Jay Greene, of The Wall Street Journal; Nick Wingfield, reporter for The New York Times; and Mary Jo Foley, of ZDNet, made it clear earlier this month during their panel at the Geekwire Summit: Don’t pitch them via social media – they all prefer email. And they are not alone. According to a recent survey conducted by Adobe regarding U.S. white collar workers’ habits and behavior related to personal and work email, email is still the preferred mode of communication over social media.
AdWeek’s Kimberlee Morrison summarized some of the findings in her article, Americans Still Prefer Email to Social Media. Specifically, she shared that “nearly 40 percent of participants preferred communicating by email, while 10 percent preferred instant messages. The enterprise social platforms don’t really seem to be catching on, with only 2 percent of respondents choosing to communicate with their colleagues via social networks.”
Given American workers’ reticence to communicate over social platforms, it’s no surprise that journalists still prefer to be pitched via email. While communication trends may evolve over time, it’s important for PR professionals to consider that the vehicle for our outreach matters and demonstrates an understanding of our audiences’ preferences.
Marketers should also take note: When asked about preferred methods of contact from brands, 49 percent of consumers prefer email – dwarfing other methods such as a brand’s mobile app (9 percent), social media (8 percent), text messages (7 percent), and phone calls (6 percent).
Given these findings, below are some additional resources to help you craft the perfect pitch: