NEW YORK: PR pros are working overtime, and they still find their biggest challenge is getting journalists’ attention despite their extra efforts, according to Muck Rack’s annual State of PR survey.
The research revealed that more than half (53%) of agency pros work more than 40 hours a week. Yet in reality, that percentage could be even higher, according to the PR software company. The report also found that PR pros work after business hours or on weekends at least once a week.
“It’s worth considering how many different types of agencies there are,” said Mike Schneider, Muck Rack VP of marketing. “Some of the agencies [Muck Rack] surveys are part-time. If you were to exclusively poll folks working full-time, I imagine it could be even higher [than 53%].”
More than half of respondents stated that their biggest issue is getting responses from journalists, with agencies (59%) more challenged than brands (43%), according to the report. Schneider said that the 16-point difference mainly stems from the average 4.5 areas that PR pros are focused on.
“These [4.5] elements could include media relations, thought leadership, crisis management and so on,” he said. “If you’re doing all that for more clients across different sectors, you can imagine that it would be harder to [get coverage].”
The report also uncovered a widespread switch in social media preference. Last year, LinkedIn was the favored platform, but in 2022, Twitter has taken the lead. Seventy-seven percent of PR pros said Twitter is the most essential platform for their comms strategy, followed by LinkedIn (73%) and Facebook (69%).
The 2022 State of PR surveyed 1,887 PR professionals from brands, agencies, nonprofit and government organizations globally from April 12 to May 3.