what's the difference?
Before we get started, it is essential to know the difference between public relations and advertising.
Public relations (or PR) is about how you disseminate the knowledge present in your organization. Think radio, television (news and talk shows) and news articles in national and regional media. Pr helps you shape the public perception of your organization based on free publicity. So you don't pay for this.
Advertising, on the other hand, is about media buying. By using media buying, you ensure that your organization is directly visible to its target audience. You buy your visibility. You decide what the message will look like and who you want to reach. When advertising, you are therefore in control.
advertising versus pr
But when do you use advertising and when do you use PR? I describe the differences so you can make an informed choice for your organization.
target
First, it is important to consider exactly what you want to achieve. If you want to create a media story or spread more information about your organization to attract more customers, go for advertising. Here the angle is promotional, but you decide exactly what will be communicated. You are directly visible to your chosen target audience.
Is your goal more about credibility, brand awareness and gaining a thought leadership position? Then opt for public relations. The goal of a PR campaign is to generate more publicity for your organization through planned activities. By using free publicity to share your expertise with the target audience, you show that you are a trusted organization. This contributes to your expert status and brand awareness.
impact
The impact of PR is great. That's because through pr, your organization gets independent attention from news media. By using PR, the brand awareness of your organization becomes much greater. As a result, many potential clients, customers and employees discover your organization.
The impact of advertising is many times smaller, because you are buying the attention yourself, so it is not independent. That doesn't mean it can't be useful, on the contrary. If you want to tell people exactly what you do, it can be incredibly valuable to promote your product or service to your target audience. You share information about the benefits of your product or service, for example. That information influences customer attitudes and behavior. Advertising thus plays an essential role in forming opinions about your product or service.
when do you use PR and when do you advertise?
Ultimately, there is no "better" option. Ideally, you would take advantage of both options. We do recommend always starting with PR. Build your organization's reputation first. Think about what you have to say and try to share your organization's unique insights. Make sure the focus is on knowledge sharing.
Then use advertising to repeat your message as well as to communicate to the target audience exactly what you want to say. You are then not bound by the demands of the journalist. You decide what the message will look like, who you want to reach and when you want to do it.
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