Relative Strengths and Weaknesses of Leading Social Networks

Via PCMag.com's Stephanie Mlot, a summary of and infographic about the leading social networks' -- Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Linkedin -- comparative growth, monthly visitors, and marketing ROI. 

"Infographic: Which Social Networks Make the Grade?" 

January 14, 2013 

Social media hit the roof in 2012, but how did each individual network compare to its rivals? 

Now that the dust has settled on the year that gave us Pinterest, a Facebook-Instagram acquisition, and even the news that MySpace is resurfacing, marketing software provider Pardot has graded Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and LinkedIn.

"With so many social networks to manage and likely more on the way, it is important to understand the growth rates, visitor counts, optimal uses, and strengths and weaknesses of the major social networks to determine where to exert your limited time and resources," Pardot said in a blog post. 

Based on each network's growth, monthly visitors, and estimated marketing return-on-investment (ROI), Twitter comes closest to earning straight A's. The micro-blogging site scored a B-minus in terms of growth, but took home an A-minus in monthly users and a solid A for ROI. Boasting 37 million monthly visitors, Twitter is second only to Facebook's massive following, but its 13 percent growth over the year beat Facebook's 4 percent drop. 

Summary continues and full infographic at link.