Bridged Design’s latest blog about their recent “field trip” to a social media training/networking event left them scratching their heads. Seems the focus of the presentation was on LinkedIn and how valuable it was to professionals and businesses in the government contracting industry. No doubt all true. But, I agree with my friends at Bridged Design that other social networks should be leveraged as well. As they wisely ask in their post, “why not leverage them all…”. Link: Extend Your Reach: Leveraging ALL the Social Networks
They didn’t stop there though, they included some interesting facts about some of the “overlooked” and certainly under appreciated social networks. Here are some facts:
Number of active registered users last year by network:
Facebook: 850 Million
Twitter: 300 Million
Google+: 235 Million
LinkedIn: 150 Million
Instagram: 100 Million
Pinterest: 11 Million
Out of curiosity I went to each of these to verify they put their money (i.e. time in this case) where their mouth is. Here is what I discovered about their social network (whom they affectionately refer to as their “children“). Here is what I discovered:
Number of followers:
Facebook: Bridged Design – 205 likes
Twitter: Bridged Design – 318 Followers
Google+: Bridged Design
LinkedIn: Bridged Design – 20 followers
Instagram: not found
Pinterest: Bridged Design – 7 followers
What stood out for me as I visited each of the social networks Bridged Design nurtures is the number of “likes” their Facebook page has. Granted some of these likes are from staff, family, and friends. But, what about the clients, prospects, and other people they live and work with? Is there any doubt that they enjoyed finding Bridged Design on Facebook and liking their page?
Having a presence on these major social networks does take time, especially in the creation phase (trust me!). Other than some time though, they are all free to participate on. I can’t find a reason to trade some TV, or other wasted time, for some time establishing a presence on every one of the major social networks. It will prevent someone else from snatching a user name that should matches your brand (ahem.. “GovCon”). And it casts your net a little further out there and as the laggards eventually sign up they’ll be happy to say hello (like, follow, etc…) when they discover you there.
