Twitter Expands Location Tool, Courses For Small Businesses
Retail Dive | August 4, 2022
With the launch of new features, Twitter is trying to cater to small and mid-sized businesses. The platform is introducing Professional Home, a hub within Twitter for professionals that will soon be available internationally in the coming weeks, the company said in its announcement. In addition to Professional Home, the company is testing additional profile spotlights to reach and convert new customers.
“Professionals – whether they are creators, nonprofits, developers, small business owners, or big brands – come to Twitter every day to drive results that can move their business forward,” James Kelm, vice president of product management at Twitter and John Stokvis, senior product manager at Twitter, said in a statement. “For the past year, we’ve been developing a collection of foundational, free-to-use products that give this community the tools they need to customize and strengthen their business presence and showcase their products to customers directly on Twitter.”
Twitter has continued to add more shopping features over the past year. In July 2021, the platform began testing its Shop Module, which shows businesses’ available products to customers browsing the app. In March, the company began piloting its Twitter shops tool, which allowed entrepreneurs to showcase up to 50 items to customers on the app.
As it tests new social shopping features, the platform has also tapped various brands and retailers to help it try out new advertising and product release features. In April, the platform enlisted New Balance, Bose and Lexus to try its Product Explorer and Collection Ads tools. The company released its Product Drops feature in June, letting customers know when merchants introduce new products.
Twitter is trying to transform itself into a social shopping platform as its social media competitors introduced more e-commerce features and the overall social commerce market is predicted to grow. An Accenture report released earlier this year predicted that the worldwide social commerce market will reach $1.2 trillion by 2025. Meanwhile, hello platforms, including Snapchat, Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok have introduced new tools to help consumers find and shop with brands on their platform.