What’s the difference between advertising and public relations?
Here’s the short answer:
Advertising comes from a media outlet’s sales department, while public relations comes from the media outlet’s news department.
Guess which one has more credibility?
The long answer:
In advertising, the client buys ad space and controls where, when, and how often the message will appear. The client controls the exact look and wording of the message.
Public relations, on the other hand, focuses on earning free exposure for the client or its products. The client has no control over when, where, or how its message will be published—and no control over the message itself.
Advertising seeks to prompt immediate action from the consumer (such as buying the product or service). Consumers recognize this intent and often approach advertising with skepticism.
Public relations aims to inform the consumer about a company, product, or service without expecting immediate action. As a result, consumers tend to view public relations differently than paid advertisements, especially when the information comes from an independent third party like a newspaper.
Guess which one builds more trust with consumers?
Public relations and press releases must offer real and timely news value. A media handout should not resemble an obvious advertisement or even a weakly disguised one. Having worked at a daily newspaper for 15 years, I can tell you that ads disguised as press releases are easy to spot and get tossed out immediately.
To increase the chances of your press release getting picked up by the media—and achieving maximum coverage—include editorial photography with the release.
The best photographer for public relations and press releases is one with direct experience in news media. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
