I CAN still remember the time when Friendster was banned. In the company I was working for a few years ago, a lot of people would check their Friendster accounts during working hours, and so the company banned access to it, citing the need to use one’s working hours more productively.

These days, more and more working people stay logged on to their accounts in social networking sites such as Facebook, My Space, Friendster, and the like the whole working day. In fact, some companies encourage participation in such sites, and with good reason.

“We pride ourselves as the premier digital marketing services agency so more than being in social networking sites, we have to ‘know’ what’s new in the digital landscape — what’s hot and what’s not — and how it could work for us and our clients. And as part of viral marketing campaigns, we have to be able to ’seed’ information through these social networking sites,” explains Arlyn Onte, e-commerce manager of Yehey.com.

At global PR firm Weber Shandwick, employees are encouraged to use social networks. “In early 2007, Weber Shandwick launched Screengrab, our interactive, social and emerging media practice as part of our new global positioning ‘Advocacy starts here.’ Screengrab uses new media channels to put clients’ messages at the epicenter of today’s digital lifestyle with attention-grabbing contents that engage, inform, entertain and rally people, encourage discussions and word-of-mouth influence, and create consumer evangelists, or what we call Advocates, for brands,” shares Yvonne Marie G. Policarpio, director for business development and corporate affairs of Weber Shandwick’s Manila office. “Since we were advocating the use of emerging media then, Weber Shandwick found it just appropriate that we practice what we preach. We were encouraged to actively use and experiment with the various forms and types of social media to make us better equipped to advise clients how best to use them.”

Social networking sites are great tools in reaching overseas relatives, long lost friends, and yes, one’s target market. Policarpio agrees and says, “By participating in social media sites, companies can forge relationships, connect and engage their brand’s net-savvy audiences to achieve their most important business goals.”

But what of the criticism that employees will just waste otherwise productive time by browsing such sites? Well it may be time to think differently. “Companies must learn, if they still haven’t yet, to regard digital media as not just another optional add-on to traditional channels of communication. Digital media has emerged and has become a part of everyday life,” says Policarpio. “Social networks engage its members to so many activities within its site. There is personal engagement in social networking, and this personal engagement explains the ‘law of the few.’ So rather than push information, companies can engage individuals, their employees, as their advocates. In its strongest form, advocacy forges bonds and higher levels of involvement – active, vocal, proud, informed and experiential. In this age of digitized communications, creating advocates out of their employees may just help bring their message across to their target audience.”