Social networking provides personal and professional advantages. The biggest advantage being communication. Social networks allow companies to reach wider audiences without ever leaving their office. Pre-social networks days, a lot more money was being spent on advertisements, travel, and business development to reach audiences outside the local area in which the business resides in.
Promoting a product or service has never been easier than through social networks. Companies can do beta launches or product demos within hours receiving valuable feedback that can be taken into factor before launching the actual product.
Social networks like LinkedIN provide an amazingly easy manner to connect with decision makers at companies across the globe. There is no need to buy lists or contact information anymore, most of that information is readily available and easily accessible.
Social networks are also an excellent way to create self-promotion or brand awareness. The best way to do this is by engaging with others on social networks in a way such that people want to dialog with you and to make people curious enough to ask you more about what you do. Finding an employee, evaluating an employee, finding someone who knows someone, etc. are all easier in the age of social networks than even two years ago.
If businesses can stay focused on their goals and reasons for being on social networks, they can leverage the various benefits without falling prey to the disadvantages that are also presented by social networks.