New research into the use of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and corporate blogs by FTSE100 companies has shown a steady increase on all platforms since November 2009.

The survey, carried out by The Group, points to Twitter as the most popular social media channel amongst the FTSE100, with 45% of companies operating active accounts, and 17% on top of that with dormant holding accounts.

The use of Twitter has jumped by 50% in between November 2009 and December 2010. Frank Harkin, content strategist at The Group, points out that Twitter has the most diverse usage strategies amongst the companies surveyed, whereas the 39% of FTSE100 that have YouTube channels are not for the most part utilising the full potential of the medium - and that this is perhaps an indication that YouTube is not the best platform for corporate video.

Corporate blogs came a distant fourth, with only 12% of companies using them. However, this represents a 20% increase since November 2009, and The Group expects that upward trajectory to continue.

The Group will be publishing their updated tracking every six months.