Yes. Allow me to elaborate.

Why is Social Media important in eCommerce?

Integrating social media into your eCommerce strategy is important because

It moves a traditionally internal dialogue to external locations. Think about it. Your customers are already leaving reviews about your products. Sometimes, those reviews spark a dialogue about how to use the product or why previous reviews inspired someone to give the product a try. This is incredibly useful to marketers, and yet, until a company decides to funnel or direct that discussion elsewhere, the dialogue remains trapped in the eComm site.

It lets your brand champions be champions. You know who they are; the mom with three kids that still finds time to leave a lengthy, thoughtful review (with instructions!); the teen that found the “most awesome” shade for fall fashion; the hobbyist who posts YouTube video of opening the newest trading card packs. They’re your brand champions; people who go out of their way to critique, and when the situation calls for it, praise your brand and your products. Social media plugins go a long way in helping them do what they do best; tell others about your product.

It increases your exposure. Who doesn’t want more exposure? Especially in a down economy, with shoppers savvier than ever, companies cannot afford to social media savvy shoppers. Every time a customer “Likes” a product or shares a link with a friend, you’re getting more exposure for your products and services. Every time you provide an easy way for bloggers to redirect their readers to your site, you’re getting more exposure.

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What can you add to your eComm site?

A “Share” suite. Think of these as all-in-one sharing devices. If your customers love a product, they can click the Share button embedded on your page and select one or many social sites they can use to share your product. Most suites have options for the “big 3” sites, Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, and many others include up-and-comers, like Digg and LinkedIn.

Facebook “Like” buttons. When customers “Like” your product page, depending on your settings, they will have a link, picture, and/or short description of that product posted to their Facebook Wall. This increases visibility to your product and may entice their friends to visit your site.

URL shorteners. URL shorteners place a shortened URL on your customers’ clipboard. They can then paste the shortened URL in a blog post, tweet, or Facebook post, so their friends can go see what they’re raving about.

Social media site links. Finally, if you’re on Facebook, Twitter, etc, don’t hesitate to direct your customers to those sites. Simply add the iconic icons somewhere on your site, with an invitation for people to “join the discussion,” or “follow us.” It’s a great way to let your customers know that you’re participating in the social media space.

So yes, social media very much belongs in the eCommerce space. While retailers don’t have to use all of the methods I described above, they should try to give their brand champions and loyal customers all the tools necessary to help spread the good word about their products and services.

What other tools or strategies can companies use to improve their social media presence in their eCommerce sites?