It was time for an overhaul. The free personal online shopping website, Shop It To Me, just unveiled a stylish new look to complement the behind-the-scene upgrades that create a more personalized shopping experience.  According to the Shop It To Me team, “The redesign better reflects our fashion-focused users, the upscale retail partners with which we work, and the high caliber merchandise they offer.”

The site looks great and you should definitely check it out. If you haven’t set up a profile, be sure to do so. Then sit back and relax as you receive sizzling email sale alerts that will help you look great and save money.

If you’re reading this blog, then more than likely you’re on Twitter. Or Facebook. Or Flikr. Or you subscribe to YouTube channels. Or, maybe you have a professional profile on LinkedIn. Or… all of the above. Right?

And since you’re reading this blog, tweeting on Twitter, posting and becoming fans of pages on Facebook, sharing photos on Flikr, watching videos on YouTube and networking or looking for a job on LinkedIn, I have a question for you: are you using these social media platforms to their fullest SHOPPING potential?

By connecting with brands, designers and retailers via these mediums, you gain extra access to special offers, sales, giveaways and trends and you may not have discovered otherwise. For example, had it not been for my connection to Monticello Shoes on LinkedIn, I probably would not have taken notice of their gorgeous, sexy shoes. Even though we’re connected on Twitter, it was our LinkedIn connection that made me notice this brand.

On Twitter, I follow various designers, department stores, retailers and brands. And it’s because I follow them that I am able to benefit from their campaigns and marketing on Twitter. As a result, I am among the first to hear of new arrivals or sales. Many even offer some special goody for simply RT-ing them. Come up with a list of places where you love to shop and your favorite brands or designers. Then use the Twitter search engine to find these profiles and start following. Don’t worry about spam. The bigger, established retailers and brands don’t do that.

Of course, being a Facebook fan of your favorite shops and designers can give you even more access to other information they may not post on Twitter. I’ve noticed that more and more designers are using Facebook marketing to connect with their customers and offer them special offers, gifts or really fun contests. Just like on Twitter, use Facebook’s search engine to find the fan page of your favorite stores and brands. Become a fan and start keeping up with all their latest news.

Lastly, I am still a big believer in email newsletters and I’ve signed up for them all. Do I receive lots of emails every weekday? Yes. But do I open all of them up? No. I scroll through the subject lines and open those that appeal to me and my shopping sense. If the subject line screams “SALE,” “limited edition design,” or “hottest trend this season,” you can bet those are the ones I must read.

So while you could spend a ton of time foraging through the retail world seeking out the things you love and must have, as previous generations have done, I suggest you save yourself time and energy and allow your favorite retailers and designers to come to you via social email marketing, Twitter, Facebook and any other social media platform out there. Even Bluefly has a YouTube channel, to which I recommend you subscribe.

Of course, don’t forget to follow this blog and follow me on Twitter, because I’m going to continue to do all I can to make sure you always know about the greatest and latest in shopping.

Need more Lollie? Then sign up to receive the weekly Lollie Shopping E-Newsletter. Delivered to your email inbox every Saturday, you’ll receive:

*A weekly Lollie Style Lesson: Each week, I’ll give you one tip about fashion, style or shopping.

*Sale alerts: I’m always in on the hot sales. Now you will be, too.

*Recommended Reading: My favorite blog posts of the week from my favorite fashion bloggers and me.

Plus, other exclusive offers, giveaways and information. The first newsletter goes out May 1, 2010.

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