Sears Face(book)s Black Friday

(MoneyWatch)  Give Sears Holding (SHLD) credit for making the most out of Black Friday, as it's not only squeezing the event for all its worth without actually discounting more deeply than other retailers, but it's also using initiatives revolving around the date to boost its social networking initiatives.

Of course, the company got a lot of attention as October ended by running a Black Friday sale on Halloween weekend. An interesting aspect of the sale was that the discounts offered were pretty reasonably, at least from the Sears perspective. The company offered 10 percent off national brands in its strongest categories, tools and major appliances, and 20 percent off its popular Craftsman and Kenmore labels, which have margin advantages built in and can take a bigger discount before producing a loss. For those shoppers holding out for deeper discounts in this holiday season, Sears offered half off sweaters and outerwear. The company has been trying to reestablish its fashion operation for the past few years, so a deeper discount there not only would satisfy the goal of driving sales but also the deeper strategic purpose of reacquainting customers with the company's apparel selection.

The retailer's latest effort isn't as wide ranging as the Halloween or follow-up Black Friday events the company launched, but it does show a determination to involve customers in new ways.

Essentially a sweepstakes, and nothing new to retail in that regard, the promotion required consumers who wanted to try their luck to visit the retailer's Facebook page and register by Nov. 19. The sweepstakes offered two prize levels. The first included a Sears gift card worth $500, the second, another $500 gift card but also the opportunity to shop one of 25 Sears stores across the country on Wednesday, Nov. 25. In each store, the winners get to shop discounted Black Friday prices two days early.

Sears certainly isn't the only retailer using Facebook to promote itself for the holidays or even for Black Friday. Staples (SPLS) previewed its Black Friday sales last week on Facebook and Twitter. Toys"R"Us gave shoppers access to its Black Friday deals today if they signed up for a special application on its Facebook page.

Give that a cautious consumer mood is likely to produce sparse holiday sales, any means to reach potential customers looks attractive to retailers, but, unlike a television commercial, a social network promotion can result in an ongoing link with consumers reached. Sears even has its own online community, MySears, offered as an independent element of the chain's website and offering polls, a customer review function even a discussion section where participants are free to point out bad experiences with the operation. And MySears links to the company's Facebook page, which recently led off with an elf-mounted notice that consumers can get special deals by becoming Sears fans on the social network.

Unfortunately, last night, clicking on the link for exclusive Facebook fan deals simply triggered a message to check back soon for constantly updated holiday bargains. So, while Sears has been aggressive in developing its social network marketing, the retailer hasn't necessarily perfected its technique. Still, by involving Facebook in its Black Friday initiatives, Sears has satisfied the dual purpose of promoting its participation in a big sales day that rivals such as Walmart (WMT) and J.C. Penney (JCP) will probably advertise more aggressively while getting more consumers involved in its social network initiatives. Although that provides a potential link that could outlast Black Friday and the current holiday season, it might not, in fact, unless Sears can satisfy networkers with the bargains that it's unleashing or at least back up the claims that its elves are making.