A Mix of E-commerce and Networking: It's Social Shopping!

Check out the Inc. Magazine article in Feb. 2007, by Ryan McCarthy called The Power of Suggestion.  It deals with the concept of Social Shopping.  This concept is not new, (AOL tried it in the mid '90s) but it has begun to take shape because Web 2.0 technology makes it easy. 

Social shopping is a way for consumers to recommend their favorite products and services to others with no inherent bias.  The sites are geared toward consumers not marketers so it's not a straight shot for online retailing.  But if done correctly, small online businesses can really benefit from this.

So here's what not to do: Don't get a 'stooge' to say they love your product and hope this will generate a ton of traffic.  If the 'influential user' is not a real fan of the product, and well-respected, you are wasting your time.  But if a real fan picks your product, as McCarthy says, "...a single recommendation from a well-connected and influential user can generate considerably more visibility than many marketers could achieve on Google or Yahoo—and even better, it's free."

So here's what you can do: Check out these sites, for example, Kaboodle and ThisNext and think about how you might reach your influentials to champion your product.  If you are in business for any length of time, you have some people who are brand evangelists.  Think about how you can mobilize them.