When it comes to social media, I don’t think a day goes by without it coming up in conversation as I carry out my role as Director with PSYBT.

In many cases, with some that I meet, it can be very much a case of the “marmite” factor, where social media is something that is either loved or hated.

So, as social media grows and becomes an ever increasing part of everyday business considerations, what will the implications be for the micro to small businesses that are being started every day throughout Scotland?

Does social media give these early stage businesses the ability to compete with those much more long standing in the market? Is social media something that every business has the ability to harness to its benefit, and are people from the younger generation more in tune with social media benefits than others?

As an organisation working with 18 to 25 year olds we are fortunate to be surrounded by young people completely unfazed by the never ending rapid changes in technology and its ability to change the way in which we all work.

This knowledge and understanding was recently shared and reflected within the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) conference in St Andrews as part of a discussion on “Generation Y”.

Emma Fitzpatrick, marketing co-ordinator, who has been a major contributor to the implementation of the PSYBT Social Media strategy, was able to contribute to the debate at the SCDI conference and is not surprised by the zest with which the PSYBT client group have taken to social media. People like Benedetto Bordone, who runs his successful creative design agency “The Loft” from its Glasgow base, for example.

Meeting with Benedetto to discuss and learn from him about how he has harnessed social media to benefit his business is one of the most inspiring things I have done in the last few very busy weeks.

Like most start-ups, cash flow was something that Ben was very careful about, however clever use of social media allowed his business to punch above its weight.  It took many hours of planned weekly blogging, daily tweets and retweets over several years, but the hard work is paying dividends as his business grows.

“It is about the quality of the content and the desire of the market to engage in good material that is important with the blogs I produce,” said Ben. “My clients are willing to engage with me through their trust in the quality of my content.

"I am not convinced that it is age that is the differentiating factor – it is far more important to have the attitude and willingness to adopt a strategy to utilise the benefits that social media can bring to your business that are key.”

So, having been inducted into new terminology such as “Generation Y” and “digital native” and as someone who is definitely not within the Gen Y age group, I feel enthused and excited about the opportunities that exist for small businesses, no matter what the age of the proprietor.

If you are unconvinced then just take some time to meet up with someone like Benedetto Bordone and I am sure his energy will certainly inspire you to think otherwise.