OF COURSE, we already knew it but Newcastle was named the friendliest city in the UK in a survey last week.

The survey could not have had come at a better time for PR students, particularly when it comes to understanding reputation, earned and shared media.

The survey, which was put together a Travel website, claims to have been compiled by asking its 1.5million social audience.

Lively locals, great nightlife and culture and ease of access were all listed as factors which makes the Toon the land of smiles. Our city was also described as having ‘a homey feel where locals who go the extra mile to welcome tourists’.

It’s great to be in top spot beating much more cosmopolitan cities such as London, Edinburgh and Manchester – although this Mackem writer feels Sunderland deserves to be much higher than a measly 41st!

The survey can’t have come at a better time with thousands of students arriving in Newcastle to start their studies. The article has been shared and commented upon thousands of times by all kinds of Tyneside organisations, from the university, to big businesses, celebrities and of course the genial Geordies.

When we think about reputation, word of mouth is hard to be beat – it’s often based on personal experience and we tend to trust what others say over highly controlled messages coming through advertising or an organisation’s own website and social media channels.

Shared media is great for reaching large audiences efficiently, but it’s also about who is sharing and their credibility. The fact that it’s been shared by the likes of Geordie royalty Ant and Dec will have done no harm at all.

And what’s more, it was picked up by traditional media, meaning it made a big splash of earned media in the city’s much respected newspapers the Chronicle and Journal. Make no mistake, this survey was all about that highly credible contributor to reputation – what others say.

Newcastle should wear the moniker of friendliest city in the UK with pride. But as residents, workers and students here we should all have a responsibility to protect that reputation, through our own communication, whether that be feeding back to friends and family, or through our own blogs and social media profiles.

• Have your say? Is Newcastle the friendliest city in the UK? What makes the city’s reputation so great and what are you basing that upon? Please feel free to comment