British businesses favor Twitter over Facebook

We're so used to seeing Facebook leading the pack that it's refreshing to see another name topping a social media list.

New figures from Virgin Media Business show 33% of the 5,000 U.K. businesses surveyed now use Twitter to communicate with customers, compared to 32% using Facebook and 29% using MySpace.

"British businesses have been quick to see the opportunities that lie within social media and are helping lead the world in targeting this new form of media," said Andrew McGrath, executive director for commercial operations at Virgin Media Business.

However, at least one industry in the U.K. hasn't embraced Twitter. Last month, Virgin Media Business found that, despite being Tweeted about almost 180 times a day, only one British high street bank has begun to engage with its customers via Twitter.

Tags: business marketing, Facebook, social media, Twitter, U.K.