Instagram and Facebook add gift card links for small businesses
Instagram and Facebook have added the capability for local consumers to support businesses by purchasing gift cards.
Facebook director of small and medium business for ANZ, Melinda Petrunoff, said supporting small businesses means supporting the backbone of the economy.
“Small businesses are the backbone of our community and economy—they’ve always been there for us, and now it’s time for us to be there for them. We hope these new tools will be useful in providing much needed support for them during this crucial time, and empower our community to discover and share new small businesses,” Petrunoff said.
The initiative was alluded to several weeks ago, and comes as many businesses such as restaurants, cafes and beauty salons, struggle to make ends meet in the wake of COVID-19 restrictions.
The gift cards button will link out to businesses’ website of choice
On Instagram, a ‘Gift Cards’ button can be added to a business’ profile and a new sticker has been added to the Stories library. Both will link a user to the business’ chosen website to complete their purchase of a gift card.
Businesses can use this sticker on their Stories
A ‘Support Small Business’ sticker is also being made available for Instagram users so they can show their own support for small businesses with their followers.
A ‘Support Local Businesses’ promotion is being tested on Facebook that will give users the ability to purchase gift cards through participating merchants while remaining on the platform. Facebook’s partners will share the value of the gift card minus a transaction fee with the participating merchant.
Last month, Instagram and Facebook made ‘Donate’ and ‘Order Food’ stickers available to businesses.
