55+ Press Release Statistics for 2024

2024 Press Release Statistics

Here are the latest press release statistics and trends for 2024, compiled from multiple sources:

Press Release Distribution and Effectiveness

1. 68% of journalists find press releases the most useful source for content or ideas (Source: Cision)
2. 74% of journalists want to receive news announcements/press releases from PR professionals (Source: Cision)
3. Press releases can increase website traffic by up to 220% (Source: Fit Small Business)
4. Thursday is the best day to publish a press release, with open rates jumping to over 26% (Source: Prowly)
5. The best time to send a press release is between 10 am and 2 pm, when editors open about one-third of all emails received (Source: Prowly)
6. The ideal length of a press release is 300-400 words (Source: Fit Small Business)
7. 63% companies plan to include multimedia elements (photos, video, graphics etc.) when they send a press release (Source: Fit Small Business)

Journalist Preferences and Behaviors

8. 1 in 4 journalists (28%) receive over 100 pitches per week (Source: Cision, Meltwater)
9. Journalists respond to just 3% of pitches they receive (Source: Meltwater, Prowly)
10. 90% of journalists say it’s OK to send at least 1 follow up to their pitch (Source: Meltwater)
11. Half the journalists prefer followups after 3-7 days (Source: Meltwater)
12. 72% of journalists say press releases that understand their audience make their job easier (Source: Fit Small Business)
13. 75% of journalists say the top action any PR person can take is to understand a reporter’s target audience and what they find relevant. (Source: Cision)
14. 80% of journalists say academic experts are the most credible sources, with CEOs dropping 12% in the last two years. (Source: Muck Rack)
15. Only 7% of journalists consider pitches to be relevant more than half the time (Source: Cision)
16. 87% of journalists prefer to receive pitches via email (Source: Cision)
17. 96% of PR professionals say individual emails are the most effective channel for pitching journalists (Source: Meltwater)
18. The average pitch to a journalist is 100-200 words (Source: Meltwater)
19. 78% of journalists say X (formerly Twitter) is the most valuable network. (Source: Muck Rack)
20. 70% of journalists still use X (Twitter) to find sources. (Source: Muck Rack)
21. 59% of journalists check a company’s social media sites when reporting. (Source: Muck Rack)

Multimedia and Content in Press Releases

22. Companies get 6x more engagement with press releases with multiple images (Source: Cision)
23. 67% of journalists use images more than any other media in press releases (Source: Fit Small Business)
24. Press releases with videos can get 3x more engagement than those without (Source: Fit Small Business)

PR Industry Trends and Challenges

25. The global PR market is expected to grow to more than $133 billion by 2027 (Source: Meltwater)
26. Demand for PR specialists is predicted to grow by about 6% by 2032 in the United States (Source: Meltwater)
27. 59% of businesses express “getting responses from journalists” as their biggest challenge in PR (Source: Meltwater)
28. 60% of PR professionals say media relations is harder or much harder compared to last year (Source: Prowly)
29. 47% of communications professionals now report to the CEO directly, a stark contrast from 2020, when 57% reported communications was part of marketing. (Source: Cision/PRWeek)
30. 67% of business decision makers worry about their company falling victim to fake news or misinformation. (Source: Danebury/Vuelio)
31. 7 out of 10 PR professionals have never pitched newsletters for their press release (Source: Meltwater)

PR Measurement and Reporting

32. On average, PR pros track eight metrics. (Source: Muck Rack)
33. 72% of marketers say the No. 1 metric in determining a press release’s success is its number of media placements (Source: Cision)
34. 51% of PR pros use news monitoring and media databases daily (Source: Meltwater)
35. 70% of PR professionals brief their leadership on measurement and reporting once a month or more (Source: Meltwater)
36. About half of PR professionals (47%) say they spend at least 25% of their time on PR measurement. (Source: Muck Rack)

PR Technology and AI

37. PR professionals believe that AI is one of the top five skills their companies will need to focus on over the next five years (Source: Meltwater)
38. More than half of PR professionals who use AI do so to craft pitches (Source: Meltwater)
39. 59% of PR professionals believe that technology will be key in driving the transformation of the PR industry (Source: Prowly)
40. 28% of PR professionals surveyed say they are using generative AI. (Source: Muck Rack)
41. Among those using generative AI in PR:
    • 57% are crafting pitches
    • 48% are writing copy for social media
    • 48% are writing press releases
    • 44% are using it for research
    • 25% say they are using it for strategy and planning (Source: Muck Rack)
42. Just 12% of survey respondents say they were “very knowledgeable” about AI and its capacity to support PR. (Source: PR Week/Notified)
43. 51% of PR professionals believe that social listening is one of the most effective ways to measure and assess reputation (Source: Meltwater)

PR Industry Challenges and Trends

44. 46% of businesses claim inability to measure business impact as a major PR challenge (Source: Meltwater)
45. 67% of nonprofits say budget limitations is their number one PR challenge (Source: Meltwater)
46. 73% of PR pros believe “public relations” will need to be redefined in 5 years (Source: Meltwater)
47. 44% of PR professionals plan to spend more time on internal communications (Source: Meltwater)

PR Strategies and Tools

48. 5 out of 10 PR pros use social media tools weekly (Source: Meltwater)
49. 8 out of 10 PR professionals use spreadsheets to store media lists (Source: Meltwater)
50. A third of brands say that they spend the most of their PR budget on PR agencies (Source: Meltwater)
51. The average PR team has 3 core key performance indicators (KPIs) (Source: Meltwater)

PR Professionals’ Work Habits

52. 57% of PR pros work more than 40 hours a week. (Source: Muck Rack)
53. Nearly 80% of PR pros work after hours at least once a week. (Source: Muck Rack)

PR Budgets and Business Outlook

54. 33% of brands and 39% of agencies think their budgets will increase in 2024. (Source: Meltwater)
55. 53% of PR agencies feel optimistic about business in 2024, down from 66% last year. (Source: Meltwater)
56. About 42% of PR professionals think they will see the biggest revenue growth from earned media. (Source: Meltwater)

PR Industry Outlook

57. The global PR market is expected to grow to more than $133 billion by 2027. (Source: Meltwater)
58. Demand for PR specialists is predicted to grow by about 6% by 2032 in the United States. (Source: Meltwater)

Press Releases in 2024-2025

The statistics shown here demonstrate the press release industry to be healthy, producing content that journalists want to receive. As the industry continues to adapt to changes in media consumption, technological advancements, and economic pressures, we see a great future presenting both challenges and opportunities for PR professionals in 2025.