Media & Communications: PR and Marketing — Like PB&J

In today's environment, any divide between marketing and communication can diminish even the most benevolent marketing and PR efforts. The intersection between them can reveal a pot of gold of useful insights into how we should “manage” all of our legal marketing strategic efforts. We ultimately need to reach and communicate with buyers of legal services in a way that feels authentic and has profound impact.

So, why is there still so much ambiguity about the stand-alone and convergence of marketing and PR. Why is it still an issue among lawyers and within law firms? What are the differences and similarities? Who does what and why are both needed? Is marketing about getting more business and PR about the relationship? Can it all come from one budget? Does it even matter?

Yes, it definitely does matter and everyone involved in legal marketing — the marketing and PR professionals — needs to find a meaningful way to regard and recognize the strengths and shortages of each specialty and the work that goes into making it all converge in a positive way with the desired outcome.

Today, most communications professionals are usually juggling a mix of digital marketing, advertising and public relations. Businesses often tend to think of marketing and PR as one and the same, but they are actually very different. As technology has connected us more deeply with each department's previously distinct audiences, the line between marketing and PR has blurred.

Think about it. When it comes to virtually every social media post, YouTube video, newsletter, email and blog post in your company, does the need for marketing and PR's teamwork become clearer or blurrier?

There's a lot to learn about how each can be used to amplify the other.

These days, marketing spans anywhere from relationship marketing to content marketing, but marketing is ultimately developing demand for a product or service, analyzing data to determine what is or isn't working and fulfilling the customer needs — always with a goal of generating revenue. Meanwhile, public relations is the strategic communications process that builds beneficial relationships between organizations and their audiences. PR is all about building and continuing positive brand reputations and earning more media exposure.

So, now that we have that straight, why do marketing and PR need one another? The bottom line is that both are supporting the overall business objectives of an organization.

Here are some ways that marketing and PR work well together:

• Company and Brand Awareness. Working together, marketing and PR can help an organization gain greater visibility and stand out from its competition. Marketing's tactics are often focused on self-generated activities, such as company newsletters, electronic and printed materials and brochures, while public relations activities are focused on media coverage, awards and speaking engagements.
• Clear Communication Across Channels. To be successful, both the marketing and PR teams need to be on the same page and use the same messaging to optimize efforts intended to reach current and prospective clients. Therefore, if you are pushing out an e-newsletter or updating the website, the PR team must use messages that are up to date and focus on the right aspects of the business.
• Credibility. Strategic marketing efforts, similar to analyzing data, helps inform public relations so that they can create meaningful content. This hard data from the marketing department can help PR professionals focus and refine their strategy, which will bring added credibility to PR.
• Audience Listening. Marketing and PR working together allows for the greater audience listening across channels. The two can understand the views, wants and needs of their clients and potential clients across virtually every medium including the Web, social, email, news sources and more. In addition, responding smartly to reviews — both positive and negative — is a PR effort on the cusp of customer service and a marketing opportunity. The content of marketing and PR's responses should be like the elements of a press conference: state the facts, correct any misinformation without placing blame, acknowledge and apologize for ways you may have let the customer down, state how you're correcting the situation now to prevent it in the future, and then speak to what future customers can expect.
• Social Media Strategy. One of the most significant areas of overlap between marketing and PR is social media. Social is where businesses build and maintain relationships with clients before and after they make a purchase. Social media strategy is about creating positive associations between posts and the brand, distributing blog posts, announcing new products and flash sales, among many other activities. Although social media often falls under the marketing realm, in many ways, it is closely tied to PR. We are creating a community — a captive audience — around our brand and, except for private messages, the public can view interactions with followers.
• Internal Communication. In connection with employee communications, it is vital to use the same strategy that you would with a press release or marketing campaign. This will help ensure that your team receives the right information at the right time in the right way. Effective marketing and PR strikes the right balance with the news that may be perceived negatively and take a toll on morale. So, strong and strategic messaging can highlight all the reasons for an announcement, soften the blow of bad news while generating excitement about the good news.

Conclusion

The bottom line is a PR strategy that outlines clients' desired outcome and strategic implementation is imperative. Further, you can't effectively facilitate PR without also engaging in a strategic marketing initiative, especially when your goal is heightened awareness of your brand, having the firm perceived as trustworthy and valuable and achieving increased business in your desired market. They are intertwined. You definitely want to work both to achieve the business development results set fourth at the beginning of each year and adjust as necessary along the way.

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Elizabeth Lampert is a PR Strategist and Crisis Communications professional. She may be reached at [email protected].