In today's economy, those of us who are still in the retail game know that now more than ever we have to find creative ways to keep customers coming through our doors. It's not enough just to flip over your open sign and expect our clients to just flock in to see our fabulous new merchandise, or how we've artfully rearranged our stores.

Nope. Fickle Mother Recession has still got her fingers clamped tightly around our consumers pocketbooks, and even with the latest positive news that "people are shopping again," we still have to be smart about getting the word out about our shops, services and products. Luckily, with the power of the Internet that's easier to do than ever before.

With the technology that we literally hold in our hands every day, the power of the Internet is able to help us promote our businesses, because our clients are a captive audience as well. There is no one that I know who does not religiously check e-mail several times a day, as well as interact on two of the biggest cocktail parties in the world: Facebook and Twitter. If you're already using these two amazing marketing tools, kudos to you. But if you haven't gotten with the technological craze that can energize your business like crazy, I would say you are out of your mind.

Seriously, those of you who know me are aware that I have been dragged into the Internet age kicking and screaming. It was under duress that I set up my Facebook account last November. However, the more I started learning about how I could connect instantly with thousands of people, it was definitely something I wanted to learn more about.

In a nutshell, Facebook allows you to share what you are doing with family and friends. You can actually set up a Facebook page for your business, allowing you to do the same with potential clients everywhere, with the added benefit of being able to be relatively anonymous.

I'm not really keen on sharing my family photos with total strangers, but setting up a Facebook page or group for your business isn't like inviting customers into your living room. You are separated from your personal and business pages, but kept up-to-date as to who exactly has joined your page or group.

I use my page to promote events at L&M Designs, as well as showcase the occasional product of the day, or awards we have won. It takes me two seconds to proclaim to the world that we've been published in a national magazine: click, add link and voila! My message is spread throughout the Facebook world. You even have the ability to place ads on their site, appealing to the exact demographic you're trying to reach, in your geographic locale. You only pay per the amount of clicks your ad gets (which is pennies per day) and you can change your ad at any time, giving you complete control over your content day or night.

The other new love of my Internet life is Twitter, a phenomenon that is sweeping the entire world. With Twitter, you can sign up either as a business or an individual, and you sum up "what you are doing" in 140 characters or less. Millions of people use Twitter every day, and the contacts you can make instantly are simply amazing. Not only is the staff of Home Accents Today among my followers (@homeaccents2day, @jennyheinzen, @tracybulla, @wesathome, @susandickenson, @lindseystrader) the most amazing retailers, designers, magazines and other cool people and products are right there just waiting to be found.

My pal Wes Kennedy, the art director at this beloved magazine, does an amazing job of bringing to Twitter the hottest in new products, designers, and just relevant articles that would take hours for us mere mortals to research. Through Wes' recommendations, I am following such amazing people in our industry on Twitter, getting to know them and gaining their respect for what I do one keystroke at a time.

I am currently working on a fantastic project called the CharityWorks Green House, the first Carbon Neutral showhouse in the Mid-Atlantic region, and even though it doesn't open to the public until October, I am already using the power of Twitter to promote my participation as one of the designers. By "tweeting" to my followers links to my blog about the Virtual Golf Room I am designing for the project (www.LynniMegginson.com) I am spreading the word about it to people I could never have just picked up the phone and called.

Already I have the editor who covers Eco-projects at CNN following me, as well as The Today Show, Good Morning America and even Oprah. I got a call from USA Today wanting to know if they could do a feature in their weekend magazine about my Virtual Golf Room, all through the power of the Internet. If I can get this kind of recognition for one project in a decorator showhouse, imagine how you could use this to promote your own independent business!

It's a domino effect. Connecting with like-minded people in the world of social networking can bring you exposure and new clients. One of my Twitter friends Jerry Christenson (aka @BrainGuyJerry) summed up his take on the social networking situation: "It's simple. Do you like being sold something you didn't ask for? Social networking allows me to interact with other people who will spread the word about my products because they like the person behind the product. A personal referral is the best referral, and if it leads to more people finding out about me on Facebook and Twitter, it's going to be good for the bottom line of my business. You just don't know who will walk in your door next."

I couldn't have said it better myself. By taking the plunge into social networking, we have the opportunity to make connections with our end users, allowing them to get to know us, and the products and services we have to offer, in the process. After all, isn't that what being an independent retailer is all about?