Journalism and Public Relations go hand in hand. Journalists need PRs to provide them with stories, facts and figures and access to spokespeople etc., whereas PRs need journalists to feature these stories in media outlets to gain exposure. However, in today’s world, strongly dominated by social media, journalists can themselves find plenty of information online and often so they come across such on social media platforms like Twitter or LinkedIn.

According to a research by Cision social media has become an embedded part of the daily work routine of UK journalists with the majority of them using two or three social media tools regularly for professional reasons. (Below you’ll find a webinar that talks about the findings in more detail.)  

This in turn is not much of a surprise – we’ve all seen how traditional media has been struggling because of the growth of digital. But is print really dead? Is the future of journalism digital? I guess we’ll find out soon enough. Undeniably though what matters for journalists is not so much the source (print, digital or social media), but the quality and reliability of the information from that source.

Understanding the implications of social media’s impact on journalisms, as Cision calls it ‘social journalism’, can provide PROs with more effective ways of pitching journalists and building good media relations.

Here are some of the most interesting findings that PR professionals should take into account before approaching the media: 

• Half of UK journalists think social media has had a positive impact on their work. 
• The use of social media for work in general has significantly increased since 2011, especially social networking sites such as LinkedIn and microblogs such as Twitter. 
• The majority of journalists believe that because of social media they’re more engaged with their audience and communicate better with people relevant to their work.
• 28.1% even admit that they won’t be able to carry out their work without social media.
• The most important reasons why journalists use social media are to publish and promote their own content and to source information. 
• Almost half of UK journalists post original comments on social networking or microblogging sites on a daily basis.
• A large number of UK journalists use content communities and crowdsourcing sites such as Wikipedia to source information and news and to verify information. 
• The most popular social media platform for journalists is Twitter (80%).
• Concern over privacy and data security is the biggest obstacle for journalists to use social media more in their work.
• E-mail, telephone and face-to-face still remain the three most common ways that journalists and PR pros communicate. 

What I found particularly interesting and valuable is the classification of journalists – ‘The Social Suspects’ – and how each of the following 5 types perceives and uses social media:

• 18.8% are Observers – use social media to watch, monitor and source information, rarely contribute or chat, therefore they’re not really involved.
• 34.9% are Hunters – not regularly involved in content creation, but use social media extensively for sourcing information, networking and building relationships. Hunters are most likely to be senior journalists in broadcast or newspapers, constantly seeing real-time content.  
• 9.8% are Sceptics – don’t spend much time on social media and hardly ever contribute because they have negative attitudes towards it. Often observers are magazine journalists.
• 24.7% are Promoters – use social media to share and promote their own work, i.e. to build a portfolio. Promoters are mainly freelance or online journalists, who often have their own blog.
• 11.8% are Architects – the thought leaders, who are contributors of lots of content that is being shared and commented extensively, i.e. architects spark a lot of conversations. Architects work mainly in larger organisations and tend to be younger.   

In the webinar the guys from Cision advise PR pros to make sure they’re aware of the journalist’s work and try and relate to it; they should also show an interest in it by commenting on social media channels. Such activity can be a step into the beginning of a good relationship and a flowing communication. Twitter for example can play a major role as it provides great conversational opportunities. Therefore, PROs should not only follow journalists, but also actively listen to what they’re saying.

The classification above should also be taken into consideration when trying to approach a journalist on social media. As suggested, social media might not be the best choice for contacting magazine journalists, but it would be great for engaging with broadcast or newspaper journalists to offer them valuable and newsy information.   

Key in using social media for media relations is undeniably the approach. Different networks require a different approach, because people use them for different reasons and to meet different needs. PR pros must then be very careful how they contact journalists on various social media sites. For example, Twitter can be great for sharing stories  and press releases directly, however Facebook may not be, as the platform is rather personal than work-related. 

Enjoy the webinar!

[youtube width="550" height="450"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXe-cgH8YwY&feature=share&list=UU6Uts9n75HFMQ_AnaaQs4Mw[/youtube] 

What do you think will the future of social journalism look like and how will it affect PR?

Image courtesy of  David Castillo Dominici  / FreeDigitalPhotos.net