Today, March 21, 2016, marks the 10th anniversary of Twitter. When you look back over the past decade, few websites, applications, or platforms have had as much of an impact on sneakers than Twitter.
Join us as we look back at 10 ways that Twitter has changed sneakers – for better or worse.
Information
Twitter has provided a platform where publishers, brands, retailers, and consumers can instantly share 140 characters of information in an instant to the masses. Customers become followers with a direct connection to the sources of information to get it when it happens as it happens.
Connection between Brands and Consumers
Many footwear brands were early adopters of Twitter and with it were able to engage directly with their customers. Very quickly, gone were the days of emailing in or dialing a 1-800 number to voice a concern or complaint.
Engagement with consumers
Brands and retailers had an open platform to speak the language of their consumers and engage with everything from contests, to memes, to videos. While real life events unfolded, many brands put in the extra effort to join-in on the conversation.
Listening
“Social media” might be the worst thing to call the platform – it is a conversation tool. Part of any conversation is being able to listen to the people you are speaking with. With a brand like Nike who strives to always “listen to the athlete”, Nike has used Twitter to listen to what the people want.
Social Action
When Matthew Walzer had a letter than he wanted read by Nike, he and his friends Tweeted #NikeLetter to everyone they knew. In this letter, Matthew described of the inability he had to tie his shoes and how he needed something he could wear if he wanted to attend college. Today we know this system as Flyease and Nike produces shoes from kids to adult with the new system that allows people to lace up without using the traditional shoelaces we have seen in the past.
Community
As Twitter took off, conversations about sneakers quickly migrated from comment sections and message boards to the platform. It was on Twitter that the community formed even stronger bonds than before. Literally millions of conversations have been had and shared on the platform over the past decade.
Buy/Sell/Trade
Believe it or not, MILLIONS of dollars of business are done peer to peer on Twitter buying, selling, and trading sneakers. With the ability to attach an image, video, and text, many sneakers are bought and sold without the use of traditional marketplaces online or off.
Decreased Face-to-Face Relationship with Retailers
With the ability to interact and transact digitally, one major downside of Twitter to the entire sneaker purchasing experience is the decreased face-to-face relationship that many have with their favorite retailers. While on one hand many retailers are fostering these digital connections into real-life connections, too many are falling short.
Element of Surprise
In an instant, millions can be introduced to a product by a brand, but all too often, these surprises have been leaked and retweeted countless times on Twitter spoiling the highly anticipated surprises for brands.
Digital Raffles/RSVP
With Twitter, many brands have used the platform for reservations and raffles providing random followers access to shoes. Countless retailers have used the platform including Undefeated for the first Nike Air Yeezy release in 2009.
