digitalwellbeing.orgHow to thrive in our hyper-connected world

Slick Social Commerce: Turning Files into Fans with Dropify

Dropify is a slick new social file sharing service from Cologne-based social app builder Hike that allows Facebook Page managers to share premium digital content exclusively with Page Fans. It’s a Facebook-oriented spin on dropboxyousendit or wetransfer, and we like it.

Simply login on dropify.com with Facebook and drag a file (your ‘drop’) from your computer to upload it to the Dropify server, and a custom download page will be created on dropify.com and a link shared with your Fans on Facebook. From the download page, Fans can download the file, and non-fans can become Fans and then download.

In itself, Dropify doesn’t do anything new; popular file transfer services such as dropboxyousendit or wetransfer already exist, Facebook already offers de-facto file sharing (video/image at least), and social apps such as virallyapp and paywithatweet offer similar free-for-fans / free-for-a-share services.

But what sets Dropify apart is the user experience; it’s a slick, simple and smart way to share files, particularly large files, with fans. It has – and we assume deliberately – an easy to use dropboxy feel.  As such, Dropify is a simple solution for rewarding your fans, promoting digital content, and driving Page Likes.  The files-for-fans proposition turns Dropify into a social commerce app that accepts payments in Likes rather than Lolly.

Dropify includes a number of bells and whistles that, depending on your view, either make the service more useful or detract from its elegant simplicity.  But that’s essentially it; a slick social file sharing service that has a polished interface and that is a delight to use.

Dropify costs from $9/month and offers a 30-day free trial. It remains to be seen a paid SaaS model will be appealing enough for artists, authors and organisations, or the social media agencies that manage their pages to sign up. We wouldn’t be surprised if Dropfiy evolved into an ad-supported service, whilst powering Hike’s custom services to bigger consumer brands and businesses.

 

screenshot_1725 screenshot_1711 screenshot_1712 screenshot_1715

 

Written by
Dr Paul Marsden
Leave a Reply to Liam Gooding Cancel reply

3 comments
  • Social advertising, not commerce. “A link shared with your Fans on Facebook”. Just like any other ad link.

  • Hi Paul

    Thanks for the nod towards http://virallyapp.com in your article!

    Dropify has a really, really slick UI – it makes the whole app feel intuitive to use from start to finish.

    Interestingly, we’ve been working on a new addition to Virally for some time now: Facebook Fans and Twitter Followers! So soon, Virally will be a way to trade files for Shares, Email subscribers, Fans and Followers!

    It’s going to be an interesting space in free social commerce over the next few months ;-)

digitalwellbeing.org

digitalwellbeing.org

Digital wellbeing covers the latest scientific research on the impact of digital technology on human wellbeing. Curated by psychologist Dr. Paul Marsden (@marsattacks). Sponsored by WPP agency SYZYGY.