Advertising vs Public relations

Media Relations, Healthcare Public Relations, Entertainment PR firms, Healthcare Public Relations, Communication Agency are all necessary for the survival of a business. 

When we talk about advertising and public relations both are necessary for business. Both build brand and communicate with target audience. The best way to promote a business is to incorporate both public relations and advertising into your marketing strategy in an integral and coordinated way. Many people seems both are same but they are different industries.

Let's take an example of social media posts. If you pay to boost your post, that is considered as advertising. The post will appear higher in the news feed, so there is a better chance your audience will see them.

On the other hand, you can post a good photo and a good content, and generate tons of likes, comments and shares at no cost to you.

Some factors that make these two marketing avenues very different :

Target -  While companies and organizations are creating advertisements that primarily target potential customers, PR professionals are hoping to cast a wider net. Public  targeted through PR can be internal or external. They can include employees, investors, customers, the media, legislators, and many more. There is also a new category called influencer, which refers to people who have a lot of connections personally, like celebrities or politicians, or who have a large following on social media. 

Goals & objectives - Public relations helps build brand awareness and reputation. The goals and objectives behind a successful PR campaign revolve around the fact that consumers place more trust in and are more likely to do business with a company they know and admire.  Advertisements are generated for a specific target market in order to generate sales. They usually focus more on promoting a product or service than on building a reputation.

Both are quite different. so, the differences is pretty simple and easy to understand.