The Ultimate Debate: PR Versus Advertising

Kailynn Bowling, ChicExecs Marketing Agency’s Co-Founder/Co-President, discusses the difference between public relations and advertising when it’s time to grow your brand and increase sales on Forbes.

Not sure if PR or advertising is right for you? They’re separate disciplines, so consider their pros and cons for your situation. Understand these three differences to choose the right approach for your brand.

1. Price

Because PR is a form of earned media, you won’t get results right away. It can take weeks of pitching to finally land a feature, which might be weeks or months away. For this reason, it’s incredibly helpful to hire a PR professional who has existing relationships with journalists and can save you the time of researching and pitching.

Fortunately, you spend very little money pursuing PR, so it’s still a cost-effective way to promote your business. Depending on the feature, PR can be more valuable than advertising. It’s credibility that you just can’t buy.

Advertising, on the other hand, immediately puts your brand in front of customers — for a price. It’s not unheard of for ad campaigns to burn through thousands of dollars a week.

2. Credibility

This is a huge differentiator between PR and advertising. In a nutshell, advertising is like saying, “I’m great,” while PR is having someone else say you’re great.

And the stats don’t lie here: PR can be 90% more effective than advertising. That’s because a third party is promoting your business through PR.

3. Sales Versus Awareness

Advertising is a great way to put a “buy” button in front of your audience almost immediately. If your goal is to push for more sales, advertising can get you in the black. However, you do need to make sure your audience targeting is on point.

PR isn’t about making immediate sales; this is a long-term strategy that prioritizes touchpoints and awareness.

Advertising and PR can work together to help you achieve your goals faster. They do have some similarities, but in reality, each approach has different implications for your brand. Choose a mix that’s right for your brand and goals to dominate the market.

Read the full article here.