A round table panel of professionals who use social media as part of a business strategy were on hand to field questions from the conference floor of printers. All were eager to hear why social media was important and several initially showed scepticism as to whether it was even worthwhile spending any time on Twitter and the like.

The answer to that particular question came in the way of an anecdote. One member of the panel described how he had spent nearly two hours waiting at a biscuit factory to speak to one of the buyers. He said that in the time it took to get through security, various receptionists and personal assistants, and a spell in a dull reception area he could have spoken to scores of potential clients on Linkedin or Google Plus.

The experts included Laurence Knopf of Search Engine Rescue who said it was important for businesses to have a profile on Linkedin and Google Plus, which were favoured by marketing people. He said Facebook was beloved by younger people who understood how social media worked in their social life, but may not realise how it can work for business.

A note of caution was sounded by the panel, as one small error put into social media could go viral, giving the company a bad name. For instance if everyone in a company had access to its Facebook account then a disgruntled employee could say something negative such as “work sucks” or “this company doesn’t know what it is doing.”

So who should be in charge of a firm’s social media? The answer was it should be taken to the heart of the business and used by those who control the firm’s image and marketing and must include the management. Interns and work experience students should not be given access unless trusted.

Other tips were that building quality followers on Twitter meant your message would go to fewer, but more influential people, and that Linkedin is good for finding decision-makers, usually the print buyer of a firm. By the end of the talk, even die-hard traditionalists of a sceptic disposition seemed to consider social media does have a role in the sign-making industry.