• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, August 11, 2011

Business-to-business media continue to have a healthy appetite for social media tools. This year's survey, "Arketi Web Watch Media Survey2011"found that 92% of journalists have a LinkedIn account, an increase from 85% in 2009. In addition to LinkedIn, 85% of journalists are on Facebook, up from 55% in 2009, and 84% use Twitter vs. 24% in 2009.

It comes as no surprise that more BtoB journalists are participating in social media sites, says the report, especially LinkedIn. Journalists are constantly seeking industry sources for story ideas and LinkedIn provides an online outlet for them to research and connect with potential sources...

Business journalists subscribe to the most popularly used social media tools.

Journalists' Social Media Subscriptions
Social Media	% Subscribing
LinkedIn	92%
Facebook	85
Twitter	84
YouTube	58
Blog site	49
Flicker	28
MySpace	18
DeLicious	15
FourSquare	14
Source: Arketi WebWatch Media Survey, July 2011

64% of Journalists spend more than 20 hours a week online, and 21% report more than 40 hours of activity each week:

Journalist's Use of The Internet (% of Respondents)
Activity	% of Respondents
Reading news	98%
Searching for news sources/story ideas	91
Social networking	69
Micro blogging (Twitter)	66
Blogging	53
Webinars or webcasts	48
Watching YouTube	34
Exploring Wikis	33
Podcasts	32
Social bookmarking	22
Source: Arketi WebWatch Media Survey, July 2011

82% of journalists say companies without a website are less credible. When unable to reach a company source, 81% of business journalists turn to an organization's website.

Important Characteristics of Company Website (% of Journalists Responding)
Characteristic	% of Respondents
Contact information	98%
Search capabilities	94
Text documents	87
PDFs	84
Publication quality graphics and photos	79
Financial/investor information	73
Press kits	69
Blogs	65
Video files	53
Audio files	47
Source: Arketi WebWatch Media Survey, July 2011

 

Journalists' Source of Story Ideas (% of Respondents)
Source	% of Respondents
Industry "sources"	99%
Public relations contacts	80
Press releases	77
Wire services	74
Email pitches	71
Blogs	56
Micro blogs	44
Social networking sites	39
Podcasts	18
Usernet newsgroup	18
Source: Arketi WebWatch Media Survey, July 2011

51% of journalists surveyed found sponsored webinars helpful, including these types:

•  Industry trends... 81%
• Original research... 71
• Case studies... 60
• Product demos... 29
• Training... 28

Arketi Group regularly conducts surveys on relevant industry topics and publishes these findings to help B2B PR and marketing professionals. A copy of the survey reports can be requested.

 

For additional information from Arketi, please visit here.