Accepting a Facebook invitation is a lot less binding than a vow of silence or a pinkie swear.
But River City Co. is banking on the social media tool to generate excitement around a group of small downtown businesses, said retail recruiter Blair Waddell.
"Even if it's five new people that show up, it's worth it," Waddell said.
About 75 residents signed up for Chattanooga's first-ever "Cash Mob," a concept created to unexpectedly flood selected businesses with customers at a designated time.
Though only a trickle of walk-ins appeared at Cadence Coffee Co. and the Daily Flower on Monday morning, owners were upbeat about the use of social media to stretch thin advertising budgets.
"I think that traditional forms of marketing, in a dream world, are perfect. But for a small business it's a stretch for us," said Shannon Greer, co-owner of Cadence Coffee Co.
Amy Azar, manager of The Daily Flower, said any good marketing plan at some point relies on word of mouth.
The effect is the same whether the conversation happens at an event, following a transaction or in a Web browser.
"When you have a small business, you can't just do tons of regular advertising," Azar said. "Social media is really the main thing for us."
Since she took over the shop in 2010 and started pushing online interactions with fans, business has increased 80 percent, she said.
However, it's hard to break out results for social media alone. Often, a pleasant transaction markets itself, said Krista Bondar, arrangement designer at The Daily Flower .
"People will sometimes say, I didn't know about this place but that arrangement was great," Bondar said. "Referrals are a big plus for us."
Either way, Waddell plans to continue her "guerrilla tactics" to market downtown businesses, she said.
"This is just a first test run," she said. "There is definitely the potential for more."