Marketing vs. PR: What Are the Differences?

Marketing and public relations (PR) are communications roles that share many similarities.

Both focus on planning and developing content consistent with a company’s or organization’s brand strategy. Both are popular career choices for graduates of bachelor’s in communication degree programs. And both are critical to an organization’s success.

Marketing and PR are so closely related that some people use the terms interchangeably — but the two disciplines are not the same.

Marketing and PR’s differences make each a distinct role with its own responsibilities. Chief among those differences: their main goals. While marketing’s objective is to generate sales leads, PR endeavors to build brand reputation.

But are there other key ways to look at marketing vs. PR? Examining what PR is and what marketing is can set the stage for discovering what makes each field distinct.

What Is PR?

Public relations professionals work to establish long-term positive relationships with their company’s various stakeholders. By fostering these relationships, the PR process shapes public opinion about an organization or its brand, products, or services.

PR Careers and Salaries

Some PR roles encompass all public relations functions, while others focus on a specific aspect of the process. Examples of PR roles and their salaries are:

PR Account Executive

Public relations account executives typically work at public relations firms supporting multiple clients and helping to shape their reputations. They plan media campaigns and promote story ideas about their clients. PR account executives’ median annual salary was about $45,000 in November 2022, according to Payscale.

PR Specialist

Public relations specialists, sometimes called press secretaries in government organizations, write press releases, post information to social media, and contact members of the media to suggest stories about their organization. Public relations specialists’ median annual salary in May 2021 was $62,800, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Community Relations Coordinator

Community relations coordinators focus on outreach activities to promote an organization. They represent the company at public events and gather feedback to gauge the opinions of their client or organization. These professionals had a median annual salary of about $48,000 in December 2022, according to Payscale.

Crisis Manager

Crisis managers address issues that can affect a brand’s reputation. They plan and lead responses to damaging events. Crisis managers’ median annual salary was about $57,000 in November 2022, according to Payscale.

What Is Marketing?

Next in comparing the two disciplines is a look at what marketing is.

Marketing refers to the process of promoting or selling products or services, primarily to help a company or organization generate revenue. There are many types of marketing, each defined by the approach and the type of promotional tactics it employs. The two main approaches are:

Inbound, which uses content like blog articles or social media posts to attract sales leads to the brand
Outbound, which involves direct outreach such as emails or cold calling to market to potential leads

Marketing Careers and Salaries

Whether a marketing professional has a communication degree or one of the various types of marketing degrees, they have a number of marketing roles to choose from. Among these roles are:

Marketing Specialist

Marketing specialists assist with the development of marketing plans and recommendations. They review data to help determine the best marketing strategy, and they work to ensure that marketing campaigns align with a company’s brand. The median annual salary for marketing specialists in May 2021 was about $63,920, according to the BLS.

Marketing Analyst

Marketing analysts study market conditions and trends to identify consumers’ wants. Their findings inform the organization’s product development and promotion strategies. Marketing analysts’ median annual salary was about $59,000 in December 2022, Payscale reports.

Digital Marketing Manager

Digital marketing managers develop and execute strategies for social and digital media platforms, including websites. These professionals track the reach of their marketing efforts to gauge their effectiveness. In December 2022, the median annual salary for digital marketing managers was about $71,000, according to Payscale.

Marketing Manager

Marketing managers determine the level of consumer interest in a company’s products or services — and those of its competitors. They find markets where the organization’s products are likely to be in demand and help to develop and promote them. The median annual salary for marketing managers in May 2021 was $135,030, according to the BLS.

What Is the Difference Between PR and Marketing?

The key differences between PR and marketing include workplace responsibilities, goals and strategies, and audience targeting.

PR vs. Marketing: Workplace Responsibilities

To form and maintain a good reputation for a company or organization, PR professionals perform tasks that focus on communications, strategy, and planning. Marketing professionals’ responsibilities center on identifying and responding to customers’ needs and wants, to help inform their organization’s plans for promoting products or services.

PR Responsibilities

PR professionals rely on earned media, which is the attention the company receives without explicitly paying for it. To generate this attention, they employ methods such as press releases sent to news media or social media posts containing announcements. The responsibilities of PR professionals include:

Anticipating and analyzing public opinion that might affect their organization
Writing press releases and preparing information for reporters
Responding to media requests
Counseling their business’s management about effective communications
Drafting speeches and coordinating media interviews with their organization’s representatives

Marketing Responsibilities

Marketers use paid media, which refers to advertising and other content that a business pays to distribute. Among the responsibilities of marketing professionals are:

Monitoring the marketplace to uncover problems facing potential customers
Conducting customer and market research to help in developing and promoting product features
Developing and implementing campaigns to promote products or services
Using search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to create online content that will reach potential customers

PR vs. Marketing: Goals and Strategies

Public relations uses long-term strategies to build and maintain an organization’s reputation and generate positive publicity. Marketing uses short-term campaigns to promote specific products or services and increase sales.

PR Goals

For public relations professionals, the goal is to generate awareness of a company’s brand and its executives over time. PR works to:

Attract media coverage
Increase social media reach
Influence key stakeholders

Marketing Goals

The main objective for marketing professionals is to help a business increase revenue. To achieve this goal, marketers aim to:

Generate sales leads and sales
Raise brand awareness
Increase engagement with the brand

PR vs. Marketing: Audience Targeting

Another difference between PR and marketing is the audience each discipline targets. Public relations takes a broader approach that works to reach a variety of stakeholders. Marketing’s main focus is on current and prospective customers, targeting different types of clients according to the product or service the company is promoting.

PR Audiences

Public relations professionals work to establish positive relationships with a variety of stakeholders in the general public. Among the audiences for public relations are an organizations:

Customers
Employees
Investors
Media representatives and influencers

Marketing Audiences

In marketing, the audience is much more targeted, with messaging aimed at customers or prospects. Marketing professionals often define their audiences more specifically according to the demographics of people likely to buy the product or service the company is promoting. Marketing efforts can zero in on audiences according to traits such as:

Age
Income
Location
Interest
Gender

Marketing vs. PR: Two Exciting Careers in Communications

Marketing and PR are communications careers that play an important role in the success of a company or organization, with marketing focused on sales and PR focused on public image. If you’re interested in seeking a role in either field, Maryville University’s online Bachelor of Arts in Communication program is a powerful way to start.

With tracks that focus on strategic communications or emerging media and social media, the program offers a comprehensive education that can prepare you for roles in PR, marketing, or other communications fields. Additionally, the program offers opportunities to earn professional certifications — and it’s 100% online, allowing for greater convenience and flexibility.

Discover how Maryville’s online Bachelor of Arts in Communication can help you make progress toward achieving your professional goals.