How to work social media into the Black Friday mix

Shoppers may want to consider keeping an eye on social media for potential deals or just to use as part of Black Friday fun.

In addition to their traditional advertising, malls and retailers will be promoting Black Friday events and specials on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Hawthorn Mall in Vernon Hills will use Facebook for a fun Black Friday promotion called Elf on the Shelf, said assistant marketing manager Jenna Mallars.

Shoppers with smartphones and the Facebook application will want to keep an eye out for the elf character roaming Hawthorn.

"If you find her in the mall, snap a selfie and upload to Hawthorn's (Facebook) page," Mallars said. "You (will) receive a free selfie stick."

Visitors to Simon Property Group's suburban malls, including Woodfield in Schaumburg and Gurnee Mills, will be posting Black Friday deals on the company's Facebook and Twitter pages. Shoppers also can avail themselves of Simon's mobile applications.

Still new to the social media scene are apps allowing smartphone users to broadcast live. Black Friday shoppers in the mood to broadcast themselves in action on Facebook Live or Periscope will just need to use common sense. Elizabeth Striegel, director of marketing and business development at Gurnee Mills, said her mall, Woodfield and other Simon centers don't have any restrictions, per se.

"There is no specific policy," Striegel said. "The centers just ask that users abide by the Simon ... code of conduct, refrain from foul language and are dressed appropriately."

Live broadcasts won't be a problem at Hawthorn Mall.

"We welcome shoppers who want to use (Facebook) Live and Periscope to share their experiences at the mall during Black Friday," Mallars said.

As for buzz, Spredfast, a leading social media marketing firm, has been tracking Black Friday mentions in 140 characters or less on Twitter. In a recent seven-day period, there were 406,293 Black Friday mentions on Twitter compared with 452,751 in the same time frame in 2015, according Spredfast's research.

Spredfast spokeswoman Samantha Subar said the firm believes the presidential election has led to reduced Black Friday chatter on Twitter.

In overall social excitement for retailers, Amazon was in the lead heading into Black Friday. Austin, Texas-based Spredfast's data showed Wal-Mart had the most social media excitement last year.

Spredfast's Twitter tracking also shows iPhone, sunglasses and shoes are top items for conversations.