Research Reveals Nine Public Relations and Marketing Myths

News provided by

Vocus

Jun 18, 2014, 13:00 ET


Beltsville, Maryland (PRWEB) June 18, 2014 -- New study supports many current trends in marketing and public relations (PR), but busts several generally accepted myths on the social Internet, according to research today released by independent research firm Market Connections and Vocus, a leading provider of cloud-based PR and marketing software.

The new research is explored in two reports, “The State of Marketing 2014” and “The State of PR 2014,” and breaks nine industry myths. Its findings are from an online national poll of 325 mid and senior-level marketing and PR professionals, conducted in May 2014.

The study exposes the changes in both marketing and PR professionals’ worlds. In PR, it reveals a move towards digital and social media. In marketing, a struggle to grasp digital media technologies emerging in their space. Along with these notable shifts, it also shines light onto common myths upheld within the industries.

Some of the following myths are exposed for PR and marketing professionals:

Myth 1: “PR Practitioners Are Adapting to All the New Digital Tactics”

  • Reality – Only 53 percent of PR practitioners are using content marketing and 49 percent use search engine marketing.

Myth 2: “Social Media Pros Don’t Care About Return On Investment (ROI)”

  • Reality – Social media pros care more (32 percent) about increased revenue per customer than do PR practitioners (21 percent) and traditional marketers (22 percent).

Myth 3: “Virtually Everyone Has a Content Marketing Strategy”

  • Reality – Only 60 percent of respondents have an actual content marketing strategy and only 19 percent are considering adding such a strategy.

Myth 4: “Marketing Automation Is Too Complex, Costly and Time-Consuming to Implement”

  • Reality – Those using marketing automation report significantly greater efficiency and ROI benefits, specifically:
  • Improved sales conversion – 62 percent of those with marketing automation see improved sales conversion as a benefit, compared to only one-third (33 percent) of those without.
  • Enhanced targeting – is a perceived benefit for nearly 60 percent of those using automation (57 percent) and only 40 percent of those not using automation.
  • Lead generation – 55 percent of those using automation see the generation of more leads as a benefit, compared with only 30 percent of those not using automation; 54 percent of those using automation noted higher quality leads as a top benefit, while only 38 percent of those without automation see this benefit.

“The study’s findings revealed several surprises and disproved some commonly held industry beliefs, such as the effectiveness of blogging, for instance,” said Vocus Chief Marketing Officer You Mon Tsang. “It also identified a need for digital marketing and automation technologies within the two industries. The services are out there for marketers and PR professionals. All they need to do is take the leap and implement them in order to create effective strategies that will properly reflect and maximize the ROI their efforts are incurring.”

“The goal of our research and analysis is always to provide leaders from various industries with proactive recommendations for adjusting their strategies and tactics in order to be as successful as possible,” said Market Connections Marketing Director Monica L. Mayk. “Through our research partnership with Vocus we were able to provide actionable findings for the marketing and PR industries that will help companies and organizations continue to progress in a rapidly evolving digital world.”

The full findings and insights are available for download at The State of Marketing Report 2014 and The State of PR Report 2014. The reports also dissect major trends impacting each sector.

The poll queried a cross section of commercial companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The margin of error on the poll results is +/- 5 percent at a 95 percent confidence interval.

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About Vocus
Vocus provides leading cloud-based public relations and marketing software that enables companies to acquire and retain customers. The company offers products and services to help clients attract and engage prospects, nurture and convert customers, and measure and improve marketing effectiveness. More than 16,000 annual subscription customers across a wide variety of industries use Vocus software. The company is headquartered in Beltsville, MD with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.vocus.com or call (800) 345-5572.

Breeanna Straessle, Vocus, http://www.vocus.com, +1 301.479.3921, [email protected]