Ecom Phenom: Social Media and eCommerce

Brian Mark and Robert Garcia, hosts of Ecom Phenom on BlogTalkRadio, had me on as a guest this past Sunday to discuss the role of social media in e-commerce — specifically Twitter and how it can (and should) be used by retailers to monitor buzz, build brand and relationships, and most of all, increase conversions and sales. (Podcast file no longer available).

Podcast Recap
Before I join the podcast, Brian and Robert covered a pretty extensive array of e-commerce topics:

• Twitter “Help Engines”
• A lengthy discussion of Magento Commerce, prompted by the announcement that Brian is converting his properties from his own custom-built ecommerce platform to Magento (which speaks volumes about how impressed Brian is with the features available — it’s not like he hasn’t just built his own platform when he needed features existing programs didn’t offer).
• Robert Garcia (Rumblepup) is now offering e-commerce and SEO consulting.
• There was fairly in-depth discussion of the evolution of social media — from the days of BBSs and Usenet News through to all the “new” Web 2.0 social media options.
• Brian and Robert also discussed a number of social bookmarking and social shopping sites that retailers should definitely be paying attention to…. specifically mentioned were:
  • ThisNext
  • Kaboodle
  • HonestBargain
  • Dealigg
• Finally, they wrapped up by talking about must-haves for every e-commerce website: “Add This” buttons to enable customers to easily submit products to the aforementioned social bookmarking and shopping sites, product reviews, and forums for customers to discuss services and products, as well as get support.

So then….
Whew! Still with me? Okay 🙂 This is where I joined the conversation… I just returned from PubCon South in Austin, where Twitter was discussed *incessantly*. I shared with Brian and Robert some of the major points that were discussed, what software is most popular for using and monitoring Twitter streams, and some best practices for retailers on how to use, but not abuse one’s Tweeple.

I’ll warn you, this is a 95 minute long episode, so make sure you’ve either got a long drive ahead of you, or have a comfy place to sit before you begin 🙂