Are you a brick and mortar business?  I am a Social Media community manager in a small town (I also own a Local Internet marketing company) and I find there is an enormous need for the local mom and pops and other “traditional” businesses to learn how to leverage the power of a social network and the relationship building processes that take place that way. 

It seems to me, many traditional SMBs are looking at Social Media from the perspective of the big brands and lose focus on the fact that they are a local business.  Of course, the focus on “likes” is misleading, when the focus really must be on engagement, but I find many B2C/Brick and Mortar businesses DON’T WANT to engage!  They commonly tell me things like, “I don’t care about John getting coffee, Or “How is knowing that Sally’s daughter just graduated going to help me grow my business”  This blows my mind.

Small/Local Business is about community, is it not?  How are you finding success as a local small business (especially in non-metro areas)?

I am interested in knowing your thoughts on a webinar that I did for some of my peeps in the Community Group I manage which addresses a mindset I think local brick and mortar/traditional businesses need to adopt if they are going to garner any benefit from their social media presence: http://youtu.be/ekrjxYk7N8w

@annfurnivall – Thank you for that information!  I think many businesses think they only should talk about their products and services.  I am of the opinion that they don’t think people really care about the people behind the business, but the reality is, that is what customers care about most!  It’s much more fun to walk in and know the names of the people and be able to ask questions about their lives.  Transparency in the local marketplace is GOLD!