Twitter Launches Buy Button for Advertisers

Twitter users can now purchase products by clicking a “buy” button found within tweets.

The world’s most popular 140-characters-or-less social media network has actually been testing a buy button for nearly a year now. At the time, however, it remained limited to just a few dozen brands, some of which included Burberry, GLIDE, Global Citizen, The Home Depot, RED, Soundgarden, and Paramore. It appears the buy button was a success, because Twitter has since expanded the feature so all brands can use it.

So, what does Twitter hope to accomplish with its new buy button? In a recent blog post, the company’s head of commerce said the new feature sets Twitter on track to becoming one of the largest social marketplaces on the Internet. While some consumers will continue to purchase products and services directly from brands’ websites, there’s a growing trend towards the use of social media for online purchases, which is where Twitter Buy Now comes into play: it allows consumers to purchase goods from within the Twitter interface thanks to a convenient buy button.

“We think of Twitter as the world’s largest direct-to-consumer channel,” Twitter’s head of commerce Nathan Hubbard said. “We have been from the beginning working to try to make those conversations transactional while appropriate. Brands are building direct relationships with consumers and they’re using platforms to build those direct relationships. What they don’t always have is distribution.”

Twitter Buy Now is supported by several major e-commerce platforms, including BigCommerce, Shopify, and Demandware. Assuming your website runs one of these platforms, you can tweet product listings with a buy button. Just grab Twitter’s API and follow the instructions to get it set up.

Of course, Twitter isn’t the only company who’s experimenting with buy buttons. Earlier this year, Google rolled out a similar feature in its mobile search ads which allows users to purchase products by clicking a button. Google’s buy button is currently in an “experimental phase,” so there’s still no word yet on whether or nor it will become a staple feature for the search engine giant.

Even if you decide to use Twitter Buy Now, you should still check out some of the different Twitter Cards offered by the social media network. From photo and gallery to product and summary cards, there are several different types from which to choose. Twitter cards allow users to enhance their tweets by including new elements.

To learn more about Twitter Buy Now and how it works, visit the company’s webpage at https://business.twitter.com/buy-now.