Online networking sites, from Facebook to the forums of niche interest groups, offer very valuable audiences. Reaching them requires a unique set of skills but can be hugely beneficial.

Social media refers to websites from Second Life to Facebook and all the specialist forums run for specific interest groups. Some attract massive audiences while others are very tightly focused but they do offer huge opportunities to promote businesses and organisations.

Many businesses and organisations have successfully tapped into them but others have failed because they did not understand the golden rules of dealing with them.

Once again there are pitfalls for the unwary but even those business which make the conscious decision not to get involved with social networking sites must be careful … ask yourself if your staff have got “private” Facebook accounts and consider what potential damage they could do.

We can help clients identify opportunities in social media, including some simple “wins” and advise them on strategies to unlock the potential of such sites as MySpace and BeBo.

And we can also advise on how to avoid the pitfalls without upsetting people you depend on.