By: Hillel Fuld (@Hilzfuld)

If I had a dime for every person who said to me “Twitter is dumb. I don’t get it and will never join.” or “Google+ is a ghost town, I don’t need another social network and no one is there anyway” or “Facebook is of no value to me or my business”, I would be a very wealthy individual.

So before I even address Google+ and why you are so very wrong to be thinking that way, let me just explain that no matter what platform you are talking about, there is one underlying principle to succeeding on the social web. But sit down because this is going to be a shocker…

Social is not magic. There, that’s it.

If you join Twitter and expect it to make your content go viral without investing in it first, well, you might be a very nice person, but a smart one, you are not. Same is true for Facebook and yes, Google+ too. It is no more a ghost town than the others before you invest the time and effort building up an engaged audience. Once you do, all platforms have explosive potential, but in my experience, Google+ can have the farthest reach if leveraged properly.

What am I smoking, you ask? Watch the video below in which I answer the following questions about Google+:

• “Google+? Really? No one is there. Why would I bother?”
• “Ok, people are there, but not MY people. No real engagement.”
• “Fine, fine, it has the people, but no value. The quality engagement is all on Twitter and Facebook. Right?”
• “Sorry, I don’t buy it. Still not seeing why I would join Google+”
• “Google will never beat Facebook as a social network. It is simply too late.”
• “Wait, how did this happen? I am not active on Google+, nor did I even sign up and yet, I am getting notifications!”
• “Google is forcing me to be on Google+ with Android, Search, Youtube, and others. Well played, Google. Well played.”

Now, yes, my “evidence” is personal and not scientific. If that kinda thing is what does it for you, well take a look at this study showing that Google+ is the second fastest growing social platform out there. Glad we got that outta the way. Enjoy the video below.