Anayltics company Compete recently carried out a study that examined how people are using social networking services, and how their social networking usage affects their connections with brands and companies.

The study unearthed some particularly interesting information about Twitter, such as the fact that Twitter users are more likely to access the service using a mobile device than users of other social networks are. Around 43 percent of Twitter users access Twitter using their mobile devices, compared with 34 percent for Facebook and 9 percent for LinkedIn. This makes perfect sense, as it is often much easier to digest information in bite-sized tweets (and send tweets yourself) from your mobile than to browse through your News Feed or engage with LinkedIn connections.

Twitter was also found to drive interaction across a variety of media channels. For instance, 17 percent of Twitter users were found to tweet about a TV show while watching it. Twitter users also look for brands to follow (19 percent) and visit brand pages (18 percent), suggesting that there’s vast opportunities for companies and brands to promote themselves on the social network.

Another reason why brands and companies might want to promote themselves on Twitter is the fact that the social network is more effective at driving purchase activity than Facebook. It was found that 56 percent of people who follow a brand on Twitter say they are more likely to make a purchase from that brand, compared to 47 percent of people who Like the brand on Facebook.

Lastly, it was discovered that Twitter was the preferred social network for learning about new product updates. While the reasons for Liking or following a brand were relatively consistent among Facebook and Twitter users, a much much higher percentage (84 percent) chose to follow a brand for updates on future products than their Facebook counterparts (60 percent).

These findings show that Twitter users actively welcome the opportunity to engage with and receive information from brands and companies, making it a goldmine for marketers.