It’s no secret that Facebook is the source of millions of connections, but the social media platform is starting to become a relevant source for small business retail sales. According to The New York Times, small business Facebook pages are starting to replace the old means of marketing.

This form of marketing is easy and free, making it an excellent source for drumming up new business. However, small businesses will need to stay ahead of the curve to keep their storefront pages fresh.

“Because Facebook storefronts can look generic, small businesses have to find ways to differentiate themselves,” said Jay Bean, OrangeSoda’s chief executive of online marketing, in an interview with the newspaper.

The new Facebook storefronts pages allow users to upload pictures of their store, staff and products in an effort to show potential customers how their business is different from the competition.

“Unlike larger businesses, small businesses can build on their personal relationships to end users,” Wendy Tan-White, the chief executive of Moonfruit, a company that helps businesses create e-commerce websites and online stores, told the Times.

When customers tag their own photos of products, they have the ability to link to the small business from which they purchased the product. This can help businesses grow through viral marketing.

As store operations begin to grow with Facebook, retailers could be looking into expanding retail management systems. Retail Pro’s POS software applications could help stores deliver excellent customer service through their diverse line of ecommerce software.