Businesses are beginning to take advantage of social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. Not only are they creating interactive fan pages and profiles for their companies, they are also rewarding loyal fans and followers with special discounts, deals and coupons. These discounts are only available to fans of these pages and are used as incentives to get shoppers in their stores and onto their social media sites. And it’s working.

This article from the Examiner.com provides examples of how consumers are using Facebook and Twitter to check out business deals, restaurant reviews and even to help plan vacations.