When I speak to groups or to individuals, one of my standard questions is do you have a LinkedIn profile, Facebook profile, Twitter handle and do you have a company page for each of those?

Recently I read an article entitled Why Google+ Wont Succeed.  The basis of the article is that people don’t like to dance alone and there aren’t enough people on the dance floor on Google+.

When I started in social media everyone spoke about the “Big 3” that referred to LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. I feel that people still tend to think of those before some of the other networks – like Google+.  Do you have an account on G+? for you?  for your business?

What about Pinterest? Flickr? YouTube?

As of this writing, YouTube is the #2 social network.  It boasts over 800 Million unique users and 3 Billion hours of video watched monthly.  Now the “Big 3” might just refer to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.  Check this infographic –

Facebook as of March 2012 had 901 Million monthly active users and Linked in has 161 Million professionals.

As of April 2012 Google+ had only 170 Million users but there are predictions of 400 Million by the end of the year.  Again, do you like to play on a playground that no one else is using?

Pinterest is another animal.  With only 10 million plus users, the demographics on that is a bit more defined.  It is a good tool for the right user and audience, but so are Flickr and Picasso.

Picking the social networks that are the best for your company can be the biggest challenge, but participating in at least one is crucial for you to stay in front of potential clients.  Setting everything up to have a consistent brand is important and engaging your audience is critical.  How often and on how many channels to choose to engage is up to you, your time or your budget.  Sometimes just getting your feet wet and scheduling some time to do the updates is the start of something new and exciting.

Should you need guidance or assistance, there are firms like Time2Mkrt available for your support.  Call on me or them, but get started soon.