Deeper Dive on…TWITTER

Social media is slowly but surely moving from a promotional channel to a channel for direct transactions, as evidenced by the recent news that Facebook is testing a “buy” button of its own. Twitter has become a favored means of running time- and location-sensitive retail promotions, such as Twitter-based food truck promotions run by Ben & Jerry’s and Taco Bell, but so far has not presented itself as an effective means of exchanging goods for currency.



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Twitter, with its immediacy, brevity and mobile-friendliness (all the way back in 2006 Twitter’s founders selected the 140-character tweet limit as a good length for mobile viewing), is an excellent transactional medium for the modern omnichannel consumer. It also works well as a photo and video platform, which suits the needs of visually-oriented Millennials. If executed properly, the Twitter “buy now” button could prove lucrative for both Twitter and its retail clients.