Online shopping sites are hoping that new marketing campaigns which include Twitter for the first time prove fruitful this Christmas season.

While being dubbed as the first ‘Twitter Christmas’ by social media watchers, online shopping sites such as MyConsumerGuide.com approach this year’s foray into holiday tweets as an experiment.

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Contact: Alex Murashko, phone: (949) 547-0907 e-mail: alexander@outreachnewmedia

Like many businesses still gauging the impact of including Twitter in the promotional budget mix, MyConsumerGuide.com is putting in an extra effort to let Twitter users know of the real bargains to be found through the company’s affiliate associations, which include major stores and brands.

“We’re calling this ‘the Twitter Experiment,’” said Alex Murashko, the site’s social media manager. “We’ve had success growing our Twitter followers over the last few months and now we want to see how many followers and users take advantage of the incredible offers we tweet up every day.”

From blue jeans to Frosty the Snowman LED ornaments, @MyConsumerGuide tweets news and links of sales, coupon codes, and limited-time deals. Tweeps (Twitter users) are given access to offers from the online stores of retailers such as Wal-Mart, Target, Radio Shack, Best Buy, and many more.

The ‘experiment’ has been going on since a week before the Thanksgiving holiday and Murashko said he is pleased. “Our traffic has significantly increased because of our Twitter campaign and we are hoping that the final holiday season tally will include high sales. There’s still plenty of online Christmas shopping days left.”

Other affiliate site owners and retailers are eager to join the Twitter mix of casual posters and serious sales tweeple. In a recent NY Times article, several company heads chimed in on the phenomena, including one from Toys ‘R’ Us.

“It’s one of the greatest emerging communication channels out there,” said Greg Ahearn, senior vice president of marketing and e-commerce for Toys ‘R’ Us. “This is a way people can stay connected with the brand in a way they’ve never been able to before.”

MyConsumerGuide.com plans to expand its Twitter campaign to include a new blog site. The blog will give the company’s followers and shoppers a more accessible way of discovering product bargains and reviews.