Society Media highlights benefits of social networking to businesses

Social networking sites can enable companies to target social demographics that would otherwise be difficult to reach, it has been claimed.

According to Henry Palmer, the director of communications agency and contract publisher Society Media, the medium is better suited to targeting certain groups that more traditional forms of either communication, marketing or advertising.

"[Social network sites are] an opportunity to reach a demographic that more traditional means of marketing, advertising and communications have struggled to reach," said Mr Palmer.

"[But] it's not good enough for an outsider from that community to suddenly go and set up a Facebook group, and expect it to work."

Although Mr Palmer believes they key is to create either a group or a profile on a social networking site such as Facebook, the key is to utilise the skills of existing community insiders.