In the late 1990s, when many business owners were being connected to the Internet and email, the attitude was: “Wire it up to that machine in the corner” – ie a single computer typically within eye-line of the manager’s office.

The main reason they did not give email and browser access to all computers in the office was not a financial one, but based on the suspicion that if they did, staff were likely to spend their working day emailing friends and browsing things they shouldn’t.

Looking back, we now know that empowering employees by giving them a better armory of communication tools, albeit non-traditional ones, not only failed to cause the predicted chaos, but actually enhanced working practices.

If that is true, then should we not now likewise be encouraging businesses to promote employees’ use of social media tools like Facebook, Linkedin, Bebo and Twitter?

The importance of Facebook, the social networking site with over 150 million users worldwide, including two-thirds of the UK’s under 35s, should not be ignored. However, unless you are actually a member, it’s difficult to understand the attraction.

Facebook is a fantastic social networking tool which allows members to keep in touch with their friends, customers and co-workers, as well as making new ones. You get to see their profile and they get to see yours. Members post photos, comments on their lives, questions for others and stories or videos they find interesting.

What makes Facebook, which recently marked its 5th birthday, revolutionary is that users can join specific interest groups – there are thousands of them, covering everything from night clubs, restaurants and charities, to green issues, political parties and sporting clubs.

Tapping into this area enables businesses to build up a digital voice of how they perceive themselves, their values and their interests, as well as sharing interesting information with ‘friends’ who will also find it interesting.

The internet groups which Facebook members join can also post events or comments directly to their ‘wall’or home page in order to keep them informed, enhancing their own digital persona when a friend reads their profile in turn.

Of course, there are hundreds of social networking sites like Facebook on the internet, many of them designed specifically for businesses. What all of them have in common, however, is that if you don’t join in, becoming proactive in contributing and connecting with new friends, your digital voice weakens. For social media to work for you, you need to work at it.

Take, for example, the Potthouse Bar in Belfast. The bar only needs to whisper online about a new event and all 500 of its Facebook ‘friends’ listen. Within minutes, conversations about the event start which in turn cause friends of the Potthouse’s friends to read all about it. With practically no effort or cost, the bar is assured of a good turnout at the event (assuming it was received positively by the crowd!).

Social media is the new email, a communication tool that is superseding traditional marketing methods. It should be embraced and used to full advantage to achieve business objectives, rather than something we prevent our staff from using. Good staff will use social networks in a positive way to enhance your business – the not-so-good will find an excuse to be on them anyway …