PR vs. Marketing – What is the difference?
2-part series
Kimberly Ellis| December 5, 2024
The public often sees public relations and marketing used interchangeably but if CEOs perceive the two serving the same function and purpose, they are at risk of wasting time, money, and resources. In fact, they serve two very distinct purposes.
Public relations’ primary focus is on managing an organization’s reputation and building relationships with various stakeholders including the community, employees, government officials, investors, and media. However, companies use marketing for promoting and selling products or services to drive sales, revenue, and customer acquisition.
Reasons to have a public relations strategy
As a CEO, one of the duties is to elevate the public image of the company and champion its mission, vision, and values to a broad audience. By developing a strong public relations strategy, a CEO can:
- Improve the company’s reputation with messaging representing the company’s value, vision, and mission.
- Build credibility and trust by establishing themselves as an authority and subject matter expert.
- Increase stakeholder confidence by communicating the company’s goals and progress on key projects or initiatives.
- Drive more business and investor interest in supporting the business and the leadership vision for the company.
- Capture more media coverage as journalists begin to see the C-suite as a credible source of expertise, industry knowledge and a unique perspective.
- Mitigate or manage crises by addressing concerns quickly in a transparent and honest manner.
Components of a public relations strategy
By managing the company narrative and how to target audiences with relevant content, a well-developed public relations plan can accomplish the outcomes above but what might a well-developed public relations strategy entail? It depends on the company’s communication goals, but key components could include:
- Branding to provide a unique identity further distinguishing the company from its competition.
- Community engagement to build local relationships, engage communities and capture resident perspectives, concerns, and opportunities.
- Content creation for blogs, newsletters, videos, websites, and social media channels to tell the company story.
- Crisis management and support to help the company rapidly respond to negative events and convey a plan of action.
- Event sponsorships and public appearances to elevate the brand.
- Media coverage including interviews, podcasts, and business and trade publications to create credibility.
- Press releases, pitches and thought pieces on newsworthy information to build trust and provide transparency.
A well-designed public relations strategy will function as a company’s roadmap to successful engagement, support and maintain consistent communication, help build trust and heighten a company’s visibility.
So, what does marketing do for a CEO and their company? See Part 2 of PR vs. Marketing.
