According to Business News Daily, social media will play a bigger role than ever before on Black Friday. An infographic created by Offer Pop illustrates that in 2012 “48% of shoppers anticipated using social media to plan their holiday shopping last year, with 53% looking for gift ideas and 54% looking for deals.”

Here are some helpful tips to get you through the madness this Black Friday and holiday shopping season.

1. Follow your favorite brands to get a jump on their deals.

Some retailers’ Black Friday deals will “leak” early, and this most often happens digitally. By liking the retailers you plan to visit on Black Friday, you open up a direct communication channel to hear about upcoming deals. Some brands will even offer exclusive deals to their social media followers, so make sure to check back just before Black Friday. Also, check out this Facebook page that is dedicated to revealing Black Friday deals for numerous retailers.

2. Search social media for products you want & see where others found the best deals.

This Black Friday, sit back and let your friends do the dirty work. Everyone loves to show off their best steals of the season, and what better place to announce the news than social media? Search Facebook or Twitter to see if any friends have scored deals you didn’t know about and then hit the streets and take advantage of their hard work. Use hashtags such as #blackfriday or #deals to find what retailers are offering or what other shoppers found.

3.  Check in to check out deals.

Everyone loves a good check-in these days, so take advantage of your virtual friend map with apps like Foursquare. If you see that people are finding good deals by checking in at certain places on social media, venture out and check in on that deal yourself.

4. Download Black Friday apps to stay focused.

Venture Beat has announced their picks for the best Black Friday apps for 2013. Most of these apps include price checks for a particular product across multiple retailers, showing you where the best deals are. If you have the time to wait for a better deal, use the PriceGrabber app. It lets you enter the price you’re willing to pay for an item, and when that price is found somewhere, it will notify you. Gift It is another neat app that allows you to organize your gift list, view your progress on holiday shopping, and stay within your budget.

Now that you’ve got the inside scoop on Black Friday technology, go forth and grab those deals. Happy Holiday Shopping!