etailology

I know, I know. We’re all supposed to use social media, but we don’t know how. Well, here are some places to look for inspiration:

• Linda Bustos at GetElastic Blog has posted links to 110 Ways Retailers are Using Social Media.
• Jason Billingsley, also at GeElastic has posted a five part “Social Media Marketing Guide” which is worth a quick read:
  • The 4 Ps of Social Media
  • Planning Social Media Marketing
    
  • Producing Social Media Marketing
    
  • Promoting Social Media Marketing
  • Measuring Social Media Marketing
    
  • … but before you take any of that advice, Etailology urges you to PARTICIPATE in social media. Simply put, you won’t understand it until you participate in it. Try Flickr, Facebook, Twitter, and Del.icio.us to start.
• Not to be missed is this YouTube video from CommonCraft on the concept of social bookmarking (like Delicious) and why it matters. The best explanation I’ve seen.
• Looking for more formal information? Charlene Li of Forrester seems to know whats she’s talking about, so you might consider buying her report on Marketing on Social Networks. Before you hand over the cash though, check out a snippet of her work here on why Walmart has done a good job on Facebook.
• Apparel etailers might want to check out this article on Fashion at MySpace by Retail Design Diva
• But be forewarned, apparently two thirds of social networkers enter false information to preserve their privacy.

[techtags: social+media, social+media+for+ecommerce, etail, online+marketing+using+social+media, facebook, twitter, del.icio.us, myspace, marketing+on+facebook, marketing+on+twitter]