Editor’s note: This post is sponsored by PartnerUp.

Companies across the globe are hitting the social media scene hard in an effort to better reach their customers and deepen relationships. This kind of activity is visible on sites like Twitter or industry/company-specific online communities.

While many small business owners are acutely aware of this trend and are utilizing social media tools to reach their own customers, they rarely consider the fact that they are in fact customers themselves â?? customers who have a voice.

As a small business owner, you likely work with suppliers everyday. Chances are, many of the businesses that you work with desperately want your feedback and are harnessing the power of social media to get it. Just think… by engaging with the social media efforts of your suppliers, you can make a direct connection with them and in turn have immediate power over the way you are served.

Here are some examples:

- If you have a complaint over changes a supplier recently made to its payment structure, you can use social media to discuss the issue with other customersâ??all the while having the eyes and ears of the supplier you’re complaining about.

- If a supplier just launched an exciting new service that will benefit your business but you have a few ideas on how to make it even better, you can use social media to post these ideas and receive feedback from other customers.

- If you just received a new product from a supplier and are having trouble figuring out how to best utilize it and need help, you can use social media to post your questions and receive answers from other customers you’ve used it or the supplier itself.

There’s no doubt that your primary goal in social media engagement should be to connect with your own customers, but isn’t it also beneficial to connect with the businesses that are working to serve you?