Although fewer Americans use Twitter than Facebook, Twitter users “are far more likely to follow Brands/ Companies than social networkers in general. Kipp Bodnar collects 17 Twitter infographics quantifying everything from the different categories of tweets and how Twitter compares to Facebook to the peak days for different types of tweets and the most-followed Twitter users (Ryan Seacrest beats CNN; that’s just sad). Share this on Facebook. 51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social networks. How you can use it most effectively? Crabs. MORE >>

Specifically, 89% said they turn to blogs for story research, 65% to social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn, and 52% to microblogging services such as Twitter.” Share this on Facebook. Social media has fundamentally altered the practice of public relations. And as any blogger can tell you, PR pros understand this, as witnessed by the incredible increase in blogger outreach “pitches&# from corporate PR departments and firms over the past two years. Like what? Will Traditional, Social Media Blend? by MediaPost Marketing Daily Commentary. How Is PR Changing? MORE >>

Facebook added more than 200 million users last year, and Twitter more than doubled in size, adding 115 million. Dan Neely discusses which social networking sites get the most attention from marketers (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, no surprises there), how marketers can best use social media for branding and business development, and concerns about the use of social media in brand planning. Which Profile Aspects Should Be Emphasized on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn? 11 Practical Business Uses for LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter by GigaOM. Share this on Facebook. MORE >>

It may not catch everything, but it finds a lot (via blogs, Twitter, social news sites and Facebook public pages) and presents the information through useful charts and graphs. Share this on Facebook. Until fairly recently, keeping track of your organization’s online presence was relatively easy. Other than your company’s website, most mentions were likely in well-known online news sites or trade industry publication sites. Your PR team was aware of most of these as it often had a hand in generating those placements. No more. Alterian SM2 Freemium. Social Mention. MORE >>

In this example, a press release is distributed online, posted to the company’s Facebook and Twitter updates, and used to create a social media release (using a tool such as PitchEngine ). When a blogger publishes a guest post from the company, that post gets linked in the company’s LinkedIn groups, Facebook page, Twitter and social bookmarking sites. Share this on Facebook. Social media and PR would seem to be natural allies. Both are primarily focused on brand awareness, credibility building and image enhancement. And both rely on the ability to tell an interesting story. MORE >>