Nearly half of journalists think PR professionals don’t use social media enough, that’s one of the conclusions from research we carried out in May.

The survey found three quarters of journalists rated social media as an important tool and almost 90 per cent of them were using social media more than they were a year ago. Journalists from all types of media were surveyed – local and national press, consumer, trade, print, broadcast and online – so the results reflected a cross-section of the media.

A few people picked holes in the survey, claiming it was simplistic – for example, we had not defined what we meant by ’social media’.

Yes – it was a simple survey. Because of that the sample size was impressive, with nearly 1,000 journalists taking part. And not defining what we meant by social media was intentional. We were measuring perceptions. The fact than many journalists perceive the PR community is not making enough use of what they believe to be social media stands alone as a significant conclusion.

Even as an enthusiastic observer of social media, and a campaigner for nearly five years for greater focus on digital by the PR community, I was surprised that a significant proportion of journalists were actively using social media in their work.

While the survey revealed the importance of social media to journalists, we commissioned an accompanying whitepaper from Financial Times journalist Martin Stabe. If any PR professionals are still holding on to some notion that social media is a side-show, just listen to what Stabe had to say: “Journalists see social media sites primarily as a channel where they can communicate directly with potential sources or engaged members of their audience, without much involvement from PR professionals.”

So, does this mean the PR machine is about to be dodged by the media? Perhaps not, in the short term anyway. The same research found that although use of social media is pervasive, reliance on PR as a source of information is still ubiquitous – with 98 per cent using content from emailed press releases.

PR may not be about to become obsolete in the eyes of the journalist but it is certainly competing now with a much wider range of sources that journalists rely on. Couple this with the opportunity that social media (and online media in general) represents to the PR world as a way of engaging with consumers and other influencers, then a picture starts to emerge where PR becomes truly ‘public’ relations.

Looking back at this project I was annoyed with myself that we had not engaged in such analysis before. Examining how journalists use social media is not just an exercise in fine-tuning media relations tactics, it tells us a great deal more and reminds us once again that modern PR is no longer simply about pitching to journalists but instead about actively taking part in communities, allowing them to influence you as well as the other way around.

Daryl is chairman of Daryl Willcox Publishing. Image via birgerking’s Flickr stream.

Tags: daryl willcox, journalism, research, role of media, social media