People are all about frictionless transactions online. That's why vendors have made it as easy as possible for us to buy products or make payments with a single click, scroll or tap.

Now it's easier to make campaign contributions, too, with Twitter's Tuesday morning announcement that the social media platform's users will be able to make direct campaign contributions for the first time. The new feature has the potential to reshape how money is raised in political campaigns, especially as other social-media organizations are likely to follow suit.

This puts Twitter slightly ahead of Facebook when it comes to the speed at which a supporter can fork over money. Many campaigns have a "sign up" button on their Facebook page that directs users to their main website, but there's no feature for direct contributions.

According to Twitter, here's how the new feature works:

  • After creating an account with the online payment-processing company Square, campaigns will be able to tweet out a link Twitter is calling a "cashtag."
  • Users who click on a link will be taken to a site where they enter a contribution amount, along with their personal debit card information.
  • After that initial donation, supporters will be able to make follow-up contributions with a couple of clicks.
  • Square will charge a 1.9 percent processing fee, but Twitter says it won't take a cut of the contribution. (It would, however, make money if campaigns pay to promote their cash-soliciting tweets.)

The announcement is welcome news for political campaigns, which all want to make it as seamless as possible for supporters to turn over their money and personal information, like email addresses.

Campaign-finance reports don't identify how much campaigns raise online, but generally speaking, that's where smaller donations tend to come from. Bernie Sanders' and Ben Carson's campaigns lead the field in small donations, according to the Campaign Finance Institute.

For Independent Vermont Sen. Sanders, three-quarters of his campaign contributions have been $200 or less. For Republican Carson, a retired surgeon, it's two-thirds.

It's an update that Twitter is happy to promote, as well. As more and more people use social media — and as the features offered by each platform grow increasingly similar — Twitter has struggled, at times, to grow its user base and generate the ad revenue its shareholders want to see.

One advantage the company sees over other platforms like Facebook is the way users tend to tweet along with major television events, like playoff games — and elections. Many campaigns make Twitter their social media first priority during debates.

Giving campaigns an opportunity to ask for one-click contributions will, Twitter hopes, bolster that niche.

Indeed, within hours of Twitter's initial announcement, several campaigns had already begun soliciting donations on the platform.

The campaigns of Republicans Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal and John Kasich tweeted "cashtag" links, among others.

Copyright 2015 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Scott Detrow reports you can donate to candidates on Twitter.

SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE: If you're into politics, you're probably not going to watch tonight's debate empty-handed. Many people will have their phones, tablets or computers out and will be tweeting away while the candidates tussle. That's exactly what Twitter had in mind when it launched this feature, says Jenna Golden, the company's head of political sales.

JENNA GOLDEN: We think that there's a huge opportunity for candidates to use these tweets that have the donate functionality in the midst of these key moments, to allow people who are feeling passionate that exact moment in time to donate right then and there.

DETROW: So how does this work? It's not quite as simple as writing out a hashtag - at least not yet. Campaigns get a specific link, the so-called cashtag that they'll tweet. When you click on it, you're simply asked how much you want to donate. That first time, though, you'll have to enter personal information - your debit card, your name, things like that. But from then on, Twitter says, it's a matter of one or two taps. Twitter is promoting this as a way to get people more engaged. And it may most help candidates like Democrat Bernie Sanders, who are getting the bulk of their money in small donations.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BERNIE SANDERS: It's not just that I'm one of the few candidates for president who does not have a super PAC and does not want a super PAC.

(APPLAUSE)

DETROW: The Sanders campaign was using Twitter's new tool within an hour of the company's announcement. But not every fundraiser is buying the hype.

NANCY BOCSKOR: There's always going to be some shiny, bright new thing that tries to enter the world of fundraising.

DETROW: Nancy Bocskor is a fundraising consultant. She also teaches at George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management. Bocskor says despite the success of a few big-name candidates, online fundraising still trails old-fashioned phone calls and direct mail pitches when it comes to bringing in cash.

BOCSKOR: I've always advised clients, you're not going to text or tweet your way to millions.

DETROW: In order to be successful, Bocskor says campaigns will always need to talk to and collect checks from real, live humans. Scott Detrow, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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