Social media giant Twitter is at it again, this time rolling out a new button for websites that enables visitors to privately message an individual or company directly.
The feature, which is now one of several website buttons that Twitter offers, comes on the heels of the company’s move to encourage users to direct message and not tweet at a business’ Twitter account. According to a report, the early testers of that initiative include Apple, Uber, Beats, Activision and other companies. The update, which rolled out on Wednesday (Aug. 24), makes it easier to message a business from the internet. Twitter already offers buttons for a host of things, from following to sharing. This move is seen as making its product offerings more robust.
The move on the part of Twitter to add more buttons is being driven by the company’s increased eCommerce focus. While it may seem button-crazy these days, not every button works out for the social media company. Earlier in the year, media reports surfaced that Twitter was getting rid of its much-bandied “buy button” and radically repivoting its efforts around using the platform to support commerce.
Just last week, Twitter announced PepsiCo would be the first partner in its new promoted sticker program. Twitter users can currently add stickers to any of their photos to give them a touch of personal flair. The new promoted stickers will sit on the top of Twitter’s list of photo-editing tools, meaning that stickers sponsored by Pepsi or other companies will be the first seen by users after they open the editing menu. This is the latest advertising method rolled out by social networks. As can be seen in the PYMNTS Developer Tracker, social media websites, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, have been hungry for new ways to monetize the massive number of users that access the sites each day.