The Difference Between Marketing and Public Relations

Public Relations and Marketing are often confused and we hear potential clients ask us what the difference is all the time. The truth is, while they are similar, PR and Marketing are different.

The confusion is mainly due to overlapping objectives and goals. And while the two may frequently collaborate to create bigger success, the tactics about how to reach that success are where they differ. 

The Main Difference

The short answer is that marketing focuses on promoting a specific product or service to increase sales, while PR focuses on maintaining a positive reputation for the company and maintaining a relationship with their target audience.

But let’s dive a little deeper. What is it that really defines their individualities?

Target Audience

A big difference between PR and Marketing is the audiences they target.

Marketing has a much narrower target audience than PR. You focus on current or potential customers/clients for promotions and increasing sales.

PR has a much broader target audience. You focus all stakeholders, employees, the media, and the public as a whole. This is because your reputation as a company depends on the feelings of all of these entities. 

Day-To-Day Tasks

When it comes to working on a daily basis, PR and Marketing could not be more different.

A PR specialist works on press releases, creating communications and crisis plans, managing relationships with media outlets, finding media opportunities, and managing the company’s messaging.

A Marketing specialist creates and manages marketing campaigns, following industry trends, managing the company’s social media, securing advertisement placements, and managing email campaigns and newsletters.

Measuring Success

Because Marketing and PR have different inner workings, they also have different ways of measuring success.

In Marketing, success is mostly measured in the short term. Did you meet or even surpass your sales goals? Was the return on investment high? Did it drive more traffic to your website? Did you get more people to sign up for your newsletter? It’s all about meeting goals set for a particular campaign. 

With Public Relations, success is more long term. What is the public opinion about your brand? Are your employees satisfied? Is the press about your company positive? Are influencers/bloggers giving positive reviews? PR is all about maintaining your image in the long run.

The Overlap

Because of their similarities and because of their different focuses and tactics, PR and Marketing come together for collaborations all the time. For example, you are launching a new product or service and you need to get the word out. PR alerts the media and tries to get press coverage. Marketing shares the coverage on social media and uses it in advertisement placements. The team effort can lead to higher success in both departments. 

In Conclusion

PR and Marketing both play vital roles in the success of a company. And while they share in a common goal, the two are responsible for different parts in that success. We know that these two roles can be extremely daunting for business owners. That is where the Kristen Rose Agency comes in. If you are interested in having us represent your business, click on the contact page. We’d love to schedule a chat to find out about your business and its specific needs.