Friday, September 20, 2013

Hashtag eCommerce - Tweet to Buy

A start-up called Chirpify is allowing consumers to make purchases via tweets and posts using a new kind of hashtag called "action tags." How it works: A business uses a hashtag like #Buy #Oreo in a TV or online ad, then consumers would post that action tag to their social network and a transaction would be executed through PayPal.

According to Nielsen, almost 50% of all smartphone users claim to use their devices while watching TV and almost nine in 10 homes have at least one smartphone or tablet that can be used as a second screen. Furthermore, Chirpify is seeing a 4% sales conversion rate on the 10,000+ products it's already offered, which is significantly higher than traditional web display conversion rates.

I think this will appeal to brand marketers for several reasons. First, it's instantaneous. Brands can translate the excitement and interest created by a great ad into sales simply and easily. Second, it will also serve as an opportunity to better measure the impact of TV advertising, which has historically been difficult due to the time lag between seeing the ad and the purchase. Third, it's a great way to engage with customers and can multiply the impact of the original ad.

However, I also think that there are some drawbacks that could limit the success of this concept. First, in order to compel consumers to make that purchase right away, I think the products are going to have to be limited edition or include some sort of discount. Second, I think the products will also need to be relatively simple and less expensive because if consumers need to research the product, they will be less likely make that instant purchase. Lastly, I just wonder whether this idea will actually catch on and people will purchase enough through this S-commerce platform for it to be viable. I'm a slow social media adopter, I'm not convinced I would ever buy this way...what do you think? Would you tweet an action tag to make a purchase?

In conclusion, this is a very interesting idea with great potential, though it does have some drawbacks, as every medium does. As a brand marketer, I'd be interested to test this, but I'd first need to understand the ROI implications, which I think are pretty complex given the multiple mediums (TV, online display, social) as well as the potential word-of-mouth that a brand could get out of a successful campaign. They've just signed several big brands, so it will be exciting to follow the new campaigns and see how well they perform.

For more information, read the Mashable article here.

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