The majority of individuals recognise the distinction between public relations and marketing. In the usual organisation, these are two distinct functions managed by two distinct teams. Publicists and marketers frequently employ unique techniques and approaches to achieving their respective objectives.

At the same time, determining how they differ from one another can be more difficult than it appears. This is especially true for new businesses (or those through renovations) that want to know which teams to pay for and build out.

For those seeking a more complete view, it’s useful to compare public relations and marketing in terms of measurements, time frames, and the day-to-day operations that distinguish each profession.

What is public relations?

Public relations is defined by the Public Relations Society of America as a “strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organisations and their publics.

In other words, a public relations specialist’s purpose is to increase brand recognition and help consumers like and connect with a firm more. Public relations campaigns and efforts could be devoted to:

Creating buzz or excitement about an upcoming new product.
Transmitting financial information to investors, stockholders, and other financial stakeholders.
Building transparency within an organisation through exchanging information between teams and higher-level leaders.
Crisis communications, in which publicists assist an organisation in regaining public trust after a crisis or loss of credibility.

Consider anything a corporation does to influence or mould the public (and occasionally internal) opinion of public relations.

What exactly does a public relations team do?

Publicists like to claim they wear many hats, which is a shorthand way of describing their varied workload. A publicist may be asked to do the following on any given day:

Prepare a news release.
Set up a speaking event.
Organise a press conference.
Make connections with media professionals.
Participate in non-profit activity in your neighbourhood.

Of course, none of this work results in direct sales. However, if they’re doing well behind the scenes, when the time comes to make a buy, public relations can help sway a potential consumer with the favourable feeling they’ve helped impact through a long-term PR strategy.

What exactly is marketing?

Marketing’s purpose is to use a combination of marketing strategy and innovation to ensure that individuals who may require a company’s products or services are aware of them in the first place. Their overall purpose is to link a company with its target audience and establish a long-term, mutually beneficial connection with them.

Marketers may now incorporate all kinds of demographic information to better understand their target customer. Some relevant aspects that may influence purchasing decisions are as follows:

Age.
Gender.
Location.
Level of education.
Profession.
Hobbies and interests.

The more you know about your target audience, the easier it is to discover them and market products and services to them (easier said than done).

What exactly does a marketing team do?

Marketers, like publicists, must execute a range of duties in order to be successful. A marketing team’s major responsibilities include:

Developing a comprehensive marketing plan
CRO and web development
Creating a paid and programmatic marketing approach
Organic Social Reporting, and so on.
Key criteria for public relations versus marketing

Every trade has its own instruments for gauging performance, and the professions of public relations and marketing, both of which are centred on narrative, are no different.

Marketing professionals frequently use acquisition data to assess their performance, which could include:

Mentions and hits in the media.
Social media shares.
Traffic to a website.
Impressions on the internet.

In addition to quantitative data, public relations professionals evaluate their job subjectively by considering the value of their connections and contacts in the media landscape. They may also examine marketing data to determine whether their efforts are yielding marketing ROI.

Timelines for PR versus marketing

It’s an old adage that everything worthwhile takes time. That was most likely written by a publicist.

Nothing happens overnight in public relations. It might take months, if not years, to develop a PR strategy, network with the media, and educate the broader public on the intricacies of who a company is. Positive associations with a brand develop over time, thanks in large part to favourable media mentions earned by PR specialists, which are frequently the outcome of partnerships.

Marketing, on the other hand, can be of both long-term and more immediate quality. Email signups and transactions can be tracked in real time, and many campaigns are run as sprints with short-term targets that take a few weeks or months to achieve.

Simultaneously, marketing teams’ “micro-goals” should ideally establish a long-term foundation of trust and mutual benefit between brand and consumer. In this way, public relations and marketing collaborate to achieve a common purpose.

Marketaa is a place where marketing and public relations stories collide.

Understanding the distinctions between PR and marketing is critical for making informed decisions regarding funding, company goals, and the story you’re telling as an organisation. However, when finances are limited, firms are frequently compelled to pick between the two—or are they?

We can assist you in deciding whether to resource your PR or marketing engines. Marketaa, a growth marketing business with years of experience, provides organizations with the data they need to determine where to reach their target audience and what types of communications are most effective. Whether you already know your angles or are looking for a tale that will set you apart, contact Marketaa today—we want to tell it alongside you.

Decoding the Business World: Unravelling the Distinctions between PR and Marketing