During all my lectures I get asked: what is the difference between marketing and PR? Logically, they are very similar. Yet there are big differences, I like to explain them to you.
PR (public relations)
The core of PR is to appear in the media, for this you approach journalists and media with your news or hook into other relevant topics. By doing this you work on your visibility, name recognition and reputation. By appearing in newspapers, magazines, podcasts or websites you make sure that people talk about you and then of course preferably positively.
Marketing
Marketing is a direct form of sales; you pay for an advertisement and get visibility in return. Furthermore, marketing is also about visibility, brand awareness, but not so much about reputation. A reputation is only obtained because others talk about you, in the case of PR the media. So in marketing it’s all about talking about yourself and in PR about others talking about you.
How do you make it work?
In PR, there are no guarantees that your news can be published, but if it is, it is enormously valuable. PR can in fact reach a much larger audience than a marketing campaign. In addition, PR is taken much more seriously, precisely because others are talking about you. Also, PR is a lot cheaper than an advertisement in the base of free publicity.
In some cases, these two means of communication can overlap, but it is not always wise. For example, a press release written by a marketing department can come across as too recruiting and then not be picked up. Sin.
What have you already accomplished through PR?