But isn’t marketing the way to get real results when starting out a business though? Isn’t marketing one of the only ways to actually get your brand out there? Well, it makes total and complete sense to think that way, especially with advertising being shoved down every small business’s throat, the constant push for content marketing (be it podcasts, ebooks, TikToks, or whatever else), real-life event marketing, and the list could go on forever. But no, it’s not just that. Actually, a lot of people believe that PR is the same as marketing, like they need to be thrown in the same bucket.

That’s usually what’s missing here: it’s the PR aspect. Just think about it; posts go out, maybe a newsletter, maybe a couple of boosted Facebook or Instagram campaigns, and that’s it, job done. Then a few months go by, and it still feels like hard work just to be seen. As in, the same followers, the same handful of likes, the same local crowd. You’re dealing with the same thing, and in the meantime, competitors are popping up in articles, “top 10” lists, industry roundups, and podcasts.

Are you seeing the difference here? Basically, marketing talks about the business, but PR gets other people talking about the business. The problem here is that small business owners often mash those two together as the same thing, and that’s where opportunity gets left on the table.

Okay, so how can you even get started with PR?

Why You Can’t Rely on Marketing

Basically, Marketing Gets You Seen, PR Gets You Believed

It was just stated already above, but it really doesn’t hurt to just say it again, that’s the difference between the two of these. So, a lot of small businesses already put plenty of effort into marketing. Like the social posts, email campaigns, flyers, ads, the whole lot. But this isn’t enough, though, as you still need PR. The thing here is that marketing is speaking for itself, but PR is doing something different; basically, it’s “joining the conversation”, that’s the best way to put it.

Here’s what Traditional Marketing Actually Does Well

So, to immediately sum it up here, marketing’s great at getting in front of people on purpose. Meaning that ads, emails, socials, landing pages, and that “book now” or “shop now” buttons, they pretty much all exist to push a clear message out. The business controls the wording, the design, the timing, and the call to action.

Which is great, of course, and you already know these things; anyone who knows basic marketing can see that for themselves. It pretty much reminds people that the business exists; that’s what it’s all doing here.

But Marketing Can Plateau

Yep, you read that right! The problem is, there’s a limit to how far self-promotion can go on its own. Just think of yourself as a customer, well, just think of yourself in general. When you scroll on social media, your feed is full of ads already (which is probably really annoying. Not just that, but your inbox is filled on a daily basis with newsletters you never read, and all of these ads, well, all do this content just morphs together.

At some point, a customer has seen enough posts and offers. They don’t need another discount code. They need proof. Well, that, and just a better way of standing out, considering that everything is just too blended here.

Does it Feel Like You’re Shouting into the Void?

If a small business owner ever feels like, “no matter how much content goes out, it still feels like hardly anyone’s paying attention,” that’s usually a missing PR problem, not a missing marketing problem. Just like what was mentioned just above, even for you, everything is getting blended by other brands you’re exposed to, so it’s no different for your brand and your target audience.

Because yeah, marketing puts content out, but it’s still all coming from the same place. The brand. Sure, customers may like it, even save it, but it doesn’t always move them from “I’ve seen you” to “I trust you.”  That’s the thing you really need to keep in mind here.

But What Can PR Do Differently?

Basically, you can’t expect marketing to do the full job here; PR essentially finishes it up. How? Well, it brings in outside platforms, other people’s audiences, and the sense that “this business is being talked about, not just talking about itself.” That’s honestly the beauty of it, and you could really see it as the “missing” piece.

Borrowing Authority

Which is seriously amazing!  So, when a business appears on a site, podcast, or platform that customers already trust, everything changes a little. That might be a local news site, a regional magazine, an industry blog, a niche directory, a podcast, or even a big social account. But you name it, be it a bigger or smaller platform, this is the goal here (and no, not just trying to get an influencer to post your brand on their socials as a lot of businesses do).

The brand’s no longer just a logo shouting “look at me”. It’s been invited into someone else’s space; therefore, there’s some borrowed authority here thanks to the platform they’re on.

Turning Your Story into Something Newsworthy

Another big shift with PR is the way it forces better stories out of a business. So yes, this is a bit about the brand story, but it still goes further than that. So, when it comes to marketing, the whole goal is  “here’s our offer, here’s the link,” but PR asks, “Why would anyone outside the brand care about this?”

The reason for this question is that it’s about to pull out better material. Journalists and editors aren’t usually chasing “new product” announcements from small businesses. They’re chasing angles, something that’s actually shareable.

PR Supports Long-Term Visibility

Which a lot of businesses don’t seem to realize here, but this one is absolutely huge! Basically, PR can help SEO, just think about it; when a business is mentioned and linked on other reputable sites, search engines start to see it as more trustworthy. Over time, that helps the website show up higher for branded searches and some relevant keywords.

But there’s the human side too, because if someone types in your business name and a lot of articles, content, podcasts (you get the idea), show up, that immediately makes your brand more established, like it’s the real deal here. You would feel more inclined to trust a brand if you saw multiple articles (that were positive) that popped up about them, too, right?

But How Can Small Businesses Get Started?

Needless to say, here, it all really does sound intimidating, like, it’s easy to DIY marketing (if you really wanted to), and it’s not as easy to do the same when it comes to PR, well, DIYing at least. But it’s still doable, and sure, mauve PR sounds like something giant brands do. Like those major press releases, big stunts, PR agencies on retainer, all of that. In reality, there are smaller, more realistic ways into PR that don’t involve building an entire new department.

Consider Outsourcing the PR

If you’re outsourcing your marketing, why not your PR too? If you’re DIYing your marketing, then with that money you’re saving, why not then put it into outsourcing your PR? No, really, because at some point, though, time becomes a real constraint. You don’t have the bandwidth to do it all, and no, working longer and sleeping less isn’t going to help either.

You have to deal with pitching, chasing, building media lists, tracking coverage, that’s a whole job on its own. It’s complicated, and so why not look into digital PR campaign services that can do all the hard work for you instead? It’s seriously not a good idea to try and DIY every step, especially if there are firms, agencies, and just small businesses out there that can do this all for you for an affordable price anyway.

It’s About Having Simple Stories

So this one was already mentioned earlier, but it helps to go back to this one. It’s not just your brand story here. Honestly, all businesses have stories, and they seriously don’t need to be elaborate either. For example, it can be a local impact. Like how your business is creating new jobs, new partnerships with other local businesses.

This can even include events hosted, charity work, or any change that affects the area. Just look at your local newspaper, there’s plenty of ideas of PR there.  This is just one example of course, but the key is to frame it as “what does this say about people, the area, the market, or the future” rather than “please write about this business.”

But You Can Build PR into Your Marketing

While no, they aren’t the same, they can at least still overlap. For example, got a blog post or customer story that performed really well on social? That might be the basis for a PR angle. Actually, with a bit of tightening, a headline, a quote, and some context, the same story can be reshaped for an editor instead of just a follower.

Did you land a mention somewhere? That result doesn’t just live on that site. It can be pulled into social posts, email campaigns, website copy, sales decks, even a little “as seen in…” strip on the homepage (a lot of bloggers do this, actually). But you see how they overlap here?