Hi SGR, I guess the simple answer would be that it most certainly has the potential to boost sales, but of course you have to work out how to get a good following.
It's like the other social networking sites, Myspace, Facebook an such. If you can find the right network of friends, then they can be very good marketing avenues.
The problem is that you have to market your self there as well to generate a solid network of potential customers. If you just create a profile and ignore it, chances are it wouldn't do you any good at all.