Black Friday… Thousands flock to the stores, camp outside for days only to be stomped on by bargain hungry maniacs eager to save a few bucks.
Here are a few tips and tricks to leverage social media for a more relaxing black friday experience! While the tent crazy peeps are freezing in line you can beat them to the deal of the century right from your laptop with a warm cup of coffee in hand!


1. HAVE FUN!
Even if you are setting up a Twitter account for the first time don’t sweat it! What a perfect way to learn social media. Remember with social media there is no right or wrong way to get started…just DO IT!


2. TWITTER IT: If you don’t already have a Twitter account, get one! Takes 5 minutes.

-CONNECT: Do a search for your favorite brands and start following! You’ll be amazed at the coupons and deals!

-Follow @blackfriday for you guessed it, black Friday tweets ;)

-Search for terms using hashtags. These look like this: #blackfriday #coupon #bestbuy #walmart

-ENGAGE: Don’t be afraid to join the conversation. Ask questions. You might just get an answer that saves even more!

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3. FIND NEW FACEBOOK FRIENDS: If you don’t already have a facebook account, shame on you! Get one! Did you know there are 300+ million active daily users on Facebook!?

-CONNECT: Do a search for your favorite brands and products of interest. Then ask them to be your friend and/or become a fan of their page. You will have access to exclusive deals.

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4. YOU TUBE IT: You tube is loaded with tips for finding deals both online and in store!

5. SUBSCRIBE TO EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Visit your favorite brand’s web page. Subscribe to their email newsletter or promotion club. Many provide coupons in the confirmation email. You might want to setup a separate email account on Google, Yahoo or Hotmail for these types of subscriptions. It will help keep clutter down in your inbox.

6. VISIT THE BLACK FRIDAY SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES, BLOGS and MORE:

My Black Friday Deals The site even uses a mobile photo slide show app Whrrl that lets bloggers take pics of the awesome deals in stores and upload them to the site. Deal hungry shoppers vote for their favs. The best of the best are then shared on Twitter, Facebook & Flickr.

BlackFriday.fm Compiles deals, links and subscriptions to numerous famous brand sites. You can link directly to their Facebook and Twitter pages as well.

Black Friday 2009: This site has been scanning and uploading flyers and deals for weeks to improve the shopping experience for folks like just like you!

Moms Like Me: This site will help you stretch the dollar even further with money saving tips. It even offers tips and strategies for keeping both you and the kids sane.

Shoppingblog.com – good compilation of bargains and resources.


7. ENJOY YOURSELF, BE SAFE & HAVE FUN! Take a breath and relax! Remember, there are still 26 days before Christmas. It doesn’t all have to be done TODAY!

Good Luck! May you find many TWEETDEALS! Happy Pajama TWEETING!!!!

Come back and let us know what worked and didn't! Share other resources that you find useful!!