There are many similarities between public relations and advertising that many people don’t know the difference. Both are used to build a relationship and communication between a brand and its audience.
In short, public relations is free and advertising is paid for.
Public relations encompasses the stories that reporters and editors write about a brand or product. Public relations is earned and builds trust. It also utilizes words and language while advertising tends to use more visual aspects.
Advertising is the paid media that appears for the consumer to see. It is the ad that is obviously paid for and supplied by the company. The goal of advertising is to build exposure for the brand. Brands have total creative control when it comes to their advertising strategies.
There is a saying that helps to distinguish between the two: “Advertising is what you pay for and public relations is what you pray for.” Public relations is longer last, yet takes longer to build, while advertising is quickly changing and short
lived.https://www.marshallpr.com/advertising-vs-public-relations-difference/
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