Sure, they're just numbers on your screen — numbers about which you feel more feelings than is probably healthy. Still, it’s no secret that the power of social media followers, Likes, retweets, and what-have-you goes far beyond the digital world. The payoff is clearly real for YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Vine stars alike — all of whom translate their massive online popularity into brand endorsement deals (money, money, money). But, thanks to a new retail concept, you don’t quite have to be an Internet celebrity to reap the benefits of a compelling social media feed.
Vogue.com reports that OnePiece — otherwise known as the fleece jumpsuit brand favored by Justin Bieber, Ellie Goulding, and those tweens who always hang around outside the movie theater — has recently introduced an ambassador system that converts your social platforms into shopping currency. Just connect your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Vine, Pinterest, YouTube, and LinkedIn profiles to the phone app, and for every 500 followers, you’ll get $1 off.
Sure, in the world of comfy onesies, that’s not much (starting at $89 each, it’ll take 44,500 followers to get one free jumpsuit), but the idea makes us wonder if the company is onto something. Marc Jacobs traded customer tweets for free Marc Jacobs Daisy perfume over the summer, so it was only a matter of time before another retailer tested the waters. After all, when it comes to social media cache versus cold, hard cash, what would you be more excited about: finding $1 in your pocket, or suddenly gaining 500 new followers? Yeah, we thought so. (Vogue)