So many local businesses assume social media is just for people wanting to reach the masses around the world – right, just like using email and having a web site used to be.

Using social media to grow your local business is one of the most powerful marketing tactics going right now. Think about it, you’ve already established a level of trust in a community and now you can use technology to help build deeper engagement and deeper relationships with the folks that you already do business with. On the flip side, social media makes it much easier to build awareness with people in your community that you might never find, but who you could turn into a customer, because you could jump in the car and go meet in person.

Using online to leverage offline and offline to make online more rewarding is a practice I won’t get tired of talking about. I wrote a column for AMEX OpenForum this week called – 5 Ways to Grow Your Local Business with Social Media – if this topic sounds interesting, go check it out for some how to advice and examples.