Twitter will be debuting “Branded Likes” next week, letting brands make custom animations to help their engagement on the social media giant, according to a tweet from the company Wednesday (June 22).
The tweet gives an example from the new “Scream” movie, in which users can like a tweet for a specialized animation. Twitter said the idea behind it is to add some fun for users who might want to “unlike and re-like” the statuses to see the animations more than once.
A report from Social Media Today noted that this could be an interesting way for tweet promotions to go, offering better recall and resonance for messaging.
However, the report also noted that it might also be pricey — Twitter used to charge $1 million for branded emoji hashtags related to the Super Bowl — and while that’s at the high end, it might show how much the app could potentially charge.
Twitter will also be allowing Shopify merchants to display and automatically update up to 50 items for sale on their profiles, PYMNTS wrote.
Read more: Twitter Allows Shopify Merchants to Sell up to 50 Items
The recent change is part of a new collaboration designed to make it easier for users to buy things as they just use the app normally. The collaboration will let users click on items, with the users then being directed to the merchant’s website to buy them.
The Twitter partnership with Shopify is different than the latter company’s deals with Facebook and Instagram, as those deals let shoppers complete purchases without leaving the apps. According to a Twitter spokeswoman, businesses surveyed wanted the option to control the purchasing process.
Shopify’s services let users make websites to sell their products. The company wants to give merchants access to services that funnel more shopping through social media, and the report speculated that partnering with Twitter will help both companies bolster their social media presence.
Businesses using Shopify’s software sold $43.2 billion in goods in their first quarter, the report said.
