How many Social Networks are you signed up for? How many do you let lay dormant? Is it good to be on a Social network and not be active? How many networks are too many?

@jasonwiser I usually sign up for a new SM network just to reserve my name. I am most active on Twitter and LinkedIn. Even though I understand the power of Facebook, I really don’t care for it; however, I will need to get better on the platform in order to have better engagement with my association’s members. Pinterest is a new addition for me and, as I’ve always been a fan of photos, it’s a fun way to catalog various images.

My feeling is that it’s better to concentrate on 1-3 platforms where your clients reside. Anything else you can do on a personal basis to keep your skills and personal brand going.

@jasonwiser @kc_kreative

I’m on more than I care to admit, and unfortunately have let most of them lie dormant.

I agree with Kristy’s statement, “to concentrate on 1-3 platforms where your clients reside”.

@cherelleleong

The other day I heard Twitter described as “the road rage” of all social media.

facebook and  pinterest….im on  but  not  active on  google +…. dormant on linked in….  we are heavily  connected on  facebook, its  been  great ..we are  local  brick and mortar 

.if i hear  my  customers   start t alking about google + i might  try  that…. 

i dont  get  twitter at all…  for us…

 . im  always open to jumping put into a new place….like i  did with pinterest   a  few  weeks  ago….    

I use Facebook for two business pages (no personal page), Twitter for my main blog/website, and am considering Pinterest and Google+. I am a Luddite when it comes to Social Media channels. I fully appreciate their potential value for the small business owner, but I fear the temptation is to “join everything” and use nothing well.

As a Christian I feel I must walk a fine line between advocating these networks as crucial business tools – which they certainly can be – and as potential time-wasters or, worse, home-breakers. I am concerned about the vast numbers of people who have lost their marriages, families, etc. because of relationships founded on Facebook and other venues.

BUT… making strategic use of a few key social networks can be a powerful way for an entrepreneur to take his or her business to the next level and beyond.

Hiya everybody, some of the points raised here really ring a cord with me. In trying to learn about social media as I’m told its essential for any business I’ve found almost a complete and often confusing universe of sites. (This site seems the most ‘user friendly’) . At times, like Chris I wonder at the value of some of the others to our business against the time spent. I have the same questions as everybody here, however in reference to concentrating on my target audience, I’ve been surprised at where my customers have popped up on various social media sites. A policy I will be implementing in the future (which I wouldn’t have thought of if I hadn’t visited here ) is 1/ to ask future clients, if they didn’t mind, to tell us which social media sites they use and 2/ ask them to put their reviews of their visit with us on their social media (perhaps even ask their permission to copy and paste that too) We have always had good reviews so I have no fear of them being online. 

@chrisloeser you would be surprised to see how many links are available that are not “no-follow”. I am currently putting the finishing touches on “Your Social Grid”, a product that helps you find a number of free backlinks, while the same time securing your brand like  @kc_kreative and  @joanmuschampfagnani have suggested. 

As a client, you need to pick your battles wisely. @warrenveach rightly suggests 1-3 to be effective. But as a consultant, it is very important to know what is out there so you help direct your clients. Also,  it is valuable to try different sites as they might be a better fit. 

I’m on them all – you name it and I have an account there (pretty much, mostly). No kidding. It was a no brainer about 12-13 years ago when Ryze.com was the first BIG social media place. Ryze was a start-up in 1999 and the first Social Media outlet to hit it really big.  But now, there are so many, I’d never be able to keep up.

I concentrate on twitter, FB, G+ these days but do check in at LinkedIn and Four Square when the mood strikes, and time allows.

@dongrandy Agreed, Don. And another balancing act for me is to maintian a genuine and authentic faith while avoiding any perception of unduly injecting my faith into a business relationship/environment. I really admire folks like Dave Ramsey, Michael Stelzner, @jasonwiser and others who seem to manage this quite well.

I am not concerned about people knowing that I am Christian, I just don’t want that fact to take away from anything I have to offer in terms of business advice, knowledge, insights, etc.

@bobbyburns @dongrandy I have two separate business. One, Webination Station is specifically for churches, para church organizations, and Christian business men and women. I of course have freedom to inform my niche about my faith, and to market to that community. My second product, “Your Social Grid” does not have overtly Christian descriptions because we hope to reach out beyond our niche. So I understand where you are coming from  @bobbyburns. I am listed as the director, and anyone can search and find about my faith. So i do not hide it, but I do not leverage it outside Webination Station. 

great discussion here, I’ve wondered how to do it all, too. I think hootsuite helps stay on top some, I’m bouncing around focusing on one then another, probably not the best way to go about it. Mostly personal fb. business/personal blog, auto twitter and pinterest, sometimes google+ and rarely linkedin @jasonwiser @warrenveach @dongrandy @bobbyburns @supereb @lizkarschner @chrisloeser @kimkline @cherelleleong

Hi @jasonwiser
How many is not as important as which ones. Don’t waste your efforts in networks where is less possible to reach your market. Put your strength in the networks thar are really relevant. That’s my opinion

@trudyd1474 Flickr allows you to view any photos that are public without signing up for the service itself.

As many have stated in this there are so many SM platforms that are on the rise right now.  I focus on FB, Twitter, LinkedIn and my Flickr account.  Probably will have to hop on Google+ before to long.

I use TweetDeck to help manage a few of my accounts but it would be nice if it was able to help with all of the SM I am currently on.

For a business I think that if your have a strong precence on several platforms your probably going to be alright.  For instance in our industry I dont see Pintrest going to be very helpful so we are holding off on joining.

@fernandocortes you have a great point about choosing the networks that will work best for your business. i think is important to test the waters and see where you get the best reactions and responses.