PR and marketing can often get confused with businesses unclear which method to use to reach their target market and boost sales. However, the right mix of activity can be a very powerful tool in helping to reach new markets and create brand awareness that elevates your product or service. How do you know if it is right for you though? What do other companies do and what do marketers feel are the benefits of introducing PR to their marketing strategy?
I talk to marketing expert Lindsay Woodward of Lindsay Woodward Marketing who has over 20 years of experience in the industry to get her take. From how PR and marketing can work together to when it is best to use and her experiences on developing long term sustainable growth for businesses, we look at the art of combining PR and marketing.
So, tell me a bit about your background?
I have always had a passion for marketing. I started out completing a degree in Writing & Media at university. This helped me to craft my communication skills but also sparked my passion for creative writing and since then I have written 10 novels and business books including How to Write an Effective Marketing Plan.
After university I got my first job as a Marketing Assistant and worked my way up the ranks. Training was something I was always keen to pursue as I think in marketing it is important that you keep up to date with trends and knowledge. In 2013 I completed my Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Professional Diploma in Marketing and I’ve been a Chartered Marketer ever since. In 2020 I was elected as a Fellow of the CIM.
My marketing business supports a variety of companies. Our main aim is to support businesses that want to grow, and we specialise in a strategy first approach.
What is the biggest misconception you find clients have about how marketing can help a business?
People think that marketing is about promotion. But it’s not. It is far more in depth than people realise. Sometimes they can be so focused on promotional activity that they miss the power that a marketer can offer.
Individuals will approach me and they say they want email marketing or social media support. I always ask why and what they want to achieve. Do they want to grow their business, enter a new market, launch a product? The end result is what matters. Based on their answers I then look at what activity will actually achieve what they want and sometimes it can be very different to what they are expecting.
PR and marketing are two very different skills. What is your experience of how PR has helped businesses you have worked with?
The power of PR and marketing together is phenomenal. PR is great for storytelling. It is about bringing out those success stories which build credibility and make a company stand out.
I worked for an engineering company before I opened my own agency, and no one had heard of them. After three years of doing PR and Marketing together, following a SMART goals strategy, we were well known in the industry.
It made the sales job so much easier as people recognised the name of the company. This wasn’t just about lead generation. It was, in the words of one editor that I built a good relationship with, “putting the company on the map.” It was transformational. I know three years seems like a long time, but from no one being aware of the business to it being a well-known name in the industry, that’s no time at all and something I am really proud of. I could tell people where I worked, and people had heard of the business. It was a real achievement and showed the power of strategic planning in getting results. I went from no one knowing where I worked to being able to tell people about the brand and they had heard of the business.
In your experience what are PRs benefits and limitations?
PR helps to shape stories and reach audiences in a way that marketing can’t. News articles are a third-party endorsement, it is an independent voice so people trust the content more than they would an advert. As humans we don’t like being sold to so PR bridges that gap to help build credibility and value in a brand so that audiences listen to your more sales driven messaging.
However, just as marketing can’t work on its own PR can’t either. It is about long-term brand awareness, building credibility and so should be seen as a long-term goal. It is not for building quick wins but about developing a sustainable business that will continue to grow over time and should be used alongside other marketing platforms rather than in isolation.
You talk about PR and marketing as a powerful combination, why do you think this?
As a marketer, you are focused on grabbing attention and selling a product. PR is more grounded storytelling, it is more subtle and builds a buzz around a brand without directly selling. It is all focused on building credibility and gaining trust. Using the two together really helps to build an all-round picture and time and time again I have seen how a multi-channel approach with PR in the mix, brings far more results than just very focused marketing alone.
I worked with a client once that didn’t believe in PR. They said it didn’t generate leads, so money was better spent on marketing. However, the market research we did showed that customers always heavily researched the product before buying, and they would look for news articles and stories, in the likes of Which magazine, as part of their consideration.
By just doing straight promotion from in house all the time, you are minimising your reach and opportunities. Yes, with marketing you can tell people you exist. But PR let’s people in and reaches wider audiences to let people know why you are a brand to trust and take seriously. In that sense, it does help to build leads. It’s just more indirect.
When has PR had the biggest impact for your clients?
For anyone that wants long-term sustainable growth PR is a must. You need people to get to know you and trust you, and you need to do that without selling at them all the time. Storytelling is a vital part of that journey, and PR is the perfect way to do that.
I have met a lot of charities that don’t do PR, and it’s a huge gap for them. They do incredible work, but all they focus on is asking for more donations. It seems so obvious to me that if they just shared more of their stories, they’d eventually get more donations in. It’s a longer journey, but ultimately it would be a far more successful one. But with limited time and funding, they get very focused on immediate actions, and that’s such a shame.
It’s the same with any business, though. For long term growth, you need what I call a “brand explosion”. The idea is that no matter where your potential client looks, your brand appears. PR plays a major part in achieving that.
What is the one piece of advice you would give any business looking to take their first steps in marketing or looking to grow their reach?
Don’t focus simply on marketing activities such as social media or newsletters. Start by deciding what you want to achieve and then work backwards to decipher how you are going to achieve it. You will end up just doing the things that help you and save a lot of wasted time and money.
Since setting up Creative Word PR in 2015 I have been on a mission to make PR accessible. Thinking strategically in how you communicate your message will always deliver the best results. It means that you hone your budget to focus on activities which talk directly to your target market.
Part of that journey is helping businesses to understand when PR should be used and how it can help as well as how it fits into the wider marketing mix.
If you are looking for help in telling your business story and don’t know where to start, then why not get in touch. Our Myth Buster series helps to break down common myths and provide simple answers to your frequent PR questions.
Looking to grow your marketing reach?
A consistent strategic voice is key in helping businesses to grow and that means getting the right mix of PR and marketing messages. Activity should not only promote your business products and services but help to build trust and highlight successes to make it stand out.
Lindsay Woodward Marketing focuses on delivering a strategic first approach to marketing. With over 20 years of experience in the industry Lindsay is passionate about creating the perfect mix of marketing activity to offer a sustainable attitude to growth for businesses. It has seen her receive many recognitions within the industry, but her proudest moment was being elected as a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, which is only possible when you prove that you’ve helped businesses strategically with their marketing.
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