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4 Reasons Apple Watch Is A Win for Marketers On Twitter

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Nick Cotton Jan 13, 2015

Apple Watch for Marketers

If this month’s CES conference has confirmed anything, it’s that 2015 will be the year of wearable electronics. Ever since Pebble launched with a $10 million Kickstarter back 2012, the race to dominate the nonexistent smartwatch market has been at full sprint. Three years later, we’re about to see who crosses the finish line to the greatest applause.

For the ease of the rest of the article, let’s assume Apple wins hearts and minds with its ingeniously named Apple Watch. Expected to arrive in the first quarter of 2015, the Apple Watch is the best candidate for bringing wearables mainstream. The result of a successful roll out will give millions of people access to the internet via a screen strapped to their wrist – albeit a very small screen.

With the race officially in full swing, here are 5 reasons that no one is better positioned to take advantage of the smartwatch revolution than the little blue bird know as Twitter:

1) Limited Characters for Limited Space
While everyone else has to figure out how to squeeze their user generated content to fit a screen the size of a watch face, the throngs on Twitter are already operating on a “less is more” ethos. Platforms like Facebook and Google+, on the other hand, are going to have a tougher time adapting posts to fit the format.

2) Visual Content Takes a Back Seat
Pinterest, Instagram, Vine and Snapchat users will prefer to interact on larger screens. While the smartwatch will work as an alert for new content, the phone or tablet will be the preferred device to view it. Experience tells us that audiences lose interest during those kind of transitions. A little frustration is all it takes to ignore a platform completely, leaving Twitter free to dominate your attention from the comfortable perch on your wrist.

3) The Buy Button
Twitter has already been testing a new BUY button function for select businesses, giving users the ability to make purchases without leaving Twitter. Expect this feature to be fully rolled out in time for the Apple Watch release date. Once this feature goes live, Twitter can turn every glance at social media into the opportunity for impulse purchases. But first, they’ll have to convince you to give them your credit card number. That’s where Apple comes in.

4) Apple Pay
With the mass adoption of the iTunes marketplace, Apple has earned the trust of consumers, and Apple Pay is cashing in on all that good will. Anyone testing out the new electronic wallet feature will have already gone through the arduous process of plugging in their credit card information. If Twitter’s developers have done their job right, tapping a BUY button will prompt a request to use one of the cards already on file in Apple Pay. Apple will be happy to facilitate the transaction and Twitter will be more than happy to profit from the advertising dollars your purchase encourages. Most importantly, this will help users acclimate to the idea of making purchases inside the platform.

Barring someone new entering into the fray, or one of the usual suspect reinventing their interface, Twitter is poised to have a break-out year thanks to products like Apple Watch. If you want to reach this new crop of early adopters, Twitter will be your best window of opportunity.


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