At a recent business meeting, a wealth management business owner said he wanted to attract more qualified investors as clients. He was also looking for appointment setter services to help him with lead generations to drive responses from potential clients. He mentioned that he had a unique approach to investing and shared copies of a book he co-authored. When I saw the book, the first thing I thought was what a great PR tool! He could use this to promote his business and establish himself as a thought leader in investing and today’s economy.

But like many business owners, he didn’t know how to promote the book or himself, so he just sent it to clients and prospective clients. He didn’t realize he could use it to talk to local and national media about the impact of the Fed interest rate hike, his opinions on whether the stock market is going to crash and what to do about retirement.

Marketing is using the book as a tool to educate his clients about his investing approach and sell his services. PR is about using the book to create trust and credibility so clients will be more likely to use his services rather than someone else’s. If you’re interested in becoming an investor then you can visit Stocktrades for guidance, as well as information on portfolios, stock reports and more, so you can save money.

I’m often asked what’s the difference between PR and Marketing. Today, it’s getting harder and harder to answer that question because the lines have been blurred, especially by social media. But as in the above example, Marketing is about the promotion, while PR is about the persuasion and influence. There are companies such as NGP Integrated Marketing Communications who offer both.

Marketing focuses on crafting a company’s overall message, while the purpose of PR is to convey the message (in the most positive light).

The Similarities of PR and Marketing

Listen to most people within a company and you are likely to hear them use PR and Marketing as synonyms. Their bottom lines are the same: increase awareness and drive sales. But while Marketing focuses on lead generation, product pricing programs and customer wants and needs, PR is about building brand awareness, influencing consumer behavior and creating brand trust.

The Differences between PR and Marketing

In marketing expert Heidi Cohen’s article on the topic, she asked many different marketing and PR experts to opine. One of the best explanations came from Deborah Weinstein of Strategic Objectives.

Marketing is “everything a business does to sell its goods, services and values. This ranges from establishing brand identity..to creating promotional strategies that build affiliation and sales. Public Relations offers a two-way dialogue that builds transparent bridges of communication between a business and its constituencies…PR achieves this by tapping the power of positive third party endorsement to create affiliation, loyalty and advocacy.”

Here are three more ways Public Relations and Marketing are different:

· Public relations is focused on the company’s image and reputation: how it is viewed by the consumer, investors, media and potential customers. As its name implies, PR is about relationships. Marketing is about the bottom line. How much revenue will be brought in when the consumer realizes how valuable a particular product or service is. It focuses on meeting the consumer’s needs and seeing that those needs are met quickly.

· While marketing’s ROI is typically measureable by custom codes or lead generation software, public relations can be harder to measure. Public relations is typically measured by media placements, but social media extends its reach. Public relations can also help increase SEO and link backs to your website, which can be measured with Google Analytics. Some industries may require more specialized forms of marketing, such as law firms who may look to something like this to get their business known – https://gladiatorlawmarketing.com/seo-for-lawyers-strategy.

· Marketing teams are frequently tasked with understanding their audience’s buying patterns and behaviors to determine what type of platform will be most effective. PR teams often reach out to local reporters, trades, and social media to get out their message.

Today, we’re working more closely with Marketing using content development strategies to support their inbound marketing programs. As Public Relations experts, we’re talking to customers (that come in through inbound and outbound Marketing) and leveraging their stories with the media.

One thing is certain: As the business landscape gets more and more competitive, with companies disrupting tried-and-true products and services, having PR and Marketing is becoming a necessity for not just surviving, but thriving.

If you are unhappy with the 2015 performance of your company and want to boost your business in 2016, give us a call today. We would love to improve your Marketing and your PR. We look forward to working with you.