We buy from brands we trust, right? So earning the trust of your consumers is your priority.

These days, where it’s as easy at a paying $30 to put up a customized web site, where anyone can claim to be the “best” or the “oldest” or the “most experienced” company, how do consumers know if the company they’re choosing is legitimate or not?

The truth is scary—they don’t. Unless you’re a well-established brand, or unless you’ve got big bucks to spend on mass advertising, chances are you are struggling to make your small business stand out and seem credible.

Social media is now playing a part in giving legitimacy to your work. A poll conducted by www.allfacebook.com, identified that 40 percent of online shoppers check to see if the company has a fan page on Facebook.

Incorporating social media into your overall branding strategy is the goal here. In addition to branding your business materials and promotional items, you want to build your brand online. Similar to a background check, people verify multiple forms of identification, and if one form is missing, your application is weaker than the guy who isn’t missing anything.  For example, you meet someone at an event and they give you their business card. When you get home, you look them up on Google. You find the company, along with five other companies doing the same thing, so you’re still skeptical.  The next stop is Facebook—if you’re not on it, you’ve just been eliminated.

In today’s competitive online market, where it’s a lot harder to earn consumers’ trust among competition, make sure you’re up to speed with developed and visible social media profiles. We call that branded in and out!