A quick addendum to Tom Hood's insightful post, “Still not convinced about social media?”

Tom writes, “I continue to be amazed by how many people are still skeptical about social media as a legitimate business tool.” So do I. The evidence is clear, and yet many folks still look at these tools with suspicion or flat-out scorn. It baffles me.

So in January, I made my annual pilgrimage to Annapolis for CPA Day, where I spoke with three social-savvy CPAs. Each is a social media evangelist, so I said to myself, “Here's a perfect opportunity. Let these CPAs tell the rest of the profession what social media has done for them.”

The list is impressive.

• Sharon Gubinsky of Santos, Postal and Company has brought in two new clients since November, thanks almost entirely to her social presence.
• Barrett Young of Lakes and Company uses the tools to learn about groundbreaking issues before his clients do. “That way,” he says, “they're not finding out about it on the news before they hear it from us. They're not responding to something that we haven't been proactive on.”
• Young also has connected with CPAs across the country. His network and his ability to learn have grown exponentially, thanks to social media. “I have people following me from California and Ohio and North  Carolina,” he said. “They're all interested, they all participate with me and they all ask me questions. And I get to ask them questions.”

Tom would call all of that “authenticity, communication and connection” — three huge business benefits of social media. And thanks to folks like Gubinsky, you can add “clientele” to the list. In a bottom-line business world, it doesn't get much more real than that.

Listen to more of my interviews with Maryland's social CPAs here:

Now, tell us your social story. What works for you? What doesn't?