There’s no doubt the couple of big social networking sites that we hear about the most are powerful tools and have a wide reach. But there are many different social networking sites out there that can help you promote your business. Think local and if your city or area has a social network managed by local entrepreneurs, sign up.

If you’re not that lucky, there’s a site that brings national resources and name recognition to bear in a series of local networks. We’re talking about Yelp (www.yelp.com). This social networking site and mobile app has networks in all 50 states and eight countries. It focuses on local businesses with local directories and services with user-generated reviews. You can engage with Yelp’s active user community and take  dvantage of the specific tools for local businesses with Yelp for Business Owners (biz.yelp.com).

Foursquare (www.foursquare.com) is another site to check out. This useful and fun site lets you earn points and unlock badges for discovering new things.

Biznik (www.biznik.com) helps small business owners, entrepreneurs and ‘companies of one’ create and maintain connections with each other. It’s akin to holding conversations with your professional peers. They recommend not only thinking outside the box, but flattening it and  ecycling it.

For additional local interactions try Meetup (www.meetup.com) or Tribe (www.tribe.net).

Small businesses can take full advantage of these smaller social networking sites. Search the Internet to see if there is a group near you where  you can interact with others in your situation. Just be sure to keep in mind that all these groups and small social networking sites aren’t set up  to be used for sales pitches or self-promotion. They’re for strengthening your business, building relationships and uncovering new opportunities.