The competition between telecom giants Verizon and Comcast for Maryland consumers is spilling over into social media and targeting younger adults in apartments and low-income families.

Verizon recently rolled out a marketing campaign in the Washington, D.C., region, which includes suburban Maryland, targeting adults ages 25 to 39 who live in apartments with its FiOS television and Internet services.

We are continually developing marketing campaigns, said Erik Hawkins, group marketing manager for Verizon who works with small-business customers in Maryland, Washington and Virginia. We believe this is a new, innovative approach.

The FiOS 50 campaign employs Twitter and foursquare, a social networking website mostly for mobile users, to identify 50 of the hottest restaurants, bars and health clubs in the region where younger adults congregate. Participants get discounts at those places when they mention FiOS and on Verizons products if they post messages on Twitter containing links to the New York companys site.

The 50 hottest venues include not just famous spots such as Bens Chili Bowl in the District, but local favorites such as Blacks Bar & Kitchen in Bethesda and Cava Mezze Rockville.

Were doing it differently, meeting people where they are, Hawkins said, noting younger adults frequently use smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices to access the Internet and TV for work and entertainment.

Aimee Metrick, a spokeswoman for Comcast, said in an email Monday that officials were out of the office for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and plan to comment on Tuesday.

Comcast also is utilizing social media, such as integrating its Xfinity TV with Facebook to make it easier for people to share their television viewing with friends. Last fall, the company unveiled Internet Essentials, a program in which families whose students qualify for federal free lunches can receive Internet service for $9.95 per month.

Verizon continues to build its small-business segment in Maryland, Hawkins said.

We have tens of thousands of business customers in Maryland, he said. They are in all industries — health care, architectural, engineering, retail, restaurants and more.

The competition with Comcast and other TV, phone and Internet providers in Maryland has remained consistent, Hawkins said. We are confident that our solutions and bundles in the marketplace are the most compelling ones out there. We are so confident in our products and services that we dont need to lock customers into multiyear terms with early termination penalties.

Verizon is one of the largest employers in the state with almost 10,000 workers late last year, according to a Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development survey. That is down from a little more than 11,000 employees in 2010.

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