8 PR Stats To Know in 2025

Public relations shapes how people see your business, helping with credibility and positioning your organization as an industry leader. 

Heading into the new year, as digital and traditional media changes and new trends emerge, staying on top of your brand’s PR strategy is more critical than ever.

Here are some of the top trends circling the PR industry:

• Brands will increasingly rely on AI to refine processes and provide deeper insights.
• Personalization in media outreach will become essential to stand out.
• Social listening tools will continue to advance, allowing companies to put out fires in real-time.
• Visual and interactive content, as will digital storytelling, will continue to rise in importance.
• Influencer affiliations — and influencer marketing budgets — will increase, emphasizing authenticity and niche partnerships.

To stay relevant and succeed, you need to understand the shifts happening in the industry. Recent statistics highlight what’s next for PR — and how you can make the most of it. View our list of the top eight stats in the PR industry to kickstart your efforts in 2025:

1. About 71% of PR Professionals Expect Earned Media To Be Harder To Secure in the Next Five Years (Redline)

Earned media is the organic attention your brand receives when journalists, influencers, customers, and others share your story, mention your business, or otherwise talk about your brand. Gaining this kind of recognition is already challenging. 

Shrinking newsrooms and tighter deadlines mean journalists have less time and capacity to cover every pitch, which makes the competition for media attention fierce and opportunities for coverage elusive. This calls for smarter and more strategic PR planning. Personalize your pitches to resonate with particular journalists and audiences, and focus on storytelling and using data-based insights. 

Diversify tactics, too. Your brand should rely on earned, owned, and shared media. A strong owned-media strategy, like maintaining a blog or producing whitepapers, can keep your brand relevant and in the public eye even when earned media via traditional coverage is tough to secure.

Consider this example: Instead of relying solely on press releases for publicity, a tech company might create an in-depth case study, publish it on the company blog or website, and share highlights through social channels. Efforts like these help build brand visibility while strengthening earned media outreach.

2. 61% of PR Professionals Already Use AI for Their Services (Muck Rack)

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how professionals in every industry work, and PR is no exception. Modern AI tools can handle time-consuming tasks with precision and speed, including:

1. Monitoring media
2. Analyzing customer sentiments
3. Drafting press releases
4. Optimizing PR pitches
5. Analyzing data and deriving insights

Businesses that embrace AI in PR gain a competitive edge. Integrating AI into your PR strategy can improve your efficiency, identify trends faster, free your team up for more important tasks, and result in more targeted messaging — all while allowing your team’s human creativity to shine where it matters most. 

As AI capabilities expand, expect even more sophisticated AI tools to emerge and continue raising the bar for PR campaigns.

3. Only 4% of Journalists Want To Receive Pitches Through Social Media (Redline)

Social media plays a significant role in modern marketing. Most journalists say it’s not their preferred channel to receive pitches. With just 4% of journalists preferring social media for that purpose, your PR team should focus instead on email as its primary outreach method.

Why email? It’s professional and organized, providing a record of your communication — like a digital paper trail. 

To stand out, personalize your brand’s pitches. Keep them concise, but address the journalist’s specific interests or areas of expertise. Avoid generic messages; a thoughtful, well-researched email consistently outperforms a mass social media DM. Incorporating hard data or exclusive angles can also help make your email pitch irresistible to journalists.

4. 51% of PR Professionals Believe That Social Listening Is the Most Effective Way To Measure Reputation (Meltwater)

Social listening — monitoring online conversations about your brand — has become mandatory for reputation management. It offers real-time insights into public brand perception and reveals trends that can help guide your PR strategy.

The practice of social listening includes:

1. Monitoring your brand’s mentions across various platforms to understand public sentiment about your company
2. Identifying recurring themes, such as praise for customer service or concerns about shipping delays
3. Responding quickly to evolving issues to minimize reputational risks

Social listening tools keep your PR team ahead of the curve so they can address potential crises and capitalize on positive feedback. As the calendar turns to 2025, this is particularly important. Brands today face heightened scrutiny and increasingly rapid shifts in public sentiment. With misinformation spreading more quickly than ever and increased consumer expectations for accountability, staying attuned to digital conversations is essential.

Social listening can help your business manage these complexities. With this real-time data, you can adjust your PR strategy, engage authentically with the public, and build lasting trust with your audience.

5. Spending on Influencer Marketing in the US Is Expected To Reach Over $4 Billion by the End of 2024… and It’s Bound To Increase (Influencer Marketing Hub)

Influencer marketing isn’t just for flashy consumer brands anymore. Industry influencers are proving just as impactful in the business-to-business (B2B) sector. With influencer marketing spending projected to soar, your company should take notice of its growing potential.

Why invest in influencers? Put simply, they bring authenticity to the table. For example, a tech influencer endorsing a software as a service (SaaS) product lends credibility that’s hard to achieve through ads alone. Similarly, partnering with niche micro-influencers can allow your company to connect with highly targeted audiences.

Approach influencer collaborations strategically. It’s always best practice to:

1. Vet potential partners thoroughly to confirm their values align with your brand
2. Distance your brand from controversial figures
3. Prioritize authenticity over follower count
4. Develop contracts clearly outlining expectations and deliverables

Done right, influencer partnerships strengthen trust and expand reach. That’s a win-win for both PR and marketing.

6. 45% of Communications Leaders Identified Content Creation as a Top Priority (Cision)

Without content, PR strategies wouldn’t exist. Nearly half of communications leaders name content creation as their primary focus —and for good reason. High-quality content increases visibility, attracts media attention, and reinforces your brand’s authority and trustworthiness.

For example, a cybersecurity firm might:

1. Publish regular blogs addressing trending cyber threats
2. Produce short videos explaining how to take preventative measures
3. Develop infographics that simplify complex data for broader audiences

Consistently producing diverse and engaging content will keep your brand at the forefront of your industry. To make an even more significant impact, consider repurposing your content across multiple platforms for maximum reach and efficiency.

7. The Best Time To Send a Press Release Is Between 10 AM and 2 PM (Accesswire)

Timing can make or break a press release's success. According to research, sending your press release between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. increases the chances your audience will open and read it. This is the same time window during which journalists usually check their inboxes for newsworthy updates.

But timing isn’t everything. Writing a strong press release with a clear headline, compelling story, and concise wording is just as important. It’s also worth considering following up — tactfully — to prevent your story from getting lost in the shuffle.

8. 88% of Public Relations Specialists Think That Digital Storytelling Will Be the Future (Truelist)

PR revolves around storytelling, and digital storytelling takes it to the next level. Integrate multimedia elements like videos, graphics, and even augmented reality into your campaigns to create engaging and inspiring experiences. 

Some digital storytelling ideas could include:

1. Sharing customer success stories to highlight how your products solve real problems
2. Offering behind-the-scenes content to humanize your team and your operations
3. Using interactive features like virtual tours or augmented reality demonstrations to immerse audiences in your narrative

Digital storytelling informs first and foremost, but it also builds emotional connections that stick with audiences long after they engage with your content. 

As technology advances, expect businesses to experiment with even more immersive approaches, such as virtual reality showcases and AI-driven interactive content.

PR Industry Predictions for 2025

As PR evolves, so must your PR strategy. This necessitates staying ahead of industry trends. Here are some takeaways from our PR stats for 2025:

• Earned media requires creativity and targeted strategies.
• AI adoption and usage in PR continue to improve efficiency and insights.
• Email is the preferred channel for journalist outreach.
• Social listening is vital to reputation management.
• Influencer partnerships can benefit businesses in the B2B sector.
• Quality content improves brand authority and engagement.
• Digital storytelling dominates PR campaigns.

These stats point to several trends likely to shape PR in the coming year. 

For businesses that want to excel in 2025, partnering with a trusted PR agency can make all the difference. A professional PR team will help you handle challenges, stay in front of industry trends, and tell your story in a way that captivates your audience. Don’t wait — start looking for your PR partner to position your brand for success today.
 

About the Author

Anna Peck Content Marketing Manager at Clutch

Anna Peck is a content marketing manager at Clutch, where she crafts content on digital marketing, SEO, and public relations. In addition to editing and producing engaging B2B content, she plays a key role in Clutch’s awards program and contributed content efforts. Originally joining Clutch as part of the reviews team, she now focuses on developing SEO-driven content strategies that offer valuable insights to B2B buyers seeking the best service providers.

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