Here’s the truth about communications, marketing and public relations (PR):
They are similar yet different disciplines.
However, many businesses either are unaware of that fact or simply dismiss it.
This is no more apparent than in job postings of the last five years.
The truth about communications, marketing and PR is that businesses believe they are the same and lump them into one job posting. For example, a communications specialist is expected to have a background in journalism; a content writer is expected to have experience handling corporate PR crises; a medical writer is expected to have extensive experience with social media; a digital marketer is expected to have experience reaching out to media outlets.
Unfortunately, the reality is that job expectations are not matching the job titles.
Here are a few paraphrased examples of what I often see:
- “Build relationships with journalists to boost awareness”
- “Develop communications strategies for social media”
- “Identify best practices for marketing where appropriate”
So, you’d think these were from three separate jobs – public relations for the first one, communications for the second one and marketing for the last one. But they are often all in the same job description!
This is a mistake.
The truth about communications, marketing and PR is this: each field requires a keen understanding of communication, relationship building and messaging (I want to preface my big “HOWEVER” by mentioning that everything we do is communications because we’re always trying to communicate with others). However, there are skillsets and competencies that make marketing, communications and public relations very different. When you understand this, you can:
- Manage your expectations
- Work more efficiently
- Get high level expertise on your team
- Know who the right person is to contact for emergencies
- Get better results from certain actions such as marketing and proposal writing
In this post, I’ll explain what marketing, communications and public relations are. After that, I will explain the similarities and differences. Finally, I’ll give you a few tips to get you started in your journey.
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What is marketing?
Marketing is a series of activities that a business takes to endorse and position their product. The goal of marketing is to use research and analysis to drive business, namely in terms of sales. This can look like:
- Analyzing your market
- Learning about your target audience
- Crafting strategies and tactics to meet business goals
Effective marketing aligns your product with your unique selling proposition to gain success. This can look like:
- Social media posts that include links and images
- Blog posts that include SEO
- Videos that demonstrate the effectiveness of products
Some examples of content marketing from OptinMonster
What is communications?
Communications is the act of designing messages (written, visual or spoken) that resonate with your target audience. The messages can be about anything related to your brand or product that aligns with your business goals. The goal of communications is to use tools, channels and research to reach your audience. This can look like:
- Developing a communications strategy to organize your efforts
- Using social media to reach your target audience
- Developing user personas to specify your messages
Effective communications is based on knowledge of the target audience to send the most relevant messages. This takes consistency and commitment, especially on social media. This can look like:
- An online forum for your target audience to talk about your brand
- A digital story about the values of the company
- Keywords and phrases that evoke emotion on social media
Some examples of communications brand messaging from Hubspot
What is public relations?
Public relations (PR) is the act of managing a good reputation by building relationships with key stakeholders. PR works by drawing attention to activities that can be deemed discussion-worthy. The goal of PR is to keep brand reputations in good standing for business success. This can look like:
- Crafting strong messaging for interviews
- Sending out press releases to raise awareness about a cause
- Developing scholarships
Effective public relations works when professionals build trust with the right people using purposeful strategies and tactics. This can look like:
- Donating to a charity and creating a visual representation of the results
- Writing an op-ed to support an idea
- Hosting pop-up shops
Some examples of PR tactics and campaigns from CoSchedule
What are the similarities?
The truth about communications, marketing and PR is that there is a ton of overlap. Professionals in each field use similar tactics and strategies to achieve their goals. The best way for me to describe the similarities is to write about the responsibilities professionals like myself have, no matter which field we’re in:
Research
We all conduct research, whether it’s about customers or the industry itself. This is how we ground all decisions in evidence and analytics. For example, in marketing and communications, analytics are used to determine if something is working. This is how we help companies take smarter steps towards success.
Relationship-building
In order to communicate effectively, we have to build relationships with key stakeholders to succeed. To clarify, the relationships informs how the work gets done. For example, in public relations and communications, relationships are key to gathering information and finding opportunities to tell brand stories. This is how brands gain the spotlight.
Messaging
All communications come with messaging. There are stories to be told and ideas to be promoted. However, that requires strong and consistent messaging. For example, in public relations and marketing, professionals have to find smart and authentic ways to connect with their audience to make them feel welcome.
What are the differences?
The best way to make the differences clear is by breaking down how each field functions together in terms of purpose, audience and promotion. Note that these aren’t black and white differences. Actually, they’re just ways of framing the differences that I hope helps you understand them.
Purpose
- Communications = crafting messages
- Marketing = sending messages
- Public relations = managing and maintaining messages
Audience
- Communications = external and internal (i.e., strategic communications)
- Marketing = external
- Public relations = external and internal
Promotion
- Communications promotion = promotion of the brand and the product
- Marketing promotion = promotion of the product
- Public relations promotion = promotion of the brand
So, what is the truth about communications, marketing and PR?
The right person for the job is the person who understands the differences among marketing, communications and public relations. Additionally, that person knows where each form of expertise works best.
When you’re looking for your person, it helps to be clear about what you want to accomplish and what resources you have to do that. The last thing you want is to bring someone onboard who keeps suggesting ideas and strategies you aren’t ready to do. When in doubt, refer back to this post to make sure the right person for the job is the right person on your team. Who knows, it could be a freelancer.
Still need help? Contact me today and let’s chat about it.