Many people have been putting off their social networking for too long. In the New Year, the time has come to seize the bull by the horns (or the internet by the modem, as the case may be) and tackle that Facebook profile.

If you own a small business – or even a large one – then you likely have ventured into the social networking world by now. It is an intriguing and appealing concept: making “friends” with your clients and potential clients, then leveraging that loyalty and rapport to improve profits and increase sales. And many businesses have used these sites already to dramatically increase their profits and take their organization to the next level.

If you’re a smart, savvy business owner, you already have a great website, a stellar blog and are building an email list that promises to help your business weather any type of storm.

However, you may be noticing that a big part of your target market is not online. You know if they saw your website they would want work with you. So how can you promote an online website to offline prospects?

As a small business owner, you know that your reputation is everything. And when it comes to the Internet, this fact is – if possible – even truer.

Take a moment and type in your own business or personal name in a search engine. What type of information comes up?

Is your business listed in Google Local Search? If not, now may be the perfect time.

Google has just introduced a new “Google’s Favorite Places” program which started when they sent window stickers to 100,000 local businesses.