The Public Relations Blog

This is one story in our series on the differences between public relations, advertising, and marketing. Read more about the differences between PR and marketing in particular.

Many people use the terms advertising, marketing, and public relations interchangeably; however, they aren’t the same thing. Here are some key differences between the three and why they matter. 

3 ways to protect against misinformation in a world of information overload

False claims and made-up stories have always been a thing, and since the internet arrived, it’s easier than ever to fall prey to them. One of the most recent false news stories is “the broom challenge.” On February 10, a Twitter user posted a video of herself balancing a broom on its own. She claimed that, according to NASA, this was the only day it was possible for the broom to stand on its own due to the Earth’s gravitational pull. The tweet quickly went viral and soon thousands of people were sharing and posting photos and videos of themselves balancing brooms. Several news agencies and celebrities joined in the fun. 

Today, I want to share with you the work Axia Public Relations is doing on earned media and helping clients with news coverage. TV newsrooms often keep a daybook for their news shows, which they use to see topics they want to cover each day and in the future. If you want the news team to cover your story, you need to be in that daybook. And, if you have a big announcement, you want to be first on the list. It’s important to know where you rank on the list because the list could be five things, or it could be 20.

Search engine optimization is a great strategy to grow your online traffic, leads, and sales. When you do it right, you can earn a position at the top of Google’s search results. On the flip side, if you hire an inexperienced or unethical SEO company, you’re simply wasting your money. 

How to properly use these location-specific digital techniques

Digital marketing is a tricky domain with plenty of jargon that can leave you scratching your head. Take, for example, geofencing and geotargeting. Although they sound similar, these location-based strategies are quite different. 

Learning the difference between geofencing and geotargeting can significantly enhance your overall digital marketing efforts and your ROI. 

How to provide value and build trust through inbound marketing

Earning an inbound certification from HubSpot can help you gain a better understanding of how helping customers in a meaningful way can benefit your company. The course is free and packed with a wealth of information, yet simple to digest.

If you’re not familiar with HubSpot, you should be. HubSpot develops and markets software products for inbound marketing and sales. The company has several courses on its platform HubSpot Academy, and they are all free! Here are five key takeaways from the popular inbound course.

Did you make a mistake typing in the phone number on your Facebook ad? Or, perhaps you listed the wrong company hours. Unfortunately, once Facebook reviews and approves your ad or boosted post, you can’t edit the text directly. However, there is a hack to edit the text without canceling the ad and losing all its data.

Revise your company’s “About us” summary each year

It’s a new year and time to update your company’s boilerplates to better communicate your brand’s mission and accomplishments. Look at your company’s end-of-year reports from each department, such as sales, HR, and operations. Take time to comb through the numbers and pull figures that show what’s behind your brand. 

Measuring your social media pages based on reach, reactions, and clicks is a must when evaluating your ROI. Building a company social media page isn’t something you do for fun; it’s to connect with your customers. Your ROI from social media comes from generating new customers based on your social pages. These measurements reveal the initial steps followers take as they interact with your brand. When you understand these metrics, you are able to understand your audience and what they do with the content you share on social media. For this reason, you’ll want to make sure your company has developed a successful social media strategy.