Three Public Relations Tactics to Enhance Your Marketing Strategy

Morgan Grimes • November 21, 2024

Marketing and public relations each serve necessary purposes in a communication department, however, the definitions of each term can somewhat overlap or get switched around. This can make things convoluted for those trying to learn more about how to leverage both areas of communication. Here’s a quick breakdown of how the two differ.

Marketing specifically focuses on promoting a brand’s qualities to target audiences. Marketing strategies have evolved from just traditional print and radio advertising to also encompassing digital and social media to reach people online strategically. Marketing is presenting something to audiences and explaining to people why and how it is so great. By crafting the right message, being on the right trends and positioning on the right platforms, an organization can benefit from a well-developed marketing strategy.

Public relations, on the other hand, focuses on building and maintaining positive, ethical relationships with target audiences. By reinforcing, defending, or rebuilding a corporation’s or product’s image, public relations professionals ensure that trust is fostered at the core of every stakeholder relationship. Instead of just communicating to target audiences, public relations also includes facilitating opportunities for audiences to have their voices amplified. This is the essence of public relations– creating and utilizing two-way communication opportunities for audiences to listen and provide invaluable feedback.

A strong public relations arm creates many benefits for marketing a product or service, because it adds the necessary trust element to conducting business effectively. Here are three key tactical ways that public relations can enhance your marketing strategy.

Media Coverage
Having professionals on your team who can build trustworthy relationships with the media significantly benefits a marketing strategy. These relationships are great advantages during the pitching process because they add a human element to a delivered press release in a journalist’s inbox. Positive media coverage that is earned exposes the organization’s message to larger audiences and adds credibility and impartiality to the brand.

Having your product or service in earned media placements can also help build awareness and drive more traffic to owned media channels, such as your website or social media platforms.

Thought Leadership
The great benefit of public relations is that it leverages an important stakeholder group to foster positive relationships with external stakeholders– employees. Employees are some of the best brand advocates an organization can have due to their subject matter expertise. Leaders within the organization, in particular, have significant influence through their unique perspectives and forward-thinking ideas.

When leaders consistently provide their insights, it helps build brand authority and drive engagement. This differentiation is crucial when seeking stakeholder buy-in in a crowded, competitive market.

Crisis Management
One of my college professors introduced me to the idea that public relations serves as the moral compass of an organization’s communications strategy, and this could not be more true. The crisis management aspect of public relations is essential in supporting a marketing strategy because it protects a brand’s reputation while preserving customer trust. Public relations prioritizes the organization’s values and goals at the forefront, maintaining a strong brand reputation to prevent or mitigate crises.

Even with the best plan in place, crises can still occur, whether accidental or not. A key strength of crisis management is its proactive nature, which helps organizations have a plan in place when inevitable trouble arises. Open and transparent communication during a crisis demonstrates that the brand is honest, responsible, and willing to take accountability, which ultimately strengthens its brand reputation.

Conclusion
Media relations, thought leadership and crisis management are vital components to support your marketing strategy. These elements of public relations work together to build credibility, expand reach, establish authority, and protect your brand, ultimately creating more thoughtful and impactful marketing efforts.

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