Web users communicate in a variety of ways (email, IM, forums and social networks) but the bulk of activity occurs on a few platforms. So which is the most important for you as a Web professional to participate within?

Performance marketing agency Performics released results from “S-Net (The Impact of Social Media),” and the report provides one possible answer. According to the survey of 2,997 active social networkers, 59 percent of respondents said it is important to have a LinkedIn account - more than any other social network.

“We may not necessarily be in a double-dip recession but, individuals have embraced social networking as a means to actively manage their personal visibility in the global economy.” said Daina Middleton, CEO of Performics. “Factors including LinkedIn’s recent IPO announcement, the May uptick in national unemployment and signs of a slowed market certainly contribute to LinkedIn’s attractiveness among social networkers.”

As Middleton points out, there are obviously quite a few factors as to why LinkedIn may be top of mind, but what a professional network like LinkedIn provides is visibility and it is successfully living up to the expectation.

Of the study respondents with an active LinkedIn account, 50 percent visit the site at least weekly and 20 percent visit the site at least daily. While visits to LinkedIn decreased since the height of the recession in 2010 (67 percent weekly and 22 percent daily visits), the percentage of people who deem LinkedIn the most important social networking site jumped dramatically from 41 percent last year to 59 percent this year.