UW-Madison: Fashion retailer Shopbop.com shares social media marketing tips and trends

CONTACT: Janet Kelly, (608) 890-1491, jkelly@warf.org

MADISON – Tim Gill, traffic manager at Amazon’s Shopbop.com, founded and based in Madison, will discuss how startup companies can use Facebook, Twitter and other digital networking forums to market themselves at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21, as the guest speaker at the next Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Gilson Bootstrapping event.

The event is free and open to the public in the H.F. DeLuca Forum located in the main floor Town Center at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, 330 N. Orchard St.

The presentation, called “Can You Hear Me Now? Social Media, Marketing and Effective Use of Web Tools,” is followed by a networking reception at 6 p.m. Attendees are asked to register at http://gilsonseries.org. Public parking is available underground in Union South’s Lot 80 on Dayton Street, as well as in nearby Lot 20 on University Avenue and Lot 17 with access from Randall Street.

Since its launch in 2000 in Madison as a modestly sized online boutique specializing in hard-to-find denim lines, Shopbop has grown to become a leading fashion retailer. Acquired by Amazon in 2006, it operates as a stand-alone website and has been called “the editors of what’s cool” by Daily Candy and recognized by The Wall Street Journal as having “the best customer service.” Still based in Madison, Shopbop offers a comprehensive collection of designer apparel and accessories targeted to appeal to chic, modern women.

In 2002, UW-Madison alumnus, faculty member and entrepreneur Warren Gilson bequeathed a generous gift to WARF to promote entrepreneurialism in Wisconsin. Since 2005, WARF has hosted a series of events in his name to help connect the university with the Madison community.