In my book, 3 main reasons for a strong personal online presence are as follows:

1.      78% of consumers trust peer to peer recommendations (referrals). Social sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have built-in referral tools AND they show up very well on Google search requests (usually much faster than a new website can). That’s a great combo deal, and it can be “supersized” by someone who knows what they are doing.

2.      If you aren’t telling your story, either someone else is or the customer has to make up reasons why you aren’t showing up online (such as, “maybe he’s out of business now…”).

3.      People prefer to have a relationship with an actual person, not a logo. By honestly representing yourself and who you are will resonate with plenty of people. And the ones who don’t like you (for whatever reason) probably won’t buy anyway.

This is good news! Well, maybe not good for criminals or the sort of folks that like to scam. But any service provider with a decent product and good service will do well with an enterprise social media campaign. They will be lifted up by their own customers and shared, with or without an “official” market development strategy. And at low cost. So jump in the social media pool if you haven’t yet. The water’s fine!