It’s always interesting to see the new and innovative ways that Online retailers are coming up with to generate buzz, links and customer interaction on their eCommerce sites in an attempt to boost rankings, visitors, conversions, average orders or sales. Recently, I came across a great example of one retailer who uses creative ideas to generate new links and engages customers at the same time.

May’s Lab, a clothing retailer, has recently added a feature to their site which allows shoppers or current customers to upload photos/videos of themselves wearing different items from the clothing manufacturers site. The new section, labeled Gallery, is a fun, innovate, creative way for May’s Lab to engage their current customers or shoppers and build brand buzz, which also helps to generate more inbound links to the site.

In addition to the new section and upload feature (as well as the promotional benefits), May’s Lab is also giving their customers a chance to be featured in the shop gallery, which wins them a swell prize from the retailer. The photo/video with the best rating will automatically be eligible to become a May’s Lab featured model.

You are the core of our company and we want you to be featured in our site. Submit a photo or video of you wearing any May’s Lab item and you will win a prize if chosen to appear in this gallery. The person in the photo/video with the best rating will become our next featured model.

How cool is that? Not only are they helping to boost their business, while engaging customers at the same time, they are also building a community of followers and even give several of them a chance to get modeling exposure on the site (which could even lead to other gigs for the featured models). This creative eCommerce idea is a perfect example of how to do it right. I had never heard of May’s Lab before finding out about the unique feature, but believe me, their name remains imprinted in my mind due to the fantastic branding and promotion move on their part.

Here’s one of the photos to give you an idea of what they are looking for…

Picture of Tanya taken during a photo shoot in San Diego, CA. (May’s Lab staff member)

Take a few notes from May’s Lab when brainstorming or thinking up new, fun and innovative ways to build brand buzz, generate more exposure, build community interaction, build customer relationships and appeal to the linkerati. If you can think of a unique and creative way to accomplish all of those things, that’s ideal. If not, keep trying, I am sure companies who use strategies like this regularly try many times before getting it right, so don’t be upset or get down if a few of your ideas flop, keep trying. It will be worth it when you finally think up the ones that are successfully or generate results beyond expectations.