A Guide to Twitter’s Shop Module And Super Follow

Twitter is all set to become the newest big player in the e-commerce sector. Multiple online giants have already introduced their own versions of the shopping module. Most of them experienced reasonable success too. Following the footsteps of Facebook and Instagram, Twitter is launching its own shopping module as an in-app service called ‘Shop Module’.

However, Twitter is not completely new to the idea of enabling shopping through its own platform. In 2015, Twitter initially launched an option for its users to buy products from retail sellers directly. But the “Buy now” option was not as successful as Twitter expected it to be. Various experts pointed out that the failure of the “Buy now” button is mainly because it concentrated more on convenience than relevance. Twitter attempted to improve the services of “Buy now” from time to time. But there was not much success. Finally, Twitter scrapped the “Buy now” feature in 2017.

Four years after scrapping “Buy now”, Twitter has now rolled out the new feature, “Shop Module”. As of now, the pilot version of “Shop Module” is launched for users from United States who use Twitter in English on IOS devices. Twitter has come a long way from the “Buy now” feature and has successfully managed to roll out new exciting features in the last two years. Hence, the “Shop Module” is expected to be successful, unlike the “Buy now” feature.

We had our first-hand experience with this new feature and the impression is positive. Here is how it works,

• Business accounts enabled with the “Shop module” will list their products for sale.
• When a Twitter user visits the business account’s profile, he will see the products listed on top of the profile.
• He can right swipe to check all the products listed by the business. 
• On choosing any product, Twitter allows the user to make the payment and purchase within its app. There will be no external links taking us to any third-party seller sites.

“Shop module” does not have a dedicated tab like Facebook’s “Marketplace”. Instead, the purchase options are listed only in the business profiles we visit.

In recent times, Twitter is constantly encouraging users to create and maintain dedicated business accounts if they are into using Twitter for business.

A question might pop up in your mind when I talk about Twitter business accounts, Is a Twitter business account any different from a regular Twitter account? Technically, the answer is “No”. In creating and using the Twitter account, there is absolutely no difference. But from an account holder standpoint, a Twitter business account is one that is set up for the sole purpose of business and paints a clear picture of all the details about the business. Check this Twitter blog before setting up your Twitter business account if you have not already created one.

Before the launch of “Shop Module”, Twitter launched a feature called “Super Follow”. “Super Follow” is also launched with promoting e-commerce as its primary agenda. If you are planning to explore the “Shop module” to boost your sales, then don’t miss out on “Super Follow”.

Want to know how “Super Follow” works? It is pretty simple,

• Any Twitter account that meets the eligibility criteria for enabling “Super Follow” can apply.
• Twitter validates the request and sends them approval if they are eligible.
• The account owner can now navigate to “Monetization -> Super Follows” and set his “Super Follow” options.
• The account owner can choose the charges per following between the three pricing options already made available by Twitter.

A “Super Follower” will have access to exclusive content from the followed Twitter account. The account owner will have the option to choose for whom the content shall be made visible. He can enable a tweet either for his regular follower or only to his super followers.

The idea of “Super Follow” is well received by business accounts so far. If you own a business, you can offer exclusive deals, list new arrivals, and announce premium offers only for your “Super Followers”. In this way, a business account can leverage its sales. “Super Follow” feature also is now available for only users from the United States.

With the arrival of the “Shop module”, “Super Follows” have become more relevant. And it does not just stop here. The recent buzz is that Twitter is also working on a few more innovative ideas to elevate business on Twitter.

Overall, the “Shop module” looks like a feature with the right ingredients for business success. Keep a tab on our educational blog on Twitter happenings to know about every new feature update from Twitter. And check our Twitter follower tool as well.