While B2B journalists are using social media more than ever, they still rely heavily on company contacts and industry sources to research, report and write about breaking news and emerging trends in the B2B space.

That’s my main takeaway from a recent study conducted by the Arketi Group, a public relations and digital marketing firm based in Atlanta. Arketi surveyed B2B journalists (the firm doesn’t say how many), many of whom are veteran journalists. For example, 75 percent have been in the journalism field for 10 or more years, while 49 percent have been journalists for more than 20 years.

When asked how they use the Internet, 98 percent said they read news and 91 percent said they search for news sources and story ideas online. What’s more, 69 percent said they use social networking sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and MySpace, with LinkedIn being the most popular of the three (from a business/professional standpoint, that’s no surprise).

But the answers I found most revealing deal with how B2B journalists obtain their story ideas.  Ninety-nine percent said they rely on industry sources, 80 percent said PR contacts and 77 percent said press releases. Wire services (74 percent) and e-mail pitches (71 percent) ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

What happens when a B2B journalist can’t reach a company source (or a PR contact, for that matter)? According to the survey results, 81 percent turn to a company’s website. And while there, they’re looking for contact information (98 percent), search capabilities (94 percent), text documents (87 percent), PDFs (84 percent) and publication-quality graphics and photos (79 percent).

So what does this mean for B2B marketers? I think it underscores the power of relationships in B2B PR. Yes, you should use social media tools like LinkedIn and twitter to communicate with journalists, but don’t forget other tools (e-mail, phone calls, webinars, face-to-face meetings, trade shows, etc.) at your disposal.  If you or your PR firm serves as a valued, credible resource to journalists, they in turn will give your company its “fair share” of editorial space, which is all you can ask for.