Social Shopping - Part 2: How to get your products Socialized

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Yesterday, we reviewed the different social shopping sites that are on the web today. But how can you as a retailer get the most use from these sites? And is it worth your time?


1. How to add products to the site.

The easiest way is to create a profile for one of the sites, and then build lists. We'll use Kaboodle in our example, as they have an easy to use Firefox button you can install that allows you to add items from any site you're on.

The Firefox add on make it very easy to add the item to a list. From Kaboodle's site, you'll see that the product description pulls directly from your site, and additionally, you can offer other comments on the product.

Once you've added the product to your list, it is now exposed to other users. Other people can see these items now from the site as well as on your list. Your "friends" can see the items you've added, and also offer up comments on those items.

In addition, once an item has been added to the site, you can track and see how many other people have added it to their lists or made comments on the item.

2. Is it worth the effort?

As with all other social media, such as MySpace, YouTube, a Blog, etc. there is some investment of time needed. Certainly, you don't have the time or resources to add every product into each and everyone of these sites.

Is it worth the effort? Internet Retailer's article mentions some of the statistics surrounding the number of users and visitors these sites are receiving; and while they might not be as massive as a MySpace, they are pretty significant. Plus, these audiences are engaged shoppers, so there is a level of interest there.

3. How should I approach this? What are some best practices?

Again, with any new media innovation, you should look at whether or not it makes sense for your brand before moving forward. If you do think there is a good fit, here's some best practices before proceeding:

• This is a community, so act like a good neighbor. Work to be a part of the community, not just an opportunistic marketer. Doing this will go toward adding toward advocates of your brand.
• Look at which sites fit best with your brand and concentrate on those sites. We mentioned 6 sites yesterday, but there are a couple of dozen out there. Find the one(s) that are best for your company.
• Update for new and feature products. If you tried to highlight every product, it would be overkill. Focus on featured products and new products when they become available.
• Manage your resources properly. If you don't have the time to do it, perhaps have a summer intern work on the project. The initial set up will take the longest, but updates from that point should be easy.

Hopefully if this is something that you have though about diving into, these tips will help you out in getting started. Please let us know how these using these sites has worked for you!