Former Chief Executive of Friends Reunited, Michael Murphy has recently taken up the role of Chairman of Instant, and we asked him for some thoughts about how to make the most effective use of social media. Michael has enjoyed a varied career as one of the UK’s most successful serial entrepreneurs.  In recent years he has been a board member of organisations including Multimap and Datamonitor, where he was instrumental in significantly increasing their share price.

This is Michael’s first role in the commercial property sector, where he will be providing strategic counsel to help build the company’s growing reputation as a global leader in both on-line broking of serviced office space and the provision of a unique, full service managed operation.

Social networking: an irrelevant fad and a waste of employee’s time, or an invaluable platform for communicating with stakeholders? Used shrewdly and creatively it offers another route to customers and the property market should not ignore it.

Whether you’re part of it or not, social media – networking sites, blogs and internet forums – are alive and flourishing. Communities of people, your competitors and customers included, are sharing news, ideas, topics and trends. Whether to take the plunge is a no-brainer; how to do so requires planning and commitment.

Creating a strong presence is neither quick nor easy. While all employees should be encouraged to contribute, a small task force should act as both conduit and guardian, responsible for managing and maintaining the firm’s online presence.

Content is everything: fresh, topical, forward-thinking copy will help build visibility and loyalty to your company or service. However, the corporate website remains the best information source, and social media can direct traffic to it.

The choice of medium depends on the audience and the message. Twitter can be effective in promoting offers and for direct customer service. LinkedIn is the best online tool for building relationships and reputation management.

Benchmarking results is, of course, critical. Depending on the strategy, goals might include increased website traffic, links, feedback and return visits and improved search engine rankings.

The popularity and prevalence of social media is only going to increase, but it is important that businesses never forget that making connections is only worth doing if you can ultimately use them to facilitate deals.