Twitter launches Location Spotlight to appeal to brick-and-mortar businesses

The news: Twitter is launching a Location Spotlight tool, which debuted broadly last week. The feature allows businesses with a physical location to prominently position important information on their Twitter profiles.

• Businesses may add details like store hours and addresses, a Google Map with directions, and a single touch option to contact a company through phone or Twitter direct message.

Zoom out: The new features are a part of Twitter’s concerted effort to win over more merchants.

• The platform’s new Shop module enables select retailers to sell products directly on Twitter.
• Shopify recently became the first commerce platform to partner with Twitter.
• “Product Drops,” a new feature which allows users to be reminded when a drop they’ve expressed interest in goes live, was launched recently as well.

Why it matters: During the pandemic, social media evolved as the default method for customers to check on the condition of businesses, many of which stopped operating overnight or had to change their hours due to local regulations or understaffing.

Will it work? Technically, this move adds utility to Twitter. But it’s adding utility that Facebook Business Pages have had for years now.

Adding features that an embattled competitor implemented years ago isn’t enough to get many advertisers excited—but for businesses that already engage on Twitter, the upgrades should be welcome.

This article originally appeared in Insider Intelligence's Marketing & Advertising Briefing—a daily recap of top stories impacting the industry. Subscribe to have more hard-hitting takeaways delivered to your inbox daily.

• Are you a client? Click here to subscribe.
• Want to learn more about how you can benefit from our expert analysis? Click here.