NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- It should come as no surprise that social media has risen in the ranks as a powerful tool to ignite lead generation, with a variety of platforms that give both the biggest brands and the newest small businesses the opportunity to engage directly with prospective consumers, gain a better understanding of what triggers them to take an action and nurture them to more rewarding relationships.

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But with new channels frequently emerging, each with unique attributes and creative ways to share content and interact, small business owners often wonder which ones warrant their investment  and are most suitable for their lead generation efforts.   The third PR Newswire article in a six-part series from PR Newswire focused on social media for small businesses, "Which social media sites should I use for my strategy? Part One: Lead Generation," suggests viable social media sites and platforms that have proven to be particularly beneficial for lead generation and offers beginner tips and strategies to leverage the platform features to turn prospects into customers.

To read the complete article, visit http://bit.ly/QoCuWL. Stay tuned for next week's article, "Which Social Media Sites Should I Use for My Strategy? Part Two: Customer Service."

PR Newswire's PR Toolkit is a comprehensive resource that provides small businesses and entrepreneurs the tools to develop an affordable public relations & marketing plan that helps them increase search engine rankings, generate interest from potential customers, engage with key audiences and grow their businesses.   The toolkit features relevant content such as informative white papers, interactive webinars and how-to articles and premium access to educational resources, as well as the opportunity to take advantage of special offers designed specifically for small businesses. To request information on how PR Newswire can help your small business, click here. You can receive updates on new PR Toolkit content by following @prnsmallbiz on Twitter.

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PR Newswire (www.prnewswire.com) is the premier global provider of multimedia platforms that enable marketers, corporate communicators, sustainability officers, public affairs and investor relations officers to leverage content to engage with all their key audiences. Having pioneered the commercial news distribution industry 58 years ago, PR Newswire today provides end-to-end solutions to produce, optimize and target content — from rich media to online video to multimedia — and then distribute content and measure results across traditional, digital, mobile and social channels. Combining the world's largest multi-channel, multi-cultural content distribution and optimization network with comprehensive workflow tools and platforms, PR Newswire enables the world's enterprises to engage opportunity everywhere it exists. PR Newswire serves tens of thousands of clients from offices in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, and is a UBM plc company.

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