Brand advocacy is a term that is thrown around a lot within the social media spectrum. Conversations usually center on finding brand advocates who will serve as a social media lightning rod and generate an avalanche of user-generated content from a community based on their actions. Marketers are just as likely to find these mythical advocates as they are to track down Big Foot riding a unicorn.

2009 was not kind to most retailers and there were very few positive stories when it came to sales results. A rising unemployment rate and a drop in consumer confidence both weighed heavily on consumer spending the entire year, and with the unemployment rate still at 10% for December, we'll see this trend continue for at least the next few months. But the news is not all bad.