Taggstar launches a public version of its technology platform that lets online publishers to add layers of content to their images, making them interactive and shareable. Images are often the most eye-catching and valuable piece of real estate on a web page but they usually remain un-interactive, unexplored and underused. Taggstar provides publishers with the platform to build compelling stories around their online images - already working with MSN, Sky Living, the Telegraph, Hearst Magazines (including Harper’s Bazaar) and The Independent. It also works on Blogger, Tumblr and WordPress (but not on WordPress hosted sites). Taggstar works on any web site where you are able to access the html. Our London-based photography, video and animation agency Shinesquad will be signing up and let you know how it goes.
Early engagement rates have been consistently high, ranging from an average of 12% to almost 40% for certain high-profile celebrities.
At the heart of the Taggstar platform lies the ability for publishers to bring their images to life, layering them with related links and multimedia content. When a publisher adds a ‘tag’ to an image, a hotspot appears in the desired position which readers can touch or hover over to reveal the relating link or piece of content. Content that might be tagged could include other images, articles or web pages; additionally, the Taggstar platform lets publishers embed relevant video and audio content along with written comments and ideas.
As online publishers increasingly search for new revenue streams, Taggstar opens up new opportunities for monetisation. You can make your image galleries ‘shoppable’, with links that lead to ecommerce sites. Create ‘exact match’ links with a ‘buy’ button, replicating ‘Get the Look.’ Taggstar’s image search technology is able to scour hundreds of thousands of product images from its network of over 200 retailers, and display the best results based on colour, pattern and style. The traffic they generate can turn into affiliate commissions, sold on a CPA basis, creating one more much-needed revenue stream for publishers with a high enough volume of traffic. Taggstar works with well-known merchants such as Net-a-Porter, Miss Selfridge, House of Fraser, Debenhams, Matches, and Farfetch. Currently, the ‘create a shop’ feature is focused on the fashion category, but new categories will be available soon.
About Taggstar
‘We believe that if you see something you like in a photo (like a pair of killer heels, a beautiful beach or just a kitchen table), you should be able to click it, explore it, find out where to buy it, watch videos relating to it, rate it, tell your friends about it and generally interact with it.
But until now, online images have been flat, one-dimensional objects on a web page, usually surrounded by loads of clutter and hyperlinked clickable text.
Taggstar is changing all that.’
Read here what Techcrunch wrote about Taggstar.
