Social media usually means a forum for meeting and chatting and exchanging information, such as FaceBook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and hundreds more sites small and large, public and private.

Social media is great for socialising, but does it have a legitimate business role?

The answer is yes, but only for a small part of most markets – and that market reach comes at significant cost in terms of time and effort.

Our advice; don't invest significant time or hope in social media until you've mapped out a clear, credible business model for how you will earn a return on your investment in social media.

It's actually the same cautionary advice we gave in the late 90s and earl years of this century regarding websites. Just like websites we expect that social media can mature into a mainstream and core business tool – but right now, it won't be worthwhile for everyone.

Social linking

You might never be able to build your own Facebook site, but you can use your site to create links between people who have common interests or views. You can do this via a blog or a forum.

For example, you might have an industry forum where current issues could be discussed by people in the industry, in a way that rises above the companies they work for. This would be a real value for some people; they would come to your website for it and your website would build industry credibility.

Or, a qualified and opinionated person could run a blog that raised, examined and promoted issues - and encouraged discussion. Your blog could build credibility and attract new people.

This is social linking on a specific scale.