It’s the age-old query: what’s the distinction between PR and advertising? They work collectively to maneuver a model ahead and are important to a musician’s profession, however will not be the identical factor. To be a profitable musician in right now’s fast-moving trade, it’s essential to have a fundamental understanding of those two fields. Hence, we’ve compiled a starter information that will help you differentiate between them!
In principle, each PR and advertising will work in tandem to advertise a model with pace and consistency. But the reality is, these complimentary items of the puzzle are very completely different. And but, each are essential for a musician’s burgeoning profession. Well, what precisely is the distinction between them? First, let’s take a look at what every particular person function does:
Public Relations (PR)
A publicist wears many hats – relying on the trade, their consumer’s wants, and so forth. For this text, we’ll be specializing in the music trade. PR helps your model holistically – from model messaging and sustaining a optimistic public notion to securing press. In a nutshell, public relations is how the world sees you.
You would rent a publicist to:
- Coordinate alternatives to attach with the press (interviews, evaluations, and many others.)
- Build your model and keep a optimistic picture
- Write your bio and press releases
- Manage a disaster
This is the best manner to consider PR. It’s typically the primary function you have interaction in rising your profession. Effective PR will enable you refine your messaging and bolster your total fame, which can enable you safe extra alternatives.
Marketing
Marketing, alternatively, is targeted on selling a model’s merchandise with the purpose of promoting. When it’s performed effectively, it’s nuanced and concerned. While PR focuses on model picture, persona, and messaging – advertising takes that and pushes it to the plenty.
It can imply so many various issues relying on who you communicate to, however a few of the choices you’re certain to see relating to advertising are social media advertising, launch technique, promoting, creating launch supplies, researching new gross sales alternatives, and extra!
You would rent a advertising company for:
- Ads
- Graphics creation
- Writing your weekly e-newsletter
- Forming a social media technique
As with PR, that is only a starter checklist, however ought to provide you with an thought of what advertising is. If you want one other strategy to keep in mind it: PR builds the model, so advertising can promote it.
Which one do you want?
This is the actual query—which one do you want? The brief reply is: it relies on your objectives, your finances, and your wants as a musician.
Ideally, you’d work with a publicist to construct your model, tailor your messaging, and develop public consciousness by a press push. This might embrace working along with your publicist to craft a compelling message and constructing out a launch plan on your tune or album. Your publicist would then coordinate alternatives to attach with the press, and enable you rating interviews, evaluations, and highlight options to construct consciousness round your model – that’s, you and your music!
Then, you’d take the superb materials you’ve constructed and put it to use in your advertising. Using the trade consideration and curiosity garnered from the press, a advertising staff would enable you open doorways to new alternatives. For instance, the branding that your publicist has helped craft might in flip get you higher social media engagement, as a result of the messaging is in tune along with your viewers and resonates with them.
If you’re on the early phases of your profession and attempting to determine on one, right here’s my suggestion — take into consideration what’s going to transfer the needle probably the most for you, and put your cash there. It might be tempting to leap straight into advertising because it correlates to gross sales, however when you don’t have already got a stable model and followers ready to listen to your subsequent single, you may be leaping the gun a bit.
Ask your self – do I have already got a thriving fan base? If the reply is not any, you would possibly want PR first. If you haven’t constructed a following on social media, you might not need to sink a big sum into attempting to go viral. Try tightening up your messaging and constructing your affect to succeed in the fitting individuals.
However, when you’ve constructed sturdy branding and a monitor file of engaged followers – you may be able to take that up one other notch! Marketing can be an important place to place your cash and begin pushing a message that works.
Remember, neither of those is a one-and-done service. Throughout your profession, you’ll need to implement them over the long run, time and time once more for each new launch, tour, album, and many others. They are part of your musician toolbox now, so don’t be afraid to make use of them.
Angela Tyler is the founding father of MP Co. (previously Muddy Paw PR) securing placements on Forbes, Business Insider, American Songwriter, PopWrapped, & extra. She loves dessert, her rescue canine Sawyer, and discovering new music.