If you're looking to grow your business, build your reputation or reach more customers, you've probably asked yourself whether you need a PR agency or a digital marketing agency.
And while the two might seem similar, they actually do quite different things.
Both help businesses get noticed, connect with their audiences and build their brands. The difference comes down to how they do it and what you're hoping to achieve.
So, how do you know which one is right for your business? We've broken it down into six key areas to help you decide.
Let's start with PR.
A PR agency focuses on how people see, talk about and interact with your brand. It's about building a positive reputation, getting your business noticed for the right reasons and making sure your story reaches the people who matter.
This can involve everything from securing media coverage and organising events to managing communications, launching products and positioning business leaders as industry experts.
Unlike advertising, where you pay for space, PR often focuses on earned media. This means securing coverage through journalists, newspapers, magazines, podcasts and online publications.
And that can carry a lot of weight. After all, there's a difference between a business telling people how great it is and a respected publication sharing its story.
Here's an example from our own work.
When Food Co, the company behind Jamaica Blue and Muffin Break, reached its 100th store milestone, we helped turn what could have been a straightforward store opening into a bigger PR opportunity.
Rather than simply announcing another opening, we built a campaign around the milestone, using it to celebrate the brands' growth, engage the local community and attract media attention.
It's a good example of how PR can take an existing business story and give people a reason to pay attention.
Now, let's look at digital marketing.
A digital marketing agency focuses on promoting your business through online channels, helping people discover your brand, visit your website and, ideally, take action.
That might mean buying a product, booking a service, signing up for a newsletter or making an enquiry.
Some of the most common digital marketing services include:
One of the biggest advantages of digital marketing is how closely you can measure performance.
You can track how many people see your content, click on your adverts, visit your website and complete a particular action.
This makes it easier to understand what's working and where your marketing budget is making the biggest impact.
The simplest way to explain it is this:
PR helps build what people think about your brand. Digital marketing helps people find your brand and take action.
Of course, it's not quite as black and white as that.
PR can drive website traffic and sales, while digital marketing can help build brand awareness and trust.
The important thing to remember is that neither approach is necessarily better than the other.
It all depends on what your business needs.
If your main goal is to build your reputation, raise your profile or get people talking about your business, PR could be a good place to start.
Think about where your business is right now.
Are you launching something new? Trying to establish yourself in a competitive industry? Looking to build credibility or reach audiences who haven't heard of you before?
These are all situations where PR can make a real difference.
It's also particularly valuable for businesses that have a good story to tell but aren't sure how to get that story out there.
If your business already has a strong reputation but you're struggling to attract customers online, digital marketing might be the area to focus on.
Perhaps your website isn't appearing on Google, your social media isn't reaching the right people or you're getting plenty of website visitors but very few enquiries.
That's where a targeted digital marketing strategy can help.
For example, if you run an online shop and want to increase sales, you might benefit from Google Ads, SEO or paid social campaigns that put your products directly in front of people who are likely to buy.
Or if you're a service-based business, improving your website's search visibility and creating useful content could help potential customers find you when they're looking for support.
Digital marketing can be particularly useful when you have a clear goal and want to track progress against it.
But that doesn't mean digital marketing is only about numbers. Creative content, engaging storytelling and building relationships with your audience are just as important.
Absolutely. And in many cases, this is where businesses can see the greatest benefit.
PR and digital marketing don't have to be separate.
Think about it. You could secure a brilliant piece of media coverage, but why stop there?
That coverage can be shared on social media, included in an email newsletter, added to your website and used as part of a wider marketing campaign.
Likewise, a digital campaign might create an opportunity for media coverage, influencer partnerships or a bigger brand activation.
We've seen this first-hand through our work with Bazooka Candy.
For the brand's Sweet Seats campaign, we helped bring its Brentford FC sponsorship to life through a consumer competition, giving football fans the chance to win a trip to see Manchester City take on Brentford.
The campaign combined a creative concept with digital content, a dedicated competition website, influencer marketing and paid and organic social activity.
The result was thousands of competition entries and strong engagement across digital channels, with the concept going on to be used in another market.
It was a great example of how creative communications, sponsorship and digital marketing can work together to reach audiences in different ways.
And that's increasingly what brands need. Not just one good campaign or one piece of media coverage, but activity that works across multiple channels.
Before deciding, the most important thing is to look at what you're actually trying to achieve.
If you're struggling to build awareness, establish credibility or get your business noticed, PR might be your starting point.
If you want to increase website traffic, generate more enquiries or improve online sales, digital marketing could be the better investment.
And if you're looking to do a bit of everything? You may benefit from an agency that brings both approaches together.
At RNN Communications, we know that no two businesses have the same goals. Some need help getting their story into the media, others want to connect with new audiences through events, influencer marketing or digital campaigns.
For many, it's a combination of all of the above.
That's why we take an integrated approach, bringing together creative ideas, PR, brand activations, content creation and digital communications to help brands get noticed.
Because at the end of the day, it's not just about whether you need PR or digital marketing.
It's about finding the right way to get your business in front of the right people.
