With the holiday season approaching and Thanksgiving right around the corner, stores are preparing for Black Friday. Black Friday is one of the largest shopping days of the year. Many consumers wake up at the crack of dawn to go stand in line for hours. This year stores are advertising differently. Rather than seeing ads in the newspaper the weekend before, same stores are utilizing social media to send out their message. For example, Mashable announced on Monday that Apple would have a special one-day-only shopping event.
Mashable stated in a previous post that holiday spending is projected to be down 3 percent from last year’s numbers. This might be one reason stores are branching out to social media. Due to social media’s easy accessibility, businesses can use blogs, Web sites and Twitter to announce sales ahead of time. Stores, such as Macy’s and Old Navy, are posting ads on their blogs and Web sites.
In addition, Mashable announced that Twitter has a Black Friday hashtag (#blackfriday) and an account (@blackfriday). These accounts will have deals, tips and links that help shoppers save. Macy’s is also tweeting about their annual Thanksgiving Day Parade and sales, which will be happening all weekend.
There is even an application for the iPhone. According to Mashable, DealNews announced a Black Friday app that sorts every deal by “Early Bird,” “In Store Only” and “Limited Availability.”
It is clever to pitch deals and sales through social media tools. Public relations firms, companies and businesses all use social media to pitch ideas, products and events; Black Friday should be included in the mix. By posting things a head of time, stores can receive feedback and comments from their customers. They can also reach out to more people. However, making sure consumers are happy and find the right sale is only one thing stores should be doing for Black Friday.
Each year, the enormous crowds injure many shoppers. In addition, fights break out in stores over sales and products; social media is a great tool for stores to implement a plan to avoid these situations. Public relations practitioners know how beneficial crisis plans are – what better way to implement one than using social media? Along with their ads, stores could post ways to stay safe during the shopping frenzy. This way everyone has a wonderful time and stays safe. Please let me know if anyone has implemented this idea!
[…] Social media and Black Friday sales by Emily Olson […]