In this new digital age, several companies are beginning to realize just how important social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook (News - Alert) truly are. As the holiday season starts to get into full gear, more and more companies are looking for new and original ways to peddle their wares, all the while being fully cognizant of just how popular online shopping is these days.

Among the companies that are making a more strident attempt at getting their products sold is Oscar de la Renta, which recently offered up a perfume flower that was available exclusively on Facebook. Other companies may not be selling their product directly on the social networking giant, but like Ticketmaster are finding ways to integrate with the site. In the rush to find a way to take advantage of Facebook as a retailing machine, there have been some missteps, with Heinz making a fairly large one this week.

Heinz was trying to walk the same road that Oscar de la Renta did, by offering up a product and only making it available on Facebook. The product in question was a new blend of ketchup that included balsamic vinegar. The catch was, despite the fact that the product was offered on Monday morning, glitches prevented anyone from buying the product until late Monday night. 

To Heinz's credit, the company realized that online glitches are going to have to be dealt with quickly and that in order to win digital customers, a good amount of PR will be required.   The company issued a statement Wednesday that anyone who posted on the site while the buy function was inactive would receive a free bottle of the new concoction. While offering free product in exchange with having to put up with frustrations is a good move, some customers were still complaining that the purchase function still wasn't working on Wednesday.

As far as debuting this new kind of ketchup, Heinz might just decide that any news is good news. The company has worked hard to build up a bit of a following for this new flavor. The ketchup with balsamic vinegar mixed in won't actually be offered on store shelves until December.