twitpic is an online service that allows users to instantly share their photos on Twitter. When the user posts a picture from their phone or from twitpic.com, their Twitter profile will update with a link to their photo on twitpic – like Picasa or Flickr. This allows retailers to create real-time exposure of their products and services, giving them an integral step ahead of the competition.

How to Utilize

Show off new and unique inventory. If customers are waiting for a new product to be released, or a product to come back into stock, upload a picture of it as it’s coming off the loading truck. This will create an immediate call-to-action for those who want the product, as you’ve given them hard evidence that you have it. Uploading your photos creates a URL placeholder – a short link (like bit.ly) that users can copy and paste into their content .This makes your pictures easy to share, as users will now have a direct link to your pictures. Having all users using your link also allows you to easily track the click-through rate of your twitpic. Create a twitpic profile widget, which can be copy and pasted onto any blog site. This creates a landing page where additional products or services are featured for users to view. It also creates one centralized place where customers can view all of your previous twitpics instead of having to wade through your Twitter timeline. Upload videos, up to 1:30 in length, through twitpic to create a more visceral content experience. Video links appear in the same format on twitter as pictures. This allows you to share more detail about your products, or even capture customers’ in-store reactions to new products or samples. A real customer giving their immediate reaction to trying a sample product while in-store is a great piece of referral marketing.

Bottom Line for Local Business

Keeping up-to-date with the different online tools available for easy utilization gives retailers a competitive edge over its competition. Tools like twitpic allow retailers to promote their products at the speed of thought. Waiting for the newspaper to come out or customers to browse your website is too slow in the age of Web 3.0. Check out Wishpond to see how you can get your free Facebook Storefront: www.wishpond.com/merchant