Social media is now progressively being used by Fortune 500 companies, at least according to a recent report by University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

The report shows how often these large money makers use social media sites such as Facebook, Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Foursquare. The results show that 77 percent of Fortune 500 companies maintain active Twitter accounts, 4 percent more than last year’s numbers. In addition, 70 percent of these companies maintain a Facebook page (4 percent more than last year), and 69 percent have accounts on YouTube (7 percent more than last year).

These three social media sites are the most popular among the Fortune 500 companies. Thirty five percent of these companies have an active presence on Google+. Around 8.8 percent have Instagram accounts, 8.8 percent are on Foursquare, and 9 percent maintain Pinterest accounts.

Now more Fortune 500 companies maintain active social media accounts, the most popular ones being Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. (Image: philipodegard (CC) via Flickr)

Now more Fortune 500 companies maintain active social media accounts, the most popular ones being Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. (Image: philipodegard (CC) via Flickr)

In the list of Fortune 500 companies, the most active in social media is Facebook, as you would have thought, which ranks 482 in the Fortune 500 list. On Twitter, the leading Fortune 500 companies are Google, Whole Foods and Starbucks. The companies that are popular on Facebook, on the other hand, are Walt Disney, Coca-Cola and Starbucks.

Fortune 500 companies are not only becoming more vigorous users of social media sites, they are also more active in maintaining blogs. At present, there are 171 Fortune 500 companies that blog, and these include number one Wal-Mart Stores and number two Exxon Mobil.

(Original article by Aaron Elliott)