No company should rely on just one form of marketing to drive sales.

Why?

Because consumers, whether in a corporate or personal setting, gather information that influences their buying decisions from a variety of channels, not just one. These channels include news platforms, TV, radio, printed press, social media, Google reviews, online searches, ads, colleagues, friends, and family. The touchpoints are vast and differ from person to person. So, collectively, they help ensure you’re reaching your customers at the right time and influencing their buying behaviour. However, if you treat these channels in isolation, you’ll struggle to stand out and grow your lead generation, especially in today’s crowded digital landscape.

In a nutshell, the greater your ‘share of voice’ in the market, the greater your brand’s digital footprint, visibility, and prominence in the trusted places your customers seek information. The key is to make your voice louder than your competitors’, so you’re always front of mind when consumers are ready to buy.

Consumers, especially in B2B, typically progress 75% of the way through the buying journey online before contacting a company to inquire or purchase. A successful marketing mix ensures your product or service reaches the right customer, at the right time, and at the right price. It integrates key strategies to build brand awareness, customer and stakeholder loyalty, and drive sales and growth.

Where Does PR Fit into the Marketing Mix?

The marketing mix consists of the four Ps: Product (what differentiates your product or service), Price (what consumers are willing to pay), Placement (distribution channels), and Promotion (which includes media and public relations). PR covers everything from TV, radio, print, and online news platforms; PR for SEO for greater visibility online; social media; video; events, and awards. It also complements other forms of publicity like advertising, traditional SEO, blogs, and personal selling, to make these work much more effectively in generating results.

Why Include PR in Your Marketing Mix?

There are three main reasons:

Awareness

If you’ve had your business or team featured in the media, you’ve likely experienced the power of press coverage. Whether it’s a CEO interviewed on Sky News, a leader quoted in the Financial Times, or a team member contributing to a key trade publication like HR Magazine or Computer Weekly, the media has an extensive audience reach. With a well-targeted PR strategy, your brand can be showcased to thousands or even millions of people in one piece alone, many of whom are either existing or potential customers.

Unlike paid advertising, media coverage is earned, which can offer a better ROI, generating widespread coverage. It is evergreen content that remains online indefinitely, where it can be replayed, rewatched, re-read, and shared across social media by the platform itself and your own channels. The snowball effect of earned media keeps your brand awareness working for you for months or even years to come. Staying front of mind is crucial, and particularly important when dealing with high-value products or services with a longer, more complex buying journey.

Reputation

However, building brand awareness alone isn’t enough, especially in today’s competitive marketplace where consumers are bombarded with choice.

Reputation is everything – it gives companies an edge over the competition, and the way to establish a reputation is through others talking about your brand. Whether press reporters are discussing your company news, quoting you as an authority, inviting you to contribute as a guest speaker or writer, or influencers are promoting your products, being endorsed by others enhances your credibility, building trust and confidence in your company.

Studies show that when a brand has a strong reputation, price becomes secondary, with customers willing to pay more for peace of mind. Naturally, you become a safe choice, which in the B2B world goes a long way when a bad decision can be costly, helping increase conversions. In turn, reputation fosters customer loyalty, attracts talent, and drives growth.

PR for SEO

PR also plays a significant role in SEO. With a well-executed communications strategy, you’ll secure links on relevant, high-authority news sites that point back to your website. Most of this coverage is earned, so not paid for, making it both more respectable and cost-effective. What sets press coverage apart is the domain authority (DA) of these news sites, which influences how well they rank in search results. For example, a site like the Daily Express has an ‘excellent’ DA of over 90, which helps boost your own website’s ranking when it links to your content.

By securing backlinks from authoritative platforms, your site’s own domain authority improves over time, enhancing your brand’s visibility in search results. And since PR coverage is evergreen, these links continue to drive traffic and support your SEO efforts long after the initial publication, turning brand-building into profit.

Every form of marketing plays a role in supporting sales and growth. PR, with its unique benefits, both strengthens existing marketing activities and can work alone in building brand awareness, reputation, and online visibility.

Check out our case studies to see how we’ve helped other brands achieve these three key goals, or for further details on PR, contact us here.

ENDS