Tweeting just became a business transaction.
American Express has joined forces with the Twitter social network to offer a new service that offers exclusive store credits and savings for card holders.
The Twitter Sync program allows AmEx card holders to link their cards to Twitter and then Tweet specific hashtags. In return, they receive offers directly loaded on to their cards for things like gas, groceries, clothing, and services.
Participating retailers include Whole Foods, McDonald’s, H&M, FedEx, Best Buy, Zappos, Gulf Oil, Cheesecake Factory, and others. One of the most popular offers gives users $20 off their next purchase of $75 or more at Whole Foods after Tweeting, #AmexWholeFoods.
AmEx is launching the new service next week at the SXSW Interactive festival here in Austin. Rapper Jay-Z will perform at a special show that will be streamed live to promote the AmEx Sync feature.
This is not the first time AmEx has partnered with social media. At last year’s SXSW the company teamed with Foursquare to offer similar deals to users. However, this time around the program seems to be grabbing a lot more attention. Maybe it’s the Jay-Z factor, or maybe because this time it’s with Twitter, a social media phenomenon with 175 million users and counting. Foursquare has about 10 million users.
AmEx has not been shy about experimenting with social media tools. This partnership seems to be beneficial for just about everyone involved. It gets cardholders to use their cards for everyday purchases and participating retailers could glean information about who used the promotion. Cardholders get discounts at places they may already shop, and Twitter gets more buzz and more traffic.
This could be the start of a new trend and a way for average Twitter users to monetize their usage in exchange for promoting a retailer or brand. This also could be a new paperless way to distribute coupons. As for AmEx, it’s always to be at the ground floor of a new idea. The company has more than 95 million card holders and this potentially could attract new customers. Now, let’s just see if it catches on.