Many of you may have read about and a small amount of you may have even used Twitter's newest feature. This feature may or may not change the way we use social media. This includes both the user and the marketer.

The "Buy Now" button integrates shopping with Twitter. Other platforms have tried, but will this be the one to kick it off? Twitter is still testing it out, but we may see more of it depending on the performance.

Buy Now

Twitter is testing its newest feature out on a small percentage of users. When a user taps "Buy Now", they will see product details and be prompted to enter their billing and shipping information.

“Users will get access to offers and merchandise they can’t get anywhere else and can act on them right in the Twitter apps for Android and iOS; sellers will gain a new way to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales.” -  Tarun Jain (@tarunkj), Group Product Manager

If this is a success, you may be changing the way you interact on social media and even shop. Read  about it from Twitter's blog.

The Future of Commerce

I have watched entire dinners take place where both people at the table switched from one social network to the next, carefully Instagraming their whole meal, without saying a word to the person eating with them.

 Even those of us less intense are guilty of filling in the quiet moments by browsing on our phones. We have all witnessed both, but we may not understand just how important mobile devices are becoming.

According to eMarketer, 15% of online retail sales will take place via mobile devices, according to eMarketer, up from 11% in 2012. By 2017, the percentage will rise to 25%.

This makes commerce integrated into a social app rather appealing to those in business and marketing. Your future customer may have their eyes glued to the screen, and we need to give them something to look at.

The newest hype surrounding Twitter's "Buy Now" feature may make the social platform appear to be paving the way. This is not true, and Facebook's Market (long forgotten) can prove it.

Social Commerce MarketingFacebook is not letting Twitter steal all of the glory. Back in July Facebook announced that they too were testing a "Buy" button that can be viewed below.  Read more about Facebook's Buy button on Marketing Land.

Social Commerce Marketing

This may be a dream come true for social media marketers considering how difficult it is to measure ROI for clients. How can companies use this to their advantage?

Exclusive Deals & Offers

Businesses can give exclusive offers to those that engage over their social media platforms. This will give followers a special offering and can even be incorporated into contests and events.

Coupons may become way more interesting.

Convenience

Why do people shop online? Personally, I shop online for the prices and convenience. I do not have to drive or bike all around the city to find items at different shops when I can just visit a handful of websites and save time.

If the purchase process is easier, more people will purchase from you. It is a simple formula.

Impulse

Lastly, companies can play the impulse card. Sometimes when I am browsing a platform, I see an ad for something I love. It is almost always something I would at least buy since it is highly tailored to me. I may see that ad in the morning and consider it, eat lunch, get off work, go home, and by the time I am ready to make an actual purchase decision I cannot even remember what the ad was for.

If there was a way to purchase it in two clicks, it may be more tempting to not put so much time in between the ad and the purchase decision.

You can read more about social commerce marketing on Melt Water.

For more information on marketing or social media campaigns, please contact a Blue Archer professional.