What do you think? Is it helpful or a hindrance? Well probably a bit of both when you think about it. If you are a seasoned SM vet, you probably have no problem navigating your way to deals on the biggest shopping day of the year. If not, you are out waiting in line with the masses….mad, sleep deprived, tired and frustrated. Using a SM network to navigate the sale waters just makes good sense. It’s an easy thing to do that in the end will be a HUGE time saver for you. Now, to brands, using social media is nothing new. I see new brands pop up on twitter almost daily and every one of them has a gimmick or something designed to lure in the consumer. I unexpectedly won a $50 gift card to Saks Fifth Avenue this past summer just for following them on Twitter. And to that end, brands are doing tons of things just like that to increase their presence on the web. So…take advantage of it! Get out there and get you some stuff!!
Mashable posted How To Use Social Media to Find Black Friday Deals last week and that article has a staggering 956 re-tweets so far. It also has some good info so read up so you are prepared for next year. Other tips for your shopping convenience is get online before you go, or at the very least download an app that will help you while you are on the run.
Pay attention to sites like Twitter and Facebook because the brands are there and they WANT you to shop even if it’s for a lower price. With holiday spending projected to be down 3% from last year – they will do whatever they can to make it easier for YOU to spend money no matter how much or how little. Social media is great BUT like everything, there are nasty people out there. Be careful when using email and any social media medium for SPAMMERS. They lurk EVERYWHERE. Check the link before you click on it (just hover your cursor over it) you will be able to see if it is legit or not, if you have already clicked and reached the page…use caution. Meaning, if the address bar doesn’t say http://www.bestbuy.com or a derivative of that and instead says something like http://www.cvrth.bestbuy.com you should know right here…right now it’s a fake. Even if there is a BestBuy (or whatever store) screen staring back at you, LOOK AT THE ADDRESS BAR….if it says anything other than the store you are planning to visit it’s a scam. Stores will ONLY use their domain and a SSL domain (that means https instead of http to signify a secure transaction)
Now that we have the scolding out of the way….here are a few LEGIT social media goodies to help you on your way:
- Deal News Black Friday iPhone app
- FatWallet.com’s spreadsheet of Black Friday deals.
- BlackFriday.net’s Facebook page.
- ShoppingBlog.com’s Black Friday Twitter feed
- CheapTweet for deals after Black Friday
- The awesome TGI Black Friday iPhone app
Have fun, and be careful out there!! 
Image courtesy of the fabulous Nataleedee.com
---------Lianne Farbes is the Head of the US Edition of HelloCotton an online social platform for discovering and sharing women’s blog content. She also writes for several online publications, she is a Beauty Expert, Social Media enthusiast, Project Manager, Web 2.0 cheerleader and she is always online in one form or another. Follow her on Twitter @LianneFarbes, @Hellocotton and friend her through any of her social profiles here and here
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Tags: Black Friday, shopping, Social Media
