51 Digital PR Statistics to Know in 2025

When it comes to a company’s public image, its online presence is arguably one of the most important parts of that image.

With this in mind, having a winning digital PR strategy is key to maintaining a positive relationship with prospective and current customers and clients.

Here are some impressive digital PR statistics to note in 2024.

Need an expert quote for your story? We’re happy to help. Contact our Editor & Founder, Geoff Cudd.

Key Digital PR Statistics

Let’s check out the top, most important takeaways from this digital press release statistics list.

1. The global PR market is worth more than US$114.1 billion in 2024.
2. The median annual wage for a PR specialist in the US is $64,362
3. 72% of PR specialists say storytelling is the most important skill set in a PR pro moving forward.
4. The global public relations market size will grow from 2023 to 2024 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.7%.
5. The global affiliate marketing market size is expected to expand at a CAGR of 9.89 percent reaching $27.78 billion by 2027.
6. Almost 73% of PR managers are female.
7. Over 40% of PR experts see the media as unbiased.
8. Less than 45% of PR professionals have a crisis communication plan.
9. 68% of bloggers prefer to work directly with a brand instead of an agency or network.

Digital PR Specialist Trends

Here’s what to know about PR specialists and how much they cost:

10. In 2023, PR specialists earned an average of $60,791 for the year.
11. The average annual salary for PR specialists in the United States was between $35,350 to $118,210 in 2023.
12. For 85% of PR professionals, media relations is their primary focus and what they spend over ¼ of their time on.

Challenges for Digital PR

The digital PR industry is filled with several obstacles, including

13. On average, journalists receive over 100 pitches per week. They find most of them to not be useful.
14. Journalists only respond to a little over 3% of all pitches they get.
15. For nearly half of PR professionals (48%), a top challenge in their company is a lack of proper resources.
16. Compared to the same time last year, 60% of PR professionals find media relations to be more difficult.

Social Media for PR Statistics

In 2024, having a social media presence is non-negotiable for every business across all industries.

But how does social media play into a business’s overall digital PR?

17. 79% of marketers consider Instagram an integral part of their campaigns.

18. Facebook was the most popular social media site of 2022, with 2.9 million active users, and Instagram was behind Youtube and WhatsApp with 1.48 million users.
19. Twitter was voted the best platform for following journalists by over 90% of PR pros.
20. Global sales through social commerce platforms were estimated to reach $992 billion in 2022.
21. 72% of millennials say social media impacts their buying decisions.
22. 66% of Gen-Z, 49% of Gen X, and 45% of baby boomers say social media impacts their buying decisions.
23. Facebook use for digital marketers climbed up to 68% in 2022.
24. Nearly 40% of Twitter users say they’ve made a purchase as a direct result of a Tweet from an influencer.
25. Purchase intent increased 5.2 times when users were exposed to brand and influencer Tweets.
26. 57% of 18-24-year-old Americans make their first daily contact with news on their smartphones via social media.
27. Friends influence 79% of consumers' purchasing decisions on social media.

Influencer Statistics

Influencer marketing helps build credibility. Clever product placement and first-hand testimonials help businesses build credibility. That’s exactly what influencer marketing can do.

In 2024, it’s important to know how to curate relationships with micro-influencers for more targeted digital marketing.

Here are critical influencer marketing stats to consider:

28. The influencer marketing industry is now a $21.1B industry as of Jan 2024.
29. 79% of brands that use influencer marketing use Instagram as their preferred platform when it comes to this digital PR tactic.
30. 93% of marketers have used influencer marketing.
31. Bloggers are the most common type of influencers affiliate marketers use at 28%.
32. 61% of consumers trust influencer recommendations, compared to 38% who trust brand-produced content.
33. 60% of marketers shared that influencer-generated content performs better and drives more engagement compared to branded posts.
34. 20% of consumers are actually ready to stop following an influencer should they fail to be up-front about advertising or sponsorships.
35. On average, brands spend around $174 for each piece of content that an influencer generates.

Related: Check out our guide on how to setup YouTube influencer sponsorships

Thought Leadership in Digital PR

To truly impact your potential customers and clients, you need to go above and beyond creating a positive association between your product or service and its usefulness.

Here’s some data that outlines how essential it is to become a thought leader in your industry outside of offering a good product.

36. According to the 2020 Edelman-LinkedIn Thought Leadership Study, 88% of decision-makers say that thought leadership can be effective in enhancing their perception of an organization.
37. In the same study, 48% of decision-makers say that thought leadership can influence their purchasing decisions.
38. 92% of marketers believe that brand authenticity is one of the essential needs of the brand and contributes to the branding process.

39. More than 70% of 5,700-plus B2B executives said that thought leadership content is more important to making business decisions today than it was in the previous five years.
40. 35% of executives at companies with $5 billion or more in revenue said thought leadership is “extremely important” to them.
41. At companies that excel at thought leadership, 71% said they have an extremely or very strong thought leadership culture

Digital PR Money Statistics

So, how much is all of this positive online presence and public image going to cost you?

As you might suspect, the bigger the online presence you want to build, the more money you’re going to have to shell out.

Here’s how much a digital PR strategy could cost you in 2023.

42. The worldwide public relations market size reached $105.05 Billion USD in 2023.
43. The U.S. public relations industry will be worth $10.3 billion in 2024.
44. A single press release can cost anywhere from $400 to $2,000.
45. The global PR market revenue is expected to reach $129 billion by 2025.
46. Most billion-dollar companies will spend anywhere from $250,000 to $25 million on different forms of PR annually.
47. PR firms charge $20 per hour to $500 per hour, with an average hourly rate of roughly $125.
48. Influencer marketing expenditure is projected to reach $7.14 billion in 2024 in the U.S. alone.

Statistics on Consumer Preferences for Digital PR

Trust is a critical factor for consumers choosing brands to shop with. Let’s review key data that illuminate consumer preferences that affect digital PR:

49. More than 90% of marketers find brand authenticity to be a core factor of branding.
50. Consumers are often skeptical of PR campaigns, and for good reason. 95% of PR professionals admit to sharing true information only “often” or “sometimes.”
51. According to 94% of survey respondents, they will stay loyal to transparent brands.

Make the Most of These Digital PR Statistics

The way that a company relates to its audience and the image it creates can make or break it.

Leverage the latest digital press release statistics and data to create a positive, long-term relationship with its customers and clients that fosters trust, growth, and, ultimately, success.

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