Oh, No, Ocean State Job Lot’s Social Faux Pas

I like New England-regional closeout store Ocean State Job Lot, both on
Facebook and in
real life. But I’ve got to call them (and most-likely, its interactive agency) out for making a major social media mistake… or two.

OSJL is advertising on Facebook, and the unit that’s popping up on my pages is for its Black Friday specials. So of course, with this being Thanksgiving Week, I want to know what’s up.

But when you click on the ad, it brings you to the home page for ShortStack Lab, which bills itself as a Facebook page content management system.

Yeah, in a way that’s good news for me, since I cover social retailing. But it’s bad news for the merchant, since it likely wants to alert its Facebook followers to its Black Friday specials, and not to its interactive agency.

So the link in the ad should bring you to the Black Friday tab on OSJL’s Facebook page. And that’s where issue number-two comes into play.

The Facebook ad tells anyone reading it to come back Wednesday at 9 p.m. for the Black Friday ad. Though the home page hints at a 10-hour blockbuster sale starting at midnight Friday, it doesn’t give a sense of immediacy. Instead, it gives you the ol’ “come back later” routine that may drive customers away.

And in a day and age where curious consumers can go here, here, here, here, and here (get the picture?) to start mapping their Black Friday shopping sprees early, it just shows me that OSJL’s missing the boat.