Add tweets, posts to tools of the new Black Friday trade
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include Jeff Rutzen, marketing director of Westfield Hawthorn in Vernon Hills and Westfield Fox Valley in East Aurora near Naperville.
Shoppers loaded with print advertisements and seeking discounts on Black Friday can have extra tools at their disposal by reaching for their smartphones.
Retail experts say Twitter and Facebook are the leading social media sites for businesses to keep their brands before customers or to interact with them.
Jeff Rutzen, marketing director of Westfield Hawthorn in Vernon Hills and Westfield Fox Valley in East Aurora near Naperville, said the regional malls will use social media to supplement their Black Friday television and newspaper ads. He said mall hours, special deals and more will be on the centers' Facebook pages.
"In some cases, social media followers of stores may be offered special incentives, such as discounts for posting on Twitter or sharing an ad on Facebook," Rutzen said.
Black Friday shoppers who have a poor experience somewhere may want to consider the short-messaging service Twitter, which has become popular for consumers seeking a quick resolution to their complaints. Facebook is the world's largest social network and is more known for store promotions, wrote Bernard Brennan and Lori Schafer, consultants at North Carolina-based research firm SAS Institute Inc. who co-authored "Branded! How Retailers Engage Consumers With Social Media and Mobility."
Rutzen said Macy's will be among the retailers with employees dedicated to responding to customers on Twitter.
Despite its use, social media's influence on shoppers was questioned in a report released in September by Lombard-based Raddon Financial Group.
Raddon's national consumer research arm found 13 percent of all consumers were swayed to make any type of purchase by a social network. Just 3 percent indicated they were influenced when it came to financial products.
Meanwhile, Rutzen said shoppers should exercise caution if posting something online. "Take caution against sharing any personal information or exact locations," he said, "as ultimately this information can be on display for the world to see. Additionally, select retailers may have restrictions about photographing merchandise."