Using PR to make your marketing job easier

It is easy to get marketing and PR confused; however, both perform different functions and are important to the success of your business.

Many companies focus strictly on marketing while letting PR go to the wayside. But using PR can actually make your marketing job easier.

The difference between PR and marketing

Marketing deals primarily with product awareness and promotion. Those involved with marketing work to promote a specific product or service a company or organization offers. Marketing professionals will concern themselves with the products the company provides, the customers and their needs, and then work to anticipate what the next product will be or how to promote it.

PR, or public relations, handles the image of the company itself, whereas marketing is concerned primarily with products. A public relations professional is more concerned with the public's view of the company and the company's reputation rather than trying to get the public to purchase the products.

PR works to do the following:

- Increase and maintain visibility and public awareness of an organization, company, or event
- Help the public to see the organization as an industry leader
- Increase awareness of the organization's programs, products, and services throughout the community, state, country, or world
- Help enhance and maintain the organization's image
- Support and organize efforts with regards to fundraising
- Act as a spokesperson and mediator in case the organization or its officials receive any negative publicity
- Boost employee morale and help to recruit and retain employees

Using PR to make your marketing job easier

Public relations and marketing often go hand-in-hand. People who trust a company or organization and are familiar with its name are more likely to purchase its products or utilize its services. PR makes marketing easier by instilling that trust in your business while at the same time getting the name out to the public.

Consider the following example: Let's say a company is planning a marketing campaign that is centered around community service and wants to organize a run for a certain charity. Using various public relations techniques, like press releases, interviews on local news channels, and getting other businesses to promote your sponsored event, helps to make your marketing job easier through what is often free publicity. Your company is giving out a favorable image, and your sales are likely to increase as a result of the focus on your company and its contributions to the community.

Public relations often makes marketing easier because it serves two purposes - increasing the public's view of your company while at the same time bringing attention to your products and services, which is a goal of marketing.

The following are a few tips for using PR to make your marketing job easier:

- Take advantage of press releases. These are an important part of both marketing and public relations. The publicity garnered from press releases can generate new interest in your company and drive people to your website or company, resulting in more sales. Releases of new products or services, sponsoring local events, and so forth are examples of things you could write releases about.
- Notify the media if your company is involved with or hosting anything newsworthy or that is giving back to the community.
- Pass out marketing and promotional items at public relations events.

There are many ways you can use PR to make your marketing job easier.