Below is an article I recently contributed to Digital Marketer. See the piece
here and enjoy!
American Express and Twitter announced their brand new partnership
this week that will allow tweeters to make purchases simply by doing
what they do best... tweeting. At first glance it seems like a pretty
painless process. You start by syncing your American Express card to
your Twitter account. Once this is done you can purchase "special
offers" by sending a tweet to your followers regarding the product that
includes specific hashtags. AmEx then sends you a confirmation tweet.
Once you respond your order is processed. Pretty painless (and pretty
dangerous for impulse shoppers like yours truly).
While the program's features are incredibly striking, I'm actually more
interested in the marketing strategy behind this. And this has digital
marketing brilliance written all over it.
American Express seems to consistently be ahead of the social marketing
curve as they have actively sought to engage social consumers. Just last
March they launched
AmEx Sync,
originally a promotion that allowed buyers to receive discounts on
items by tweeting certain hashtags. And they've continued to innovate
ways to reach the social customer. I believe there are important and
unique aspects to this program that we could all take a note from...
It taps into the consumer's desire to share their experience with others
AmEx knows we like to talk, share, and maybe even brag a little. Many
people turn to Twitter out of habit to share exciting news or new
information with their followers. I think most people will be happy to
use Twitter to show off their snappy new purchases.
It socially markets itself
It requires the buyer to spread the word. And since
these consumers will, for the most part, be excited about their new
purchase- the tweets will be very positive ones. Adding validity to the
program and positively marketing the products.
It uses the concept of "special offers" and "trends" to make sales
AmEx knows that for many people it's hard to pass up on a deal (think on
the success of Groupon, Living Social, and Facebook Deals). It's also
difficult to pass up on a deal you see your close group of friends and
influencers taking (let's be honest, we all like to keep up with
Jones').
All in all, this is an incredibly innovative program and impressively
shows off the companies ability to understand it's customer and adjust
their marketing and product accordingly. I, for one, am impressed.
What do you think of AmEx Sync? Will you buy in?
