Any PR department is essentially part of the greater marketing department. And just like sales, PR is a part of marketing. But marketing isn’t a part of PR since great marketing leads to great PR and not so much the other way around.

Confusing? You bet. According to a study by Vocus, the lines between PR and marketing are blurring with “78% of marketing and PR professionals saying they report to the same boss while 77% of the same group report formal working relationships to create a common communications strategy.”

All you need to know is that marketing is a powerhouse department and that merging PR with marketing is a smart move. Here’s why…

  1. Save Money – Instead of two different departments, have one. Merge marketing and PR and you’ll save money on office space, print materials and staff since all staff members will be equipped to handle both areas.
  2. Strategize Campaigns – Because the two departments are now working so closely, they can strategize efforts so that both areas are maximized. Your marketing guru will know how to create buzz for your PR events/needs. Likewise, your PR guru will know exactly how to get attention for your fantastic marketing. Think of marketing as the engine and PR as the wheels. The two work best when utilized as one system.
  3. Create a Balance – Marketers can design and implement creative content and campaigns to catch your attention. PR does two things: First, it’s an information pusher that takes business success and puts it under a spotlight; second, it emphasizes creating relationships with consumers, media, investors and vendors. Both departments could use the perspective and practices of the other. The best marketing departments would benefit from having a sort of “inspector” in house to make sure efforts had a functional end goal in mind. Likewise, PR would do very well with a boost of creativity from marketing that can help reach out in new and improved ways to make an impact.
  4. Content Shifts – Marketing tends to be fixated on buzz words whereas PR is focused on clarity. The downside of this trend is that no one knows what your marketing efforts really mean. If too many buzz words get used they completely lose their meaning and fail to deliver a message. Conversely, PR needs to steer clear of clinical rhetoric and infuse some colorful language and visuals in its communications.
  5. Social Media Turf – Marketing and PR cover the same social media turf. In other words, both departments can greatly contribute to social media efforts. Bringing PR in gives a company a lot more to say, which leaves them sounding a lot more relevant. Keeping the marketing and PR houses divided only causes problems. The same study by Vocus reported social media ownership conflicts where 43% of PR professionals felt they should control a company’s social media efforts; 34% of marketers felt the same way. The stats continue with conflicts over blog ownership; 37% of PR professionals lay claim to a company’s blog versus marketing’s 23%.

Vocus gets the dynamics between marketing and PR. Conveniently, their software for public relations management can be used to finally bring harmony to the dueling departments. Vocus offers an eye-watering 1) media database with 1.4 million journalists, bloggers and media outlets, 2) news monitoring service that tracks, analyzes and reports on news from over 51,000 sources, 3) news distribution service that sends press releases to journalists and 4) a social media monitoring service.

Vocus is the perfect hub to bridge your PR and marketing departments. Created for PR, Vocus allows marketing departments to assess the data and carve a campaign that reflects trends in both news and social forums.

In the end, marketing is about reaching out to new customers and PR is about keeping a good front in the public’s eyes. If successful, both efforts result in increased profits.