Here’s the thing. Although social media allows you to converse with people  – and potential customers – all over the world, for many small business owners the real people they wish to connect with actually live close by. Social media can be a great networking tool, and a brilliant way of connecting with people locally who you otherwise may not have had the chance to speak with. Check out these top tips for making the most of social networks at a local level:

• Use Twitter’s local trends and tools like Twellow (Twitter’s version of Yellow Pages) to see who else is tweeting in your area and what they’re talking about

• Join in on local networking hours on Twitter  – a great way of connecting with other local businesses. For Nottingham, try #EastMidlandsHour 8-9pm on a Wednesday or #NottsNatter 8-9pm on a Thursday

• Try using Facebook or Twitter advertising to target local users. It’s a great, cost-effective way of being seen by more of the right people

• Follow up your local networking events on LinkedIn and keep in touch with the people who matter

• Try creating a Pinterest board about your local area and invite others to pin on it to create a shared communal space

• Think visually and give your YouTube channel a local flavour with coverage of your events and matters of interest