Relationship between Public Relations and Marketing.

Are PR and marketing the same thing? No. They are not. Yes, there are shared goals: –

1. Create a unique identity.
2. Boost awareness.
3. Increase the brand reach (increase web traffic)

The execution to achieve the goals are different.

One of the old’ time misconceptions when it comes to what I do (brand building) is I am a marketer. Now for the longest time, I have had to explain how PR is not synonymous with marketing. It comes off as a fine line, but when one gets to the nitty-gritty of the two dockets, the difference is clear. With that said, PR and marketing should work hand in hand because PR builds reputation whilst marketing gears towards boosting the bottom line. The two work like brick and mortar.

From a tactical point of view, it is a bit easier to carve out the difference between PR and marketing, however when it comes to articulating how each department contributes to the success of a business, not so black and white. At the end of the day, growing/building the business/company/brand is the key.

Even with the emergence of the digital era, we believe that PR and marketing principles still remain. For instance, marketing in the digital space would be those activities that drive an instant action from the consumer like the Facebook ads, IG ads, etc. Over time consumers are becoming weary of businesses that only interact with them when they(business) want to sell a service or product to them. This has resulted in having social media being categorized under the PR function.

Ways PR and marketing can work together

Blogging is one way of telling your story (PR) putting in target keywords(marketing) in your blogs means you are able to get the best of both worlds. Your customers are able to interact with you through the content (blog) and you(business/brand) do not come off as a car-sales man whose sole purpose is just to sell.

As earlier mentioned, companies often advertise on social sites which is a marketing activity however when it comes to interacting and connecting with the users, the PR department is better placed to carry out this task. In addition, the messaging on the social platform will require a PR practitioner to carefully articulate the brand/business. The social channels have become a favorite hub for the media who dig for information to use as a source, having your business’ messaging right will give you a competitive edge.

It is no doubt important for a business/ brand/company / to be able to articulate the difference between PR and marketing however the reality is that PR and marketing are reliant on each other. Does your company have a PR and marketing department?