Originally only available in the US, the social networking site rolled deals out to Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK earlier this year. The idea is beautifully simple. Smartphone users 'check in' to places on Facebook (eg: hotels, shopping centres, restaurants) and receive deals from nearby establishments. The perception is that the main companies who will benefit from deals are restaurants and high street retailers, but there's no reason why savvy printers can't offer Facebook deals themselves. For instance, high street copy shops could offer consumers deals around the printing of digital images from their smartphones or cameras.

Another way to drum up business using Facebook and Twitter, is by building a team of online followers. Most of the world's biggest brands have Facebook and Twitter pages – indeed some online experts predict that one-day branded Facebook pages could replace official company websites. Simply adding 'Follow us on Facebook/Twitter' links to the homepage of your website or on company emails could see you rapidly build a substantial online following to whom you can offer exclusive deals or discounts. Mining the data of your band of followers could also identify some interesting business opportunities.

While it may be the less sexy cousin of Facebook and Twitter, the business networking site LinkedIn can also be an invaluable business tool. I spoke to a UK company the other day that had drummed up significant new business in the Middle East and Eastern Europe thanks to its presence on LinkedIn. At the moment it's less cut and dry about how to win business through LinkedIn but the advice from social media experts is that companies should take an active part in online debates so that people see the company's name/brand popping up regularly and also join as many groups as possible that are relevant to the business. It takes a lot of time and energy to engage with customers on a regular basis via the different social media channels, but otherwise it's a free, invaluable tool that could help secure new revenue streams.