The blurring lines between PR and Marketing

PR and marketing have always gotten on and off like envious siblings. The previously impenetrable barrier between marketing and PR has fallen, and the distinctions between the two have become even more hazy as consumers increasingly do research and make purchases online and the media has become more digital-first.

This has grown especially true since Inbound Marketing and, more recently, Inbound PR emerged in 2002.

These fields have become incredibly dependent on one another and can no longer function independently. We are live evidence since there haven't been any arguments between our PR staff and our inbound marketing specialists yet!

We're still shocked when we hear people in either PR or marketing say that they still don't recognize the benefits of what the other does since this breaking down of barriers has taken a long time.

In this blog, our creative digital PR agency FOIWORKS Pvt. Ltd. (supported by ARnS Tech Pvt. Ltd.) describes how the previously "rock-solid" barrier between marketing and PR has broken down over time, resulting in a collaboration between the two to produce campaign outcomes.

Delivering the knowledge that corporations have sorely lacked?

While marketing has finally given Public Relations the one great thing it has always struggled with is the tools to prove the ROI (return on investment) of activity. PR is finally able to successfully integrate what it does best (generating content) into a marketing sector becoming more and more dependent on blogs, white papers, eBooks, and even video to drive campaigns.

PR specialists may demonstrate if coverage - including links in online media - is truly driving traffic to a client's website and eventually generating consumers using data analysis platforms like Google Analytics, which are essential for Inbound Marketers.

Just a few years ago, if you had questioned a PR team about these data tools, you would have quickly received blank looks; if you had asked them about search engine optimization (SEO) or social media services, you would have been sent to a "specialist" partner.

Modern B2B firms are able to bring all aspects of inbound marketing, public relations, and search engine optimization together under the same roof and in a single campaign to get results.

These companies are able to analyze and understand data at a high level, showing how factors like links and PR coverage affect search engine optimization (SEO), website traffic, and sales lead creation.

How can PR and marketing really complement one another??

For instance, by producing a sizable piece of content, such as a research report, that can be hosted on a business website, the PR team can produce unique and inventive news stories to garner media attention and, more importantly, earn genuine links from sites having excellent domain authority to the client's website.

Using analytics tools, it is possible to trace this "referral" traffic and demonstrate how the PR campaign increased traffic as well as the domain authority of the client's website by gaining connections.

The Inbound Marketing team may take this a step further by using the same piece of information to produce blogs and pieces of industry commentary that can both advance the buyer journey for people who were attracted to the website by PR and reach new audiences via organic or social media channels.

In addition to packaging the findings into a data-driven and quantifiable campaign, all of this activity magnifies the outcomes to a degree that PR or Inbound Marketing couldn't do on their own.

Instead of creating vanity metrics, all of this subsequently helps the company's overall sales and growth activities.

After all, if you can't trace the ensuing sales activity, what use is creating loads of media coverage or creating loads of internet material for marketing?

To sum up

As companies work to build a consistent brand identity and connect with their consumers, the distinctions between marketing and public relations (PR) are fuzzing more and more. Traditional public relations and marketing techniques still have their place, but businesses must use cutting-edge methods and new technology to remain competitive. Businesses may develop solid connections with their clients and promote long-term success by collaborating and using the capabilities of both professions. Visit our website FOIWORKS, the best creative digital PR firm if you require any PR services.