I keep reading that the average American is sleep deprived. Then why do so many get up at 3 a.m. to buy a TV on sale the day after Thanksgiving? Black Friday sure does inspire consumer behavior, but what do we make of it in the new age of marketing?

First and foremost, Black Friday continues to be a key barometer of the consumer psyche. This year, reports are that more shoppers came out, but focused mostly on the “door buster” deals, they each spent less, leading sales to be flat or slightly up to 2008. As for advertisers, there’s hope that marketers will come out of their spending slump to invest in the holiday season. For example, at The Tennessean we know we had more inserts than any time in memory. 

Online shopping may be even more robust. According to comScore, Inc., consumers spent $595 million in online sales this year on Black Friday, making it 2009’s second-heaviest online spending day to date. On Cyber Monday, sales reached $887 million, 5% more than a year ago. Much of this is likely still driven by traditional advertising, including print and broadcast. For example, according to a study by MORI Research and the NAA, 39% are motivated by a print ad to go online in some way. 

But this is really the first Black Friday of social media. In great numbers, retailers used Twitter before and during the day to post updates, and stores used Facebook to pre-promote their specials to their fans, like Sears, who held a contest for a $500 gift card and a chance to pre-shop their Black Friday deals. 

Here at The Tennessean, Ms. Cheap and the Shopping Diva, Cathi Aycock, kept their followers informed and up-to-date as they shopped on Black Friday. And of course there were the millions of tweets and posts from individuals sharing their great deals and mall experiences. 

So how will this change Black Friday? Historically, retailers have relied on the gift-giving tradition to drive sales, using deep discounts and loss leading “door buster” promotions to spur purchasing. All of which is marketing driven, born of the need to sell, rather than a true connection to the consumer. 

The marketing model closely tied to the growth of social media is more about the connection to the customer. It’s about using your connections to learn more about the customers’ true needs and wants, to get feedback on current and potential products and services, and to create relationships with your brand so you can deliver information in a welcome manner.

Success will come more from long-term relationships than one-day sales, particularly if the great recession has created consumers that value saving as much as spending, as some have predicted. Indeed, the things we learn in the new marketing landscape will likely change the shape of Black Friday in years to come. Who knows, you might get to sleep in.