Public Relations As a Marketing Tool

The business world in today's times has become extremely competitive. For a small business to start operating at a low cost, it may be difficult to afford starting a marketing campaign. However, a marketing plan is something every business needs to be successful. Advertising is considered to be the most important marketing tool in the modern world for its ability to reach a wide section of people in a short span of time. But Public Relations or PR too is a very important marketing tool if it can be used properly.

Not only does PR make a business reach its target audience, it also brands the business as a company that is well above its competitors in status and establishes the business as a sort of expert in its field. Credibility and validation of the products and services of a business are also things that can be developed with the right PR campaign. These again help in the growth of the concerned business. That is why you will find big companies who spend huge chunks of money on advertising campaigns also spending on having a Public Relations team in order to pass on and disseminate information about them to the public.

There are many reasons why PR is important in the overall marketing plan of a business. An example will showcase this correctly. Let us suppose that you own a business that creates and manufactures power tools. You hire an advertising specialist team to create awareness of your products. Advertisements are published in newspapers and magazines which tell people how good the products of your company are and how well they can be used to make your life easier. Your public relations team, on the other hand, will publish a report in a leading newspaper where the benefits of the products will discussed in a neutral way. Now imagine the kind of impact both these campaigns will create in the minds of the people. By reading the advertisement, people will think that it is a hype being created for selling the product. But the PR campaign will make people sit up and read it because of the neutral views that have been given in the newspaper article. The believability of a PR report in a newspaper or magazine is a lot higher than any advertisement. This is for the simple reason that people know that an advertisement is given to 'sell' something while a product review in PR is given to disseminate 'information'.

The great thing about PR is that it has the ability to instill trust in a potential customer. This is what makes it extremely effective for branding and marketing.

If you are thinking of spending money on a PR campaign for your business, it can certainly be a very good thing to do. However, before you start the campaign, it is important that you let your PR team know exactly what it is you want and how you want to go about it.

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