Why Would You Use Social Media for Purchasing?
The concept of social media commerce and social media as a primary payment platform seems laughable to many people today. Why would I use Facebook or Twitter for purchasing things when I already have cash or credit cards? That’s the most common question asked about the topic, but there are actually very good reasons as to why social media could make a great commerce platform.
Why Social Media Would Work as a Payment Platform? | Existing Integration
One of the benefits of a social media payment method is that it is already integrated in our lives. The problem with so many mobile credit card systems and apps is that it is hard to have people adopt the technology. Storing credit cards and paying with them through your smartphone is confusing to people and thus harder for people to accept. But social media is already a huge part of our lives. We tweet and update our statuses from our mobile devices almost every day and it has become the norm for us.
Why Social Media Would Work as a Payment Platform? | Simplicity
Social media could also provide a simpler way of paying. Take a hypothetical situation. You’re out at your favorite coffee shop and have just bought your usual morning coffee. To pay for it you simply whip out your phone while it is being brewed, tweet at the coffee shop with your item of purchase and payment is automatically sent to the shop from your bank account. And this isn’t some sort of future technology. Chirpify is currently testing these waters with their Twitter based payment system.
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Why Social Media Would Work as a Payment Platform? | Better Organization
One of the biggest problems with credit cards is tracking your payments. When the time comes to plan out a budget and you want to see where your money has been going, even the best cards aren’t too accommodating with seeing all of your transactions. But with social media you can look back on your purchases at any time. With Twitter you can even organize all your purchases through hashtags at the time of purchase. This way you can put purchases into categories of food, clothing, or even more specific such as morning coffee, weekly movie, or things of that nature.
Social media payment isn’t going to happen overnight, but with the benefits it can provide and the successes of startups like Chirpify it is no longer just some laughable thought to be ignored.
Kayvon blogs about the best credit cards at CreditCardForum. One of the most popular blog posts on the site is about the top ten cards of 2012.