1. PR is cheaper than advertising.Advertising generally costs money. Most small businesses don't have a huge budget for marketing and a full-page ad in a well-known magazine could easily cost $5000 or more, before the cost of graphics, design etc. How many people will see that ad and how many will remember it? An extended ad campaign would definitely cost more that this with little or no effect. Advertising is more of a one-way communication and the audience is not very involved or attentive. That same money, if invested in PR services, could dramatically impact sales many times and can help launch your new product or maintain your old brands.
2. PR is a tool to reach targeted consumers. Through advertising you may think you're targeting carefully when you're not. Let's say you're selling a product to a business audience. An email containing your ad going to a specific list of 100,000 business people is more effective than a general newsletter or going to 100,000 people. PR can do this for you by targeting a specific group to announce the introduction of a new product to which it is of major interest. Through press releases, PR can create a factual, true and interesting message to attract the targeted audience without the high cost of target marketing. PR can get companies, products and services noticed by those who matter for a minimal investment.
3. PR can build long term relations: A good PR plan can create awareness of the client’s product or services, stimulate sales, facilitate communication, and build relationships between customers and companies and their brands. PR is an ingredient vital to every effective marketing program. PR can effectively build and maintain mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and the people. PR also has huge potential to strengthen the relationships by sending out signals of new variations of a brand, and by providing the customer with new information.
4. Creativity and a successful PR program go hand in hand. PR is based on identifying critical objectives and that’s what makes it effective. What audiences are most important to reach? What outcomes must be achieved? Does the company want to frame industry issues to create thought leadership or put the competitor on the defensive? The writers and editor’s point of view is the most important part of getting your press release published because they understand their readers. If you get past the editor, you can be assured that your PR program will be a success.
5. PR can is effective in building new brands. When an objective third party writes an article, the message is more clearly conveyed than if it were simply promoted through advertising. All big brands were built by publicity followed by advertising campaigns. To introduce and grow your brand, you need PR. It is definitely a more cost effective way to gain positive awareness and create a favorable climate for new brands.
6. PR is synonymous with credibility. Many times readers consider ads they read as just exaggerated hype. Advertising controls the message while PR does not, and because of this, PR creates credibility. Advertising is the best-known promotional tool since it is persuasive, people are more skeptical about advertising since the very purpose is to persuade rather than inform. This is why people resist the ads. Most readers are more likely to trust reviewers, columnists, reporters or broadcasters. If you read a review that says that a new restaurant is the best thing in town, there's some credibility there. We tend to assume that a person who is writing an article is an expert, and that they are an uninterested third party. Credibility is the one thing that can win the customer’s heart and wallet at the same time
7. PR Can Go the Distance. PR can effectively strengthen a company's position while casting doubt about the competitor. It conducts research to understand the competitors' strategies, strengths and weaknesses, PR patterns, activities and events, and perceptions about the competitor. PR can expose your company to the masses, quickly increase your sales, and dramatically enhance the image of your business or products.