Social Media and Scottish Enterprise- Put the 'me' into SME

With the world now handing itself over to the ever popular social media
craze 'what's in it for me?' is becoming a more and more popular
question with company directors.

So can social media put the 'me' into SME and allow companies to remove the corporate 'face' and
show a more personal side? Would this ease the process of procurement?

SMEs should make sure that they don't ignore the array of marketing
opportunities afforded to them by social networking sites, a new report
states.

A new guide from Which?, entitled Working for Yourself, says that social websites such as Facebook,
Twitter and MySpace offer businesses the chance to interact with potential
clients and other firms "without the constraints of cost or location".

It adds that networking sites that offer networking services specifically
for the professional and commercial sectors - such as linkedin.com and
konnekts.com - are sometimes "more effective than traditional methods of
networking such as trade shows, business clubs and breakfast meetings"

"Networking is vital for small businesses to thrive, so self-employed people should
definitely take advantage of the popularity of social networking
sites," Mike Pywell, co- author of Working for Yourself, says.

"They provide a great opportunity to link up with other people in the same
industry and to reach new customers, regardless of location.

"If you run a specialist business of some type, it's well worth the time to
set up and maintain a network on one of these sites."

Wriiten by Simon McLaughlin, NVT Group

http://www.nvtgroup.co.uk/blogs/social-media-and-scottish-enterpris...