Lately, I have been writing about a PR revolution, one in which PR has been redefined as the convergence of earned media, owned media, and social media (or Inbound PR); however, although owned and social media are aggressively bringing in leads and exhibiting great ROI, traditional media is still proving paramount to success.

The 2012 Edelman Trust Barometer found that traditional media sources are still the most trusted. Earned media was “the only institution to see an increase in trust over the past year — now above 50 percent. ”

While there’s no doubt that marketing silos are breaking down, PR’s role in securing the most credible source — traditional media — is still crucial.

Another interesting development is that while traditional press is the most trusted source, “social media saw the biggest percentage increase (75 percent) in trust among media sources.” As owned media and social media (content and engagement) are proving to be natural extensions of earned media, I predict their trust percentages will continue to spike.

Another finding that caught my attention was that audiences need “to hear information multiple times before they believe its accuracy” — 63 percent needing to hear it three to five times. If thought leadership, leads and ROI aren’t enough cases in favor of Inbound PR, then the simple fact that audiences need repetition to trust your brand is yet another proof point.

There’s no better way to repeat your message than through genuine, useful content via owned and social media (together with trustworthy earned media, of course).