I might be slaughtering a few sacred purple cows here.

It seems I can’t go anywhere online to any of my networks without seeing advertisements or invitations for workshops on “How to use Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter for Business.” Join a few groups on LinkedIn and you’ll find announcements for these things all over the country. I’ve been to a couple, and they are very helpful for those that are just dipping their toe in the social media waters.

However, I’ve talked to some small business owners and a few nonprofits, and the impression I get from them is that they feel very pressured to join these networks. I had a potential client email me last week that said, “My organization needs a Twitter campaign, and needs a Facebook page, and needs . . .”

You get the idea.

The overabundance of these workshops has all but struck the fear of God into people, as if they absolutely had to use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn for their business and/or nonprofit or else it would be nothing but fire and brimstone — their businesses will fail, their ships will sink, and they’ll die old and lonley. (OK, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration.)

Here’s the good news for folks that are feeling this way:

Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are not the Holy Trinity.

They are the “Big Three” for now. But, as the auto industry can tell you, don’t assume that all of the Big Three are infallible.

There are many people with businesses and/or nonprofits that do not use these services that are doing just fine. David Meerman Scott is not on LinkedIn and he’s totally OK with that.  Twitter is a great tool, yes, but just because Oprah uses it (allegedly) doesn’t mean that everybody does. There are a LOT of people that don’t use it, and your audience might be among those people.

As I commented at Duct Tape Marketing,

If you’re in a small town and the majority of your customers not only aren’t on Twitter but haven’t even heard of it, what are you trying to accomplish? I like to say, “If your audience is at the bowling alley, don’t go marketing yourself at the roller rink.”

Social media is much, much bigger than Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Your audience could be on any of these networks and even some that aren’t shown:

The beauty of the internet is that things are constantly changing. There is a possibility that someday soon one, two, or all three of these current “Big Three” services will be trumped by the newest shiny object in social media and they will quietly fade into the background a la Friendster.

But even Friendster is still popular . . . in the Philippines. And other networks are more popular in other counties, such as Bebo in Ireland. (I had never heard of it until I befriended an Irishman.) So if your customers or donors are located elsewhere in the world, I recommend you take a look at this data of social network popularity around the world (as of 2008) .

The trick here, as it always has been, is finding where your audience is spending time online. Then go set up camp there. But first establish a strategy, don’t just be somewhere for the sake of being there if you’re not going to engage your audience.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m a very big fan of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. They can be great for business . . . if used correctly. First get acquainted with these three as an individual, then think about them as possibilities for business. It’s the same concept as dating somebody before marrying them — it’s probably a good idea to get to know their good qualities, their bad qualities, maybe even their mother — before deciding if this is someone or something you want to commit to, because once you do, you’re in it for the long haul.

What do you think? Are these “Big Three” absolutely essential for business? Or are they only hot right now, with something else “essential” on the horizon?