Social Media Roundup: The Debut of Twitter’s “Buy Now” Button

Twitter is officially entering the world of e-commerce, rolling out a new “buy now” button for a small number of members before more users get a look at it. But will associations benefit from Twitter’s latest development? Find out in today’s Social Media Roundup.

Twitter Joins Your List of Storefronts

https://twitter.com/twitter/status/508964519872176129

After months of speculation  (opens in a new tab), Twitter finally announced it would add a function for users to purchase products and services directly through the social network.

So far, the buy-now button is limited to select brands and only a small group of Twitter members, but as time goes on, more and more U.S. consumers will be able to use the purchasing option.

“In our test, an entire purchase can be completed in just a few taps. After tapping the ‘Buy’ button, you will get additional product details and be prompted to enter your shipping and payment information,” Twitter product manager Tarun Jain wrote in a company blog post  (opens in a new tab). “Once that’s entered and confirmed, your order information is sent to the merchant for delivery.”

The initial list of participants includes brands, musical artists, and retail stores, as well as nonprofits such as DonorsChoose  (opens in a new tab), GLAAD  (opens in a new tab), and the Nature Conservancy  (opens in a new tab).

Nathan Hubbard, who heads Twitter’s commerce efforts, told the New York Times  (opens in a new tab) that he expects the service to do well with “anything that is perishable, that has a temporal component to it, or a sense of urgency.”

And if you’re thinking what I’m thinking, that’s a perfect fit for associations promoting events, limited-time membership deals, or advocacy campaigns. (ht @twitter  (opens in a new tab))

Building a Backbone for a CMS

Before thinking about tech, solve your business problems http://t.co/geUiSVgTWr  (opens in a new tab)

— Hilary Marsh (@hilarymarsh) September 9, 2014  (opens in a new tab)

Thinking about getting a new content management system for your association to accommodate the wide array of new plug-ins and multimedia features or, perhaps, to support a pending redesign?

Then, as digital content strategist and website director Hilary Marsh advises, first make sure to assess your underlying workflow, metadata, personalization, and more.

Her post at CMSWire  (opens in a new tab) has a simple thesis anyone in the market for a system should consider: “CMSs operate within a larger technology and business ecosystem, so they can’t be the heroes if they act alone.” (ht @hilarymarsh  (opens in a new tab))

(Twitter)