Vocus Releases “The State of the Media 2014 Report"
Beltsville, MD (PRWEB) February 06, 2014 -- Vocus, Inc. (NASDAQ: VOCS), a leading provider of cloud-based marketing and public relations software, today released its annual “State of the Media Report.” Compiled by the Vocus Media Research Team, the report examines traditional and social media during 2013, how the two mediums are connecting to create and deliver content, and includes a survey of more than 250 journalists across broadcast, print and online outlets covering their perceptions of social media and its growing influence on their profession.
The report discovers that the media industry is evolving with the times by leveraging social media, mobile and digital platforms. The majority of respondents noted that it is undeniably changing the way conversations are being held, how topics are being looked at, and bringing to light stories that otherwise would have been hard to find or missed completely.
Although some believed social media would doom the journalism industry, the new medium is actually rejuvenating the old. From driving traffic to audience engagement, here are key findings covering how journalists are using social media:
• Fifty-one percent of journalists use social media to promote their stories.
• Forty-nine percent of journalists use social to connect with viewers and readers.
• Of the reporters that use social media to promote their stories, 87 percent use Twitter and 79 percent use Facebook.
• All other social networks lagged significantly, with LinkedIn coming in third at 26 percent, Google+ at 19 percent and YouTube at 13 percent.
While most journalists are finding ways to leverage social media, they have also found limits to its effectiveness:
• When journalists are pitched ideas for stories, 91 percent of reporters prefer email, while only 2.7 percent prefer social media.
• Only 30 percent use social media for research.
• More than 95 percent of journalists don’t believe social is a trustworthy source.
• 45 percent of reporters don’t want to be pitched at all via social media, but 37 percent would receive a pitch via Facebook and 30 percent would receive one via Twitter.
“Our findings show a definite representation of the industry moving forward, and media companies are gaining confidence in making major purchases, changes or investing in their future,” said inVocus Editor-in-Chief Katrina Mendolera, the report’s author. “Although many newspapers have folded and magazines have decreased slightly this year, overall, the magazine industry has remained resilient. In 2013, the media, including newspapers, magazines, television and radio, have adapted to their audience by implementing digital platforms, native advertising or implemented mobile campaigns to retain followers.”
The study also examined the state of traditional media and found that rumors of its demise were greatly exaggerated. Thanks to technological capabilities, most notably streaming content delivery systems and paywalls, traditional media is working to use technology to its advantage and solidify its footing. Key media findings in newspapers, magazines, television and radio include:
• Compared to 152 newspaper closures in 2012, the study found 114 folded in 2013. Fifty-nine were weekly, while 20 were online closures.
• Magazine launches are gradually decreasing year to year, with only 97 new magazines debuting in 2013. This is compared to the 165 in 2012 and the 195 in 2011. Out of the new magazines, 59 were print and 38 were online launches.
• Almost 100 television shows launched this year, which included local newscasts, national sports, and talk shows on cable and broadcast networks. Several political and financial shows also made debuts on PBS, CNBC and MSNBC.
• As was the case last year, radio’s audience continues to rise. Over the past year, radio added 700,000 weekly listeners, reaching more than 241.8 million listeners overall.
As a resource for reporters, PR professionals and marketers, the report is free to download by clicking here.
“Public relations and marketing professionals can gain great insight into how reporters are viewing social media as an information aggregate and their opinions on social media pitching,” said Vocus Chief Marketing Officer You Mon Tsang. “The report also provides detail on what is happening in the industry, such as closures, mergers, new publications and innovative technology being used to retain and grow audiences. Industry professionals will better understand how to work with the media as well as what strategies their customers need in order to succeed with earned media.”
The team will discuss the report in a free Vocus webinar on Feb. 27, 2014. Hosted by Gini Dietrich, founder and CEO of the Chicago-based integrated marketing communication firm Arment Dietrich, the event will offer analysis of 2013’s key trends followed by a Q&A session. To register for the webinar, please click here.
About Vocus
Vocus (NASDAQ: VOCS) provides leading cloud-based marketing and public relations software that enables companies to acquire and retain customers. The company offers products and services to help clients attract and engage prospects, capture and keep customers, and measure and improve marketing effectiveness. More than 16,000 annual subscription customers across a wide variety of industries use Vocus software. The company is headquartered in Beltsville, MD with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.vocus.com or call (800) 345-5572.
Forward-Looking Statement
This release contains “forward-looking” statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions or that include words such as “may,” “will,” “expects,” “projects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “believes,” “intends,” “plans,” “should,” “seeks,” and similar expressions. This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, Vocus’ expectations and assumptions concerning future financial performance. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual future results to differ materially from those projected or contemplated in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be significantly impacted by certain risks and uncertainties described in Vocus’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The risks and uncertainties referred to above include, but are not limited to, risks associated with possible fluctuations in our operating results and rate of growth, our history of operating losses, risks associated with acquisitions, including our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses, risks associated with our foreign operations, interruptions or delays in our service or our web hosting, our business model, breach of our security measures, the emerging market in which we operate, our relatively limited operating history, our ability to hire, retain, and motivate our employees and manage our growth, competition, our ability to continue to release and gain customer acceptance of new and improved versions of our service, successful customer deployment and utilization of our services, fluctuations in the number of shares outstanding, foreign currency exchange rates and interest rate.
Breeanna Straessle, Vocus, http://www.vocus.com, +1 301.479.3921, [email protected]
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