the cover, you can see other photos that you added; a description will be displayed below. If a person is interested in your ad, he can add it to his favorites, or “Write to the seller,” that is, to you.

By selecting “Write to seller”, the user will see a window with a message in which standard text will be written, which can be changed. He sends it to you, and then you can negotiate the sale.

This is the letter you will receive when someone is interested in your item. Here the text is standard, I just clicked “Write to seller” and sent the suggested message.

How to make products in a VK group

If you want to create your own VKontakte online store, then you need to open your own group, gain subscribers to it and add products.

I have already written about that. So let's learn how to add sales ads to it.

Open your page and select “Groups” in the left menu. Find your group and join it. Next you need to make sure that the products are displayed on the group page. To do this, under the avatar or cover, click on the three horizontal dots and select “Community Management” from the drop-down list.

In the menu on the right, go to the “Sections” tab and opposite the “Products” field, click on the word “Disabled”. Then select Enabled.

When you enable products, fields will appear in which you need to indicate the following information: country and city where you can deliver things; the ability to comment; currency for payment; a person with whom you can contact, it is he who will receive messages if the buyer clicks “Write to seller”. You can also write in detail about the store.

We return to the main page of the group. Now under the area with photos there is a button “Add product”. Click on it.

On the page for adding an ad, indicate its name and come up with a description that might be of interest to a potential buyer. Next, click on the “Select Image” button to select a photo that will be the main one.

Using File Explorer, find the photo on your computer, select it, and click “Send.”

Then you need to indicate, using markers in the corners, which part of the photo will be displayed in the thumbnail. Click "Save Changes".

In addition to the main photo, you can add 4 additional ones. They will be visible when the user opens the lot for viewing. To do this, click “Add Photo” in the appropriate section and select the desired image on your computer.

All products added to the group will be displayed on the main page of the group.

By clicking on the desired lot, the user will be able to view it in a separate window. Enlarge it, view additional images, read the description. The “Write to the seller” button is needed so that the person who wants to buy clicks on it and sends a message to the person you specified in the settings as “Contact for communication”.

If you click on the “More” button, an additional menu will open. If you added a product, or are the owner or administrator of a group, then you can “Edit” or “Delete” from the list. For other people, only the “Complain” option will be displayed.

In order to add more new items to the group, click on the word “Products” on the main page of the group.

The last three items you added will be displayed in the group on the main page. To view them all, you need to click either on the word “Products” at the top of the block, or on the “Show all products” button.

Removing products

If you want to remove unnecessary products from the list on your page, then go to the corresponding menu item and go to the “My Products” tab on the right. They can be displayed either as tiles or as a list. I'll show you using tiles as an example, so make sure the button with the four squares at the top is selected.

To remove an unnecessary product from your VKontakte page, move your mouse cursor over it and click on the cross in the upper right corner. There will be a pencil next to the cross; by clicking on it, you can edit it.

We confirm the deletion.

After this, a message will appear that the lot was successfully deleted and it will disappear from the list.

In order to delete a product that you have added to a group, open its main page, find the block and click either on the word itself or on the “Show all products” button.

Find in the list what you want to delete, hover over it and click on the pencil that appears in the upper right corner of the image.

If you decide to stop selling and are wondering how to remove all products, then you can do the following. Go to “Community Management” and go to the “Sections” tab on the right. Then, next to the “Products” field, select “Disabled” and click “Save”.

The block in which advertisements were displayed on the group's main page will disappear.

But keep in mind that if you plan to delete all items and add new ones to the group, but, for example, belonging to a different category, then this will not work. After you include products, everything that you added earlier will appear again on the group page in the corresponding block. Therefore, in this case, you will have to delete everything one by one.

We have learned how to add products to VKontakte, so happy trading: successful sales and more grateful customers.

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