HOW TO: Use Social Media to Retain Customers

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum , where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business.

There are many times or reasons that a small business will receive an influx of new customers — such as around the holidays for retail stores, during a new product or service launch, or after a local advertising campaign.

While new customers are great, returning customers are even...