When a message goes out, is it public relations or advertising? For a lot of folks, these terms are understood interchangeably. However, while there is some overlap, the truth is, each enterprise has a distinct purpose, priority, and metric for success.

Public relations is, essentially, a strategic communication program or process that connects brands or persons with a market or audience in a beneficial way. The key takeaways here are that PR is a process, not a one-and-done scenario. PR is connective, creating goodwill or a bond between the audience and the brand; and PR is supportive of and beneficial to the brand vision and mission.

Every industry has it set of myths that have stuck around throughout the years, despite evidence to the contrary. Marketing is also a victim of folklore needs to be addressed. Sometimes word of mouth can get out of hand by distorting knowledge and creating ideas that are not based on facts or reality.

When these myths start to inform our thinking and our actions, that’s when it becomes a problem. Misconceptions about common marketing practices can lead to misuse or even complete abandonment of marketing tools. As we say our goodbyes to 2018, let’s also bid farewell to the myths that are incorrectly influencing our decisions. Here are four marketing myths that need to be debunked:

Good events don’t just happen. They require intensive planning and a successful public relations promotion to get the word out, create interest, and compel action. PR will help increase the awareness of the event and, when properly targeted, will get that message to the people best positioned to help you generate the buzz you need to fill the venue.

One of the best ways to build buzz for an upcoming event, is to create and nurture an online community. This community could be connected by interest in you, your brand, or a common activity related to your brand.

Effective public relations is both an art and a science. It’s a combination of understanding your audience, the proper execution of a carefully designed plan, and the ability to adjust your message and approach on the fly as needed. Most of this work is done before the campaign is launched.

Too often, though, people and brands try to react to a situation, rather than planning for and responding to likely scenarios. Worse, people sometimes base their campaign narratives on assumptions or traditions, when the plain fact is “what always worked” may not work anymore. To avoid finding your campaign falling into these traps, here’s a pre-launch checklist for your next PR campaign.

Everyday journalists are inundated with pitches from business owners and PR professionals looking to get their products and services features in an article. They are fighting for a spot in the limelight because media exposure is a great way to introduce your product or service to the public. However, of the many pitches that journalists receive only a selected few make it onto the pages of their media outlet.

Pitching is an art form that requires hard work, attention to detail and creativity. So, if you want to craft a winning media pitch that catches a journalist’s attention, then it requires much more than just drafting a generic email. Here are a few tips for getting journalists to pay attention to your pitch:

There’s a reputation out there that journalists sort of have a love-hate relationship with PR professionals. Sure, it’s a popular assumption, but when both parties know their job and do it right, the connection can be very positive for both sides.

It begins with building and nurturing a relationship. When you’re a PR pro, you need journalists. And when you’re a journalist, you come to rely on communicators and connections to sources and leads you need to write and file your stories. Because this is a two-sided conversation, mistakes can be made, creating tension and misunderstandings, while damaging important relationships.

Most startups have a challenge to face when they’re dealing with public relations. Young companies know that they need to create buzz for their organizations – but it’s hard to do that when they don’t have the right connections and budgets in place.

Developing a successful PR strategy for a startup is a critical component of ensuring your business has the right foundations for success. However, most companies simply don’t know where to get started. Here are a few tips that can help startups to set up a more effective PR campaign.

Direct to customer marketing and PR has become increasingly popular in recent years. Today, merchants selling everything from mattresses to pet foods have seen that it’s more effective to speak to their customers directly, than to attempt to sell through major retailers in the modern age. According to a recent study by IAB, named the rise of the brand economy in the 21st century, the future of retail will be painted by direct to consumer relationships. The biggest problem is that many companies don’t know how to get started with direct to consumer PR.

The first step in taking advantage of the direct to consumer model is understanding what it is that makes this sales model so effective. It’s safe to say that eCommerce has changed dramatically in recent years, and it’s continuing to change more as we move forward in 2019. Now, the multi-channel retailer is no longer as popular as they once were, and instead, customers are looking for brands that they can build a genuine connection with.