David Harte

1. 	David Harte, Economic Development Manager, Digital Birmingham highlights the benefits of making the most of the many free social media tools available online.

   Making best use of some of the latest social media tools available on the internet can be good for business claims. What's more, many of the new online services aimed at connecting businesses to each other and to customers are free.

    

2. David Harte, is hoping that businesses get the message that social networking is about a lot more than just chatting to friends on Facebook.

   "One of the most fascinating things about social media platforms such as Facebook is that they are perfectly adaptable to both business and personal use." says David. "There are many companies who create profiles and communicate with their customers directly through such services."

    

3. 	"It's no use going to a service like Bebo if your customers are middle-aged men as Bebo is largely for teenagers. Likewise, MySpace is mainly populated by musicians so is of little use if that isn't your sector."

   The better tactic, argues Dave, is to profile your clientele and then do some research on the most suitable social media space your company should be in.

   Services such as BT Tradespace (www.bttradespace.com) offer businesses an easy route into social media, providing them with a platform to write a blog, add pictures and video, build communities and even start online trading. business network.
   
   

    

4. 	It's not all plain-sailing though says David: "social networking is time-consuming and you need to invest time and care to ensure you get your message right.

   Don't alienate your audience by 'spamming' them with too much information. Treat your online customers the same way you would treat customers face-to-face.