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10/10/2012 by
10229 views

The Fancy: The Future Of Social Media?

If you haven’t heard about The Fancy yet, you might be missing out on getting to know the future of social media, or even better: how to further monetize your social platform.

The Fancy is a relatively new, Pinterest-like platform, on which the products and gadgets that are shown can be bought directly. In this article, you will learn about The Fancy, and how its click-to-purchase business model could show us the future of the ROI in social media.

The Fancy is similar to Tumblr and Pinterest, and is described as “part store, blog, magazine, and wish list.” Users can upload photos of original products, places, and other gadgets they find around the web on the site and mobile application.

The pictures can be scrolled through on the never-ending blog, and users can ‘fancy’ (get it?) photos others have uploaded.

What is the difference with Pinterest, you ask? Well, The Fancy is more than a content sharing platform: it’s also a web shop.

And a unique one at that. Users can immediately buy and pay for the products they fancy.

Who uses The Fancy?

The demographics of The Fancy’s users are different from Pinterest’s, according to comScore.

While Pinterest’s 13+ million users mainly consist of 25 to 34 year old women, and United States citizens (77%), The Fancy’s user group (2 million registered users) primarily consists of 18 to 24 year old women, and more internationally diverse people (44% is from the US).

A group that can be very attractive to marketers and advertisers.

According to comScore, experts in measuring the digital world and digital business analytics, The Fancy has grown 252% since they started measuring it in August 2011, and has an estimated worth of $100 million.

While this is hardly anything in comparison to Pinterest’s 3000% growth in the same amount of time, and $7.7 billion worth, The Fancy shows more promise for the future of social media.

It already has a higher purchase rate than Pinterest, because users can buy anything they like in just a matter of minutes.

While The Fancy is a much smaller medium than Pinterest, it may become one of Pinterest’s biggest competitors over time precisely because this click-to-purchase functionality is appealing for brands.

So how does The Fancy monetize this functionality?

First of all, The Fancy receives 10% of every purchase that is made through the website. With weekly revenue of $70,000, The Fancy is a profitable platform.

The Fancy also has a few incentives in place to encourage people to actively use the medium. Users get a credit of $1 for every friend that signs up, and $10 when that friend buys something within 60 days.

Furthermore, there are subscription boxes available. These boxes are $30, and consist of different products that can be found on The Fancy, worth a total of $60.

Even American Express is actively leveraging The Fancy’s business model. Through October 31st, Amex gives a $20 statement credit for every $100 spent on The Fancy, and paid for by using an Amex credit card.

The card must be synced with Twitter, a tweet must be sent using #AmexTheFancyOffer, and a tweet validating the offer must be received from @amexsync, before receiving the credit.

According to comScore, “turning “likes” into “wants” (and consequently purchases) could signal the beginning of an important trend in social media monetization.”

What About You?

Do you think the success of The Fancy’s e-commerce model could give new purpose to influential social media and blogs? In other words, is this type of e-commerce the future?

About the author
Marion aan ‘t Goor is a recently graduated marketer and is a Junior Consultant at ICON&Co. You can connect with Marion via Twitter and LinkedIn.