It is pretty clear that social media works for big brands. Just to name a few, we all admire the utilization of SM by Southwest, Jet Blue, Comcast, and Dell among a myriad of others.

But what about smaller companies? What about small and medium sized businesses that don’t have the brand awareness of a large corporation? Does it work for them?

I spend a lot of time convincing businesses that social media marketing is real and here to stay. But I’m pretty sure you all wouldn’t appreciate a sales pitch in a blog post, so instead I’m going to give 21 examples of small to medium sized Chicago businesses that are using social media effectively. In no particular order:

1) Half Acre Brewery : Beer and social media are a natural fit ( I worte about social media marketing for breweries a little earlier this year) . It is great to see a small craft brewery with an active Twitter account, Facebook fan page, and pretty high quality blog. It probably helps that the owner is a former ad man.

2) Chicago Architecture Foundation — Great at using social media to build a community around Chicago’s famed architecture tours and tourism industry.

3) Rockit Bar and Grill — Looking past the flash page of their website, they have successfully realized that people follow brands/ stores/ restaurants on Twitter for contests and specials. They offer a new one every Tuesday.

4) Imagination Publishing– A content marketing and custom publishing agency that really gets social media. Positioned at the confluence of online marketing and publishing.

5) Threadless — Threadless is a well known T-shirt company that makes some pretty hilarious shirts, and also knows how to leverage contest marketing. Want to see what a small business can do with a facebook page? Check out theirs, great mix of community building and marketing.

6) Douglas Allergy Relief — Full disclosure, they are a client, but it is a lot of fun to see a family owned store compete with some of the big boys in the allergy relief industry. We are helping them get started with social media, look out for them in the future.

7) Foiled cupcakes — Many of you may have read the extensive coverage of Sprinkles cupcakes in LA, and their social marketing efforts. Foiled rivals them in terms of their customer engagement and overall social presence. Everyone loves cupcakes!

8 ) Green City Market — Know your farmer. Know your food. Green City Market is your parent’s farmers market evolved. They network with local chefs (mostly through social media) and turn the farmers market into an event that is larger than a shopping trip and make it a destination for all Chicago foodies.

9) The Local Beet — Great advice and resources for those who are passionate about the local and slow food movements.

10) Berry Chill — They have capitalized on the trendiness of frozen yogurt and have really taken it to the next level with great branding and community building around their product. Part of the reason why people go to Berry Chill is to feel cool. This translates to their website and social presence very well.

11) Homemade Pizza Co. – Homemade Pizza Co. is using their Twitter to announce and promote new locations. That’s one great way for a small, local business to expand into a nationwide chain! They also serve their fans and employees better with Facebook groups for each.

12) “NUTS ON CLARK” – This Chicago icon and favorite airport terminal destination has taken itself online and is providing Chicagoans with interesting facts about our city and the seasons via Twitter. They offer useful and interesting information, making their social media presence more robust!

13) Total Attorneys – Total Attorneys helps lawyers become interactive online, primarily by being interactive themselves. They do everyone a favor by promoting their charitable endeavors through social media, too!

14) Tru – This “temple of haute cuisine” is using just about every review site online and leveraging the comments of its fans to attract new diners. What better way to promote a restaurant and its delicious menu? Check out the massive amounts of 5-stars on their Yelp page.

15)  Homescout Realty – This Chicago realty agency networks with the social media heavy hitters on Twitter, giving us a peek into Chicago news and events, their office life, their properties and charitable efforts.

16) Grub Hub – Grub Hub’s social presence features their vendors, benefiting their restaurant clientele and themselves! And with their successful multi-city expansion, we think they’re doing something right.

17) Cheeky Chicago – Proving that targeting a smaller demographic can be highly successful through social media, Cheeky provides deals, reviews and a community to “fun, fabulous and fierce…chic, intelligent and in-the-know” ladies in Chicago.

18) NCSA – The National Collegiate Scouting Association pledges to make college recruiting simple, and it’s connecting with young athletes in the way that is most familiar to them– social media. With over 1,000 Twitter followers, we’d say they’re simply creating a success.

19) IEG – IEG  is on the cutting edge of social media and is nearly flawless in their execution and integration. Right on the homepage of their website, they invite you to join the conversation with the extensive IEG social media presence, but they also have Twitter accounts to foster interaction around their marketing efforts and the conference the company hosts. Plus, they spotlight their individuals with IEG-branded Twitter profiles and provide employees with their own IEG blogs to sound off. We’d say they’ve got a strong handle on social media.

20) Featherproof Books – A Chicago indie press taking literature to the masses through highly-integrated social media, mobile apps, and online networking with other Chicago companies. You can connect with them on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter or “even Friendster, because somewhere in the universe, it’s still 2001.” A un-stuffy publishing company, with social media and a sense of humor? Going places.

21) Free Spirit Yacht Cruises – Free Spirit combines face-to-face networking with their excellent social media presence, connecting with various demographics. They’re also taking full advantage of the functionality of Facebook, blogging through the Notes feature and posting pictures and links.

These are a just a few examples of how small to medium sized businesses in Chicago are utilizing social media. We would love to hear your thoughts on the list. Are there any companies we left out?

Do you see opportunites for small businesses in industries not mentioned on this list to get involved with social media marketing?