Twitter can be a particularly effective online marketing tool, but only if it is used correctly, it is claimed.

Computer company Dell says it has brought in revenues of at least $2 million (£1.2 million) as a direct result of its activity on Twitter.

The latest research from the US shows that social networking has continued its meteoric rise, with the total minutes spent on Facebook rising by 700 per cent and Twitter use jumping 3,712 per cent year-on-year.

Social networking sites offer the benefit of effectively making the world smaller, according to an expert.

Facebook has revealed that Digital Sky Technologies (DST) has made a $200 million (£125 million) investment in the social networking site.

Using social media tools is a more effective method than launching an email marketing campaign in order to attract traffic to an online retail website, it is believed.

Twitter will need to improve its user retention rate if it hopes to achieve huge success, it is claimed.

This week social networking website Facebook expects to welcome its 200 millionth active user, according to the founder of the site.

Since the start of 2009, UK internet visits to Twitter have increased six-fold, it has been revealed.

Social networking is at the stage as Google before it developed AdSense, it has been claimed.