Social Networking Services Begin Offering a Click-to-Buy Option
Ten years ago, if you had told us we could buy things online while browsing social media, we might have looked at you like you were crazy…. or maybe not. Social networking was nowhere near as prevalent as it is today, and click-to-buy just wasn’t ready yet. It is now, however, and social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are chomping at the bit to embrace it.
Twitter recently announced on its blog that they had acquired CardSpring, an online payment infrastructure that, according to CardSpring, “helps merchants work with leading publishers to create online-to-offline promotions.” This is the next big step in Twitter’s relationship with e-commerce, as previously you could only go so far as to add items to your shopping cart through the platform. While the announcement doesn’t fully explain how Twitter plans to use its new relationship with CardSpring, CardSpring’s blog post alludes to the possibility of shopping through Twitter…. the most likely option, considering Facebook’s recent e-commerce move….
Facebook recently announced that it was testing a new way for people to discover and buy products through its website. Sponsored and suggested posts now include a call-to-action at the bottom of the post, enabling users to actually purchase the item featured in the post. Facebook assures users that this new method of e-commerce is completely secure and also gives users the option to save credit card details for the convenience of future purchases.
While this is an exciting time to be a consumer on these social networks, it is an even more exciting time to be a merchant. This shift has the potential to change the future of online marketing and e-commerce. Click-to-buy will result in more customers taking action, compared to previous “standard” sponsored ads, that were more likely to be ignored by potential customers. Businesses now have the opportunity to promote their services and products for purchase directly in the middle of social networking feeds. The call-to-action has become a direct option to purchase without interrupting users’ browsing patterns. Additionally, Twitter’s and Facebook’s highly-targeted marketing enables businesses to implement click-to-buy to quickly reach specific target audiences.
If your business isn’t already on Facebook or Twitter, now would be the perfect time to start setting up those accounts. Social media marketing is an incredibly important (and necessary) aspect of online marketing. To learn more, give us a call at 804-577-8679 or contact us below.