Instagram will now let all users tag products in their posts. The feature is rolling out to users in the U.S. today.
What does that have to do with tapping on Jennifer Aniston’s sweater? Those of you who are a “certain” age will remember the promise of interactive television: “It will be awesome. You’re watching Friends and you see Jennifer Aniston in a great sweater, you’ll just click to buy it.” To say that interactive TV “didn’t happen” doesn’t do it justice. It was an epic failure.
Fast forward to today. Instagram joins TikTok and several other social media platforms. Except… now it’s now called social selling, and not only does it work, but the results are actually epic! In the overused buzzwords of your interactive TV forefathers, social selling is the evolution of “WiwWiwWiw – What I want. When I want. Where I want,” combined with “lean forward” technology. Is there a file for “dead jargon?”
Author’s note: This is not a sponsored post. I am the author of this article and it expresses my own opinions. I am not, nor is my company, receiving compensation for it.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.