Survey: Less than 10% of marketers to focus on Digital PR in 2019

Zazzle Media has released their annual State of Content Marketing 2019 survey, which found that less than one in ten marketers (9%) will be focusing on Digital PR in 2019.

Despite this, over three quarters (76%) state that brand awareness is a key performance indicator for them.

Not only this, but 25% of content marketers will be ceasing to participate in offline PR activity as it has been perceived as an ineffective channel for them over the recent years.

It seems there is an apparent disconnect between marketers’ desired goals and the tactics they need to carry out to achieve these.

So why are marketers seemingly less concerned about off-page distribution, and why should you make a case for Digital PR to hold a key position in your marketing activities?

Brand awareness

Whilst the creation of written blog content will appeal to people on the site, we need a mechanism that is going to drive these people towards the site first.

Digital PR can help users find your site in a more organic way rather than in a targeted advertorial manner.

The survey found that a quarter of marketers want to target new audiences through content distribution, but without Digital PR this will prove to be a difficult task.

Brand protection

PR allows you to control narratives and get involved with industry conversations which you would otherwise be unable to participate in. The digital aspect also allows you to receive real-time coverage updates which mention your brand’s name and put out an immediate response in an attempt to stem or enhance any positive or negative feedback. Protecting your brand, especially in the SERPs, is a powerful tool for PRs.

Read next: Organic reputation management & brand protection

Link building

A major perk of creating Digital PR campaigns is that they usually come with linkable assets that have a chance of being cited within media coverage.

Link building is an activity which has a reputation of relying on black-hat tactics for success, paying for links, directories, and the others. Digital PR allows you to avoid all these techniques and the risks associated with them and build some legitimate links from high authority publications.

Read next: Five proven content formats to maximize link acquisition with digital PR.

Managing director of Zazzle Media, Simon Penson, commented on the statistics:

“Brand awareness has appeared as one of 2019’s core focuses when it comes to brands content marketing efforts. Whilst this can be achieved through a number of marketing techniques, Digital PR is one of the strongest means of getting your name out there to new audiences.

2019 is shaping up to be an exciting year for content marketing, and Digital PR could be the key to giving your brand new audiences and visibility.”

What do you think of these findings? Let us know your thoughts on the results in the comments.

Kirsty Daniel is a Digital Marketing Executive at Zazzle Media. She can be found on Twitter @kirsty_daniel.

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