Where Does the Research Come From?? 89% of Journalists Use Social Media for Research

Although the power of social media isn’t surprising to most of us, this particular statistic MAY come as a surprise.  When we think of journalism and the reach it has in today’s society, many of us may tend to think of the traditional face of journalism.  We may think of reporters hitting the streets and pounding the pavement to follow up on leads, but in today’s journalistic world, things couldn’t be farther from that image.  In a survey conducted by CISION in 2010, a poll found that 89% of journalists use social media to conduct their research.

If that was the case in 2010, the numbers in 2015 continue to climb.  Our growing comfort level with social media and our dependence on digital information make it a natural progression and a necessary tool in order to successfully keep up with the fast-traveling news of the internet.  In The American Journalist in the Digital Age: Key Findings, Lars Willnat and David H. Weaver, share information about journalists of today who are comfortable using social media to check for breaking news and to monitor what other organizations may be doing.  They also explain that journalists are unleashing the power of social media by using it to promote themselves and remain engaged with their audiences.

As the infrastructure of our information landscape continues to change, people are more and more comfortable with mining information from a variety of sources, with online social media sites being one of the most common.  The 2010 CISION survey notes that along with the 89% of the journalists polled who claimed that blogs are a source of news information for them, 65% also confirmed that they use social networking sites, and 52% use microblogging sites like Twitter.

All of this adds up to a LOT of online social media research.  And it begs a question.

What about reliability?

As consumers of journalistic material, should you be concerned about the reliability of the material you are being fed by these journalists?  The short answer is maybe, but maybe not—and here’s why.

A whopping 84% of journalists who use social media for research acknowledged their beliefs that social media sources are less reliable than traditional sources.  Or rather, they RECOGNIZE the fact that not everything they read online is true, and that’s just a smart way to consume social media research.

What does this mean for your business?

If others are online researching and digging for data, so can you.  There is great information out there—on just about anything, anyone, or any business you may need to research.  You want your business and your brand to be successful, and that means knowing everything you can about your competition, your consumers, and your market.  The good news is that it’s all out there online for you to find, research, and compare. 

People LOVE to see pictures of cats and puppies and babies, but we are learning that social media is NOT just about posting cute or funny pictures.  It’s about getting out there and being social.  And now, more than ever, it’s about doing your research.

Other people are inspiring—they can give you ideas about how to be more social, how to promote your specials, what to do for events—the possibilities are endless.  Let your online peers inspire you and guide you to provide the best possible online brand experience you can.

Go ahead, put on your reporter glasses and grab a notepad (or your laptop!) and get out there to do some research.  Your brand will thank you for it!