Using social media to score big this Black Friday

Put away the scissors and stop clipping coupons because you won’t need them to score big this Black Friday. Hunting for bargains just got easier — that’s if you put your social media savvy to work.

Retailers are taking full advantage of social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare by interacting with their consumers and allowing them to have a say on the deal they want to see in the stores. Here’s how to use these sites to your advantage this holiday season:

1.     Facebook – A number of retailers are announcing their Black Friday deals early through their pages. Aggregators like Black-Friday.net and BFAds.net also have pages announcing deals and you can always like our Bargain Babe Facebook page to stay up to date on deals. Some retailers are also using Facebook Places and giving out deals to whom ever checks in the store using Places. You can get 20% off when you check in to Toys R Us and H&M. Starbucks is also using Facebook Place. They will be donating a $1 for everyone that check in.

2.     Twitter – Retailers, aggregators and bloggers are all sharing coupons and deals through twitter. Make sure to follow us on Twitter @bargainbabe so we can hook you up. You can also do a quick search for specific retailers like @BestBuy or @Gap to check out their deals. If you use hashtags like #blackfriday or @blackfridaysales be prepared to sift through spam to find the good deals.

3.     Foursquare – Also get coupons by checking into stores using Foursquare. American Eagle is giving 15% off while Hollister is giving 20% off. Some of these coupons have expiration dates so make sure to check them.  If you check into JC Penney via Foursqaure, you can get $10 towards purchases of $50 or more.