Professional marketers are advised to make sure their companies are making full use of social networking sites or face the risk of being left behind.

The advice comes from the Professional Marketing Forum (PM Forum) which aims to share best practice among its members so that marketing objectives can be met and encourage the highest standards in professional practices.

The Nottingham branch recently held a seminar, hosted by solicitors Freeth Cartwright, in which internet entrepreneur and Freeserve co-founder Rob Wilmot discussed how corporate entities can take full advantage of opportunities presented by social networking.

The PM Forum's regional director, Lynne Morgan, commented: "Marketers need to be seizing the chance to be at the forefront of a new media revolution. There are many social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn which are out there to be used in a constructive manner.

"In the current economic climate, of course there are issues about return on investment and of course there is bound to be a reluctance in the part of some more traditional companies to embrace something that seems so strange.

"But, the professional marketers in law firms, accountancy firms and many other services, as well as in industries such as construction and insurance, need to familiarise themselves with the latest developments as it is clear that social media is here to stay."

And Lynne added: "Those who shy away from it will be left behind and this may well affect their brand as clients perceive they are not at the forefront of marketing technology."

During his presentation, Rob described some of the ways in which social media has transformed communication and revealed some of the statistics that show just how companies can tap in socio-economic groups and into different geographic regions.

He also described some of the do's and don'ts, and highlighted both good and bad examples of how corporate entities utilise social networking.

To find out more about the PM Forum, which is a 4,000 strong regionally-based members association dedicated to raising the standards of professional services marketing, log on to www.pmforum.co.uk/eastmidlands or call Lynne Morgan on 0115 965 4745.