Take a look at this interesting infographic from PR agency Text 100, based on its study of how journalists are using social media. It reveals they dig through around 2.6 social media channels to research each article and also review official company blogs andl Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube profiles, among other channels, when looking for company background.
Many clients keep social media channels separate to their PR, but I think these findings support the argument that you should involve your PR company in your social media effort. After all, PRs are the people you are paying to help you build relationships with journalists.
When it comes to Twitter, for instance, your PR agency can help you build a target list of journalists and other influencers you should be following; provide suggestions about retweets and – in some cases – handle some of the tweeting jointly with your in-house team.
The research also highlights that the majority (63 per cent) of journalists in the sample welcome PR pitches via Twitter – 52 per cent via LinkedIn and 41 per cent via Google+. I wanted to add that, in addition to using social channels to proactively pitch to journalists, PRs need to keep an eye out for journalists and bloggers who now often ask their Twitter and LinkedIn followers for input as part of the research for their articles.