The lines between public relations (PR) and marketing can become easily blurred, even by professionals in the industry. In today’s world the objectives, goals, and even some tactics used by both PR and marketing teams may be closely related.
To keep it simple, marketing is focused on driving sales and doing so by promoting products, services, or ideas on channels like social media. Public relations (PR) is more focused on the maintenance of a positive reputation of a company, brand, or person through the media.
What is PR?
PR, or Public Relations, is a strategic communication and marketing discipline that focuses on managing and shaping an organisation’s image and reputation in the eyes of the public. Including customers, stakeholders, and the general public. PR is not advertising! But rather it involves creating and maintaining a positive public perception of a company, brand, or individual through various means. This can include media coverage, community engagement, and other forms of communication.
Is PR part of marketing?
In essence, PR and marketing work in tandem to achieve an organisation’s marketing goals and objectives. They share the common aim of promoting the brand and its offerings, albeit through different strategies and tactics. When integrated effectively, PR and marketing create a comprehensive and cohesive approach to building and promoting a brand.
What are key aspects of PR in marketing?
- Media Relations: Building relationships with journalists, bloggers, and other media professionals to secure media coverage that promotes the company or its products and services.
- Crisis Management: Addressing and mitigating potential PR crises that could damage an organisation’s reputation. As well as managing the communication during such situations.
- Content Creation: Developing and distributing press releases, articles, blog posts, and other content that showcases the company’s expertise, achievements, and contributions.
- Event Management: Organising and promoting events. Such as product launches, trade shows, and charity functions, to generate positive publicity and engage with key stakeholders.
- Social Media Engagement: Leveraging social media platforms to interact with the audience, respond to inquiries, and share company news and updates.
- Employee and Community Engagement: Engaging employees and the local community to foster a positive image and build strong relationships.
- Influencer Marketing & Relations: Collaborating with influencers and thought leaders to promote products or services to their followers.
- Publicity and Awards: Seeking industry recognition and awards to enhance the company’s credibility with proper reputation management.
What Are the Goals of PR and Marketing?
Each of these important areas serves wider business goals in distinct ways. While they can often be conflated, and it’s true that PR and marketing are working more closely than ever. As non-traditional media forms blur the lines, there are still some key differentiating factors.
How do the goals of PR and marketing differ?
While PR is focused heavily on reputation management and maximising the reach for news stories, interviews, and announcements. Marketing teams focus on attracting new buyers, retaining current customers, and storytelling. Both are deeply engrained in the process of building brand equity, customer loyalty, and positive perception for the brand.
The goals for a public relations team revolve around:
- Selling a product, brand, or person by managing a positive reputation through various communication channels with stakeholders and the general public.
The goals for a marketing team center on:
- Reaching consumers and having them do carryout sort of a sales-focused action.
- Revenue is increasingly becoming a key metric that marketing teams are evaluated against
Day-to-day Tactics in Public Relations and Marketing
How each team approaches achieving their goals also differs. On a daily basis, you may find that a public relations professional is focused on the following tasks:
- Managing company messaging
- Constructing and pitching press releases
- Securing public speaking opportunities
- Building the company, brand, or individual’s reputation in media
- Managing media relations on behalf of their client
- A PR agency may also help clients put together a communication strategy or crisis management plan.
On the other hand, a marketing professional is focused on:
- Creating and managing advertising campaigns
- Securing traditional and digital advertising placements
- Conducting industry research to help drive the overall direction of marketing campaigns
- Developing collateral for websites and digital marketing efforts, sales pitches, and launches, brochures, PDFs, etc.
- Managing the company or brand’s social media profiles
Target Audiences of PR and Marketing
Generally speaking, there is a difference between the audiences that PR and marketing teams develop communications around:
PR Teams
The audiences that public relations teams may try to reach is very broad, and depends largely on the goal of a specific campaign. For example, an earnings report will be largely intended for investors’ eyes. While a press release around a new hire or a DE&I initiative may be geared toward employees and/or journalists.
Marketing Teams
The audience that marketing teams try to reach is usually based more heavily on consumer insight research. Allowing their messaging to reflect the people who actually purchase your product. (Assuming that the PR team is handling all internal communications). The marketing team may engage in activities like ABM, digital advertising, or email marketing as well. This will revolve around segmenting and targeting specific groups of either prospective customers or existing ones.
Final Thoughts
Despite some very clear differences, public relations and marketing cannot operate in silos. To be successful in today’s world, the two departments must collaborate with one another.
If the product or service you are advertising has limited brand awareness. Then you will have a more challenging time building a successful brand reputation, or relationship, with consumers. This will most likely result in a decline in sales.
In this instance, both the PR and marketing departments could work together to increase brand awareness by securing press for the product or service. Then create social media ads and posts around to promote that press.
Social media marketing and influencer marketing are two activities that are increasingly being managed by both PR and marketing departments. Social media and influencers can be used to convey brand-building messaging as well as help carry out targeted advertising campaigns.
Although this requires greater collaboration between the two departments, there are several advantages to aligning PR strategies and marketing strategies. Including the ability for greater content amplification across channels, additional optimisation opportunities, maintaining and promoting brand messaging consistency, and much more.
Looking for external support?
As a business owner, you simply can’t (and shouldn’t) juggle everything at once. No matter how amazing you are at what you do, there’ll always be a ball to drop which simply isn’t “as important” as the other tasks. That’s where Rokir steps in! Think of us as your no-hand support however you need it. Need a blog about your industry or specific service? Done! Need some graphics for your social posts? Also done! Struggling to keep up with community engagement and customer relations? We’re still here!
Drop us a DM or fill out our online form to find out how we can help.
Hi I’m Jade, Project Manager of the ROKIR team
