Public relations vs. marketing
It can seem to be strange for someone, but most people have a vague idea about the performance of PR agencies and marketing firms. Often they consider them to be interchangeable. If you are one of such people, this brief note will open your eyes to the truth and shed light on the difference between public relations and marketing.
First of all, let's start with definitions.
Public Relations is a process of strategic communication aimed to build a positive image of a company or public figure.
On the other hand, marketing can be defined as a set of different activities for goods or services promotion and selling.
Offered services
As long as we have already know the meaning of the two terms in question, let's have a look at the range of services provided by the PR companies and marketing firms.
Main PR services:
- Writing press releases describing new product launches or business initiatives;
- Wide media coverage, including articles in the well-known newspapers and magazines and interviews on the TV channels and radio stations;
- Providing speaking opportunities for the company representatives at different business events;
- Establishing strong and long-lasting relationships with community, media, and industry influencers;
- Company messaging management;
- Event management;
- Media training;
- Social media management;
- Design of crisis communication strategy, and others.
Main marketing services:
- Strategy and planning
- Media planning and media buying
- Search engine optimization
- Content creation
- Email marketing
- Event marketing
- Social media marketing
- Influencer marketing
- Marketing research conduction, etc.
Audience
Target audience is one of the main differences between public relations as marketing. Generally, top Miami PR firms try to reach out to a wide audience through various media as their primary purpose is to increase brand awareness and build a good reputation. So when it comes to PR, your target audience is not necessarily people actively searching for information about a particular brand, product, or service but the public in general.
In contrast, marketing mainly concentrates on the people who are ready to take action and can directly contribute to the bottom line of a company. That is why marketing messages are more targeted.
Success measurement
To understand the difference between public relations and marketing, we also suggest considering the metrics of PR and marketing campaign success. For example, a successful marketing campaign is one that has managed to meet sales goals and resulted in high profit and ROI, as well as increased lead generation and conversion rate. On the other hand, top Miami PR firms measure success with the established mutually beneficial relationships, great public perception, and the number of positive brand mentions in the media landscape.
Take away
Public relations and marketing are two different things, and the main difference between them is that marketing focuses on product or service promotion, while PR concentrates on effective communications, beneficial relationships, and positive reputation building. However, it is impossible to market something without doing some PR, as well as it is impossible to do PR without some marketing activities. The end goal of both is successful business development. That is why it makes sense to combine PR and marketing activities in order to gain the best results.
