Twitter

"I use Twitter and Facebook a lot for Black Friday," he said, referring to the day after Thanksgiving when retailers open their doors early and offer eye-popping deals. "People interested in computers post what they see online."

Read more: 'Black Friday' shoppers tweet, friend and clip | In this article: Black Friday, Facebook, Best Buy, Thanksgiving, OfficeMax, and Target Corp

"If you send out a URL via Twitter you know how many people clicked on that URL," he said. "When you put a newspaper tab out, you have no idea of the traffic in your stores, how much was influenced by seeing an ad in the newspaper that day."

Read more: 'Black Friday' shoppers tweet, friend and clip | In this article: Black Friday, Facebook, Best Buy, Thanksgiving, OfficeMax, and Target Corp

"Telstra is a good example, using multiple channels, using Twitter for customer service, blogs and Facebook," Mr Young said. "Another example would be Billabong. They are facilitating conversations on issues related to products, such as surfing, but not the products themselves."

Read more: Big brands failing social network test | In this article: Facebook, Telstra, Australia, Billabong, Recession, Australian Stock Exchange, and Australia Post

"It comes down to the interest factor," says Allen Chen, a 30-year-old university worker from Yonkers, N.Y., who follows several professional athletes and authors on Twitter and thinks it's best when they are "funny, entertaining and snarky."

Read more: For stars, high-tech gaffes hard to hide | In this article: Cincinnati Bengals, Larry Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Margaret Atwood, Miley Cyrus, Chad Ochocinco, Facebook, and Stephon Marbury