Riley, Emily    If you have holiday marketing plans that include a social media campaign, you're not alone. Between viral videos for new products, Facebook communities for fans, and tweets for midnight sales and other deals, every product marketer out there has something planned. What this means is that you've got a lot of competition and a lot of clutter to shout over. So how can you rise above the pack?

Start early! You should already be listening to what consumers say they want for Christmas. See what the buzz is on budget/economy conversations as well as product or brand specific ones. This way, when you do start talking, you'll be saying the right things and answering the right questions. You should also already have looked at last years' search patterns and started bidding on the appropriate keywords for this season. Don't forget to send some of that traffic to your social media as well as your own home page.

Enable better functionality through social! The New York Times wrote about Best Buy'sholiday social media. Not only do they have Twelpforce on Twitter, they have new Facebook features that let friends ask each other what they should buy from Best Buy's product catalog.

Work with your valued partners! Mall conglomerate Jones Lang LaSalle will be tweeting on behalf of their retail partners to let customers know about last minute or unpublicized sales throughout the holiday season. Check out your own partner's plans and see what you can do to maximize their success.

If you have any social media plans that will put you ahead of your competition, let me know, I'll be writing about who I think the winners are this December.