The Black Friday ads are scanned online, but stores are using social media to advertise more sales. TJ Maxx sold out of a $399 iPad after a single tweet. Black Friday is 7 days away, and people are searching online scans of ads for the best Black Friday shopping deals for ebook readers, mp3 players, and tablets. The best deals might not be hiding in those newspaper ads. On November 18, TJ Maxx tweeted that they had the Apple iPad for a $100 discount — and the price was valid the moment they tweeted it. The iPads are sold out, according to the November 19, 2010 tweet from TJ Maxx, but the lesson has been learned. To learn about great deals for electronics during the Thanksgiving shopping season, sign up for stores' Twitter feed.
The hash tag (#) for Black Friday is #blackfriday, so to find Black Friday deals on Twitter, search for #blackfriday in the search box. Other useful has tags are #shopping, #blackfriday2010, and #deals.
Stores to Follow for Black Friday Tweets
Amazon.com
Amazon has stayed quiet despite speculation of Black Friday Kindle deals, but they say on their austere Black Friday page to "come back on Monday, November 22, 2010 for a week of amazing Black Friday deals." They also say,"We'll tweet about Black Friday deals." To follow Amazon's Black Friday deal account, log in at Twitter and go to http://twitter.com/#!/amazondeals. You should also follow http://twitter.com/Amazonkindle Then click follow. The hash tags to watch for possible Black Friday and Cyber Monday Kindle discounts will be #kindle, #ereader, #amazon, and #kindle3.
On November 23, 2010, Amazon used Facebook to announce that they are going to sell the Kindle 2 for $89 on Black Friday, so sign up for Facebook, too! David Carnoy wrote all the details in "Amazon Black Friday Deal:$89 Kindle 2" at CNET on November 23, 2010.
How to Use Twitter for Information about Shopping Deals
Twitter is simple. Sign up for an account at Twitter.com, and "follow" the people and stores that interest you. The @ (username) means that the tweet message is connected to that user's account. The # (keyword) can be from anyone's account. The # means that it is a collection of tweets from any user on a topic.
With the TJ Maxx iPad deal twitter post, the tweets mentioning the original TJ Maxx post said "@tjmaxx" because they were quoting TJ Maxx's original message. The "#maxxfinds" is a collection of deals that people find at TJ Maxx, and anyone can add to the growing list by adding #maxxfinds to their tweets.
Target
Target has been having a lot of fun with Twitter because they are surprising people with deals under the hash tag #TweetTidings. Follow Target at http://twitter.com/ #!/target. They carry the Kindle, and the Target Black Friday ad doesn't show any ebook reader deals. It is possible that there could be a tweeted Black Friday surprise. Target will have the iPod Nano and the iPod Touch at their regular prices on Black Friday, but they will throw in gift cards as an After Thanksgiving special.
Walmart
Walmart uses Twitter for a variety of purposes; there are media and corporate twitter feeds, as well as Sam's Club twitter feeds. For Black Friday, the Twitter account to follow is Walmart specials at. The hash tag to watch is #walmart. Walmart is going to have a Sony Reader for$99 on Black Friday, and they have announced the beast deal on a 4th generation iPod Touch ($225 with a $50 gift card).
If there are going to be any surprises on Black Friday, it is a good bet that companies will use Twitter to spread the news. Twitter is free, it is easy to share news about great Black Friday deals by re-tweeting, and people can get Twitter feeds while shopping. I will retweet Black Friday deals as I find them, and it takes one click to share shopping news with all of my followers. This morning I started following TJ Maxx, because who knows what will have on sale next week for Black Friday
Updated on November 23, 2010 to include information about Amazon.com's Black Friday Kindle 3G (previous generation) deal.
Sources
@ tjmaxx Twitter post on November 18, 2010: "The rumors are TRUE! Select (unadvertised) locations/limited quant @ajdelao whats this i hear of @tjmaxx carrying IPADS for $399?".
@tjmaxx Twitter post on November 19, 2010: "We’ve gotten lots of tweets & calls asking about one of the most famous #maxxfinds ever! Get the details here: http://bit.ly/ah5x3F"