Although I agree in that the responsibility of the publicist isn't to create sales, I disagree that pr efforts do not drive sales. Yes, the number of secured media placements do vary from month to month (as, pr is not advertising, and therefore is not paid placements; which also makes pr MUCH less expensive than advertising and; editorials and authentic stories in articles that are not paid for have a much more credible effect on the end consumers), pr can do things for companies that may not even be possible with marketing. For example, having one of my clients land 4 minutes as a story feature on a national tv show more than tripled their traffic; significantly increased sales; increased their brand awareness to a new level; created interest from a variety of other national publications and tv shows; and DID create and significant increase in sales. They couldn't have possibly afforded that tv spot without pr. I do agree that social media releases are quite important now, and are needed to make sure that releases do increase traffic and awareness.  
As a publicist, my job IS TO secure positive media hits. My contract, though, is based on the hours I place in making sure to reach out consistently and effectively to the media. However, keep in mind, that this media is based on a target list provided by each client; this target lists is obviously with the appropriate demographics in mind. So, suffice it to say, that by securing hits w/these predetermined targets DOES mean reaching out to the end consumer that the companies want to hear their message which DOES mean more sales.

Seriously – did you write the headline just to enrage public relations professionals? 
 
 
 
I agree with you that media coverage and placements – or ad equivalency – is old school. PR is evolving, much like media itself. Now more than ever, PR needs to break down the silos with marketing and sales, by aligning with integrated marketing campaigns and strategies.  
 
 
 
Whether in-house or agency supported, public relations professionals are can also measure:  
 
 
 
• Media coverage’s impact on SEO, and key word search terms that you want to won.  
 
• Hyper-linking and visitors from news or blog coverage. 
 
• Web analytics to microsites or home pages during or after PR campaigns. 
 
 
 
Let’s not forget the overall impact that public relations has – good or bad – on your company’s brand and reputation. Throughout my career, I’ve seen example after example on how favorable news coverage not only introduced our company to a prospect; great coverage sealed the deal because it reinforced the sales professionals’ message. 
 
 
 
A closely aligned PR strategy with marketing shapes perceptions, opinions, images and buying desire with prospects. Without it – sales doesn’t get invited to the table.  
 

Joel - it worked, though, didn't it? 
 
To be honest, I'm not sure the term "remarkable content" is sufficient -- partly because it's been overused and thrown around carelessly. What really matters is "emotional content". Content that triggers some kind of emotional response (in this example, as Joel suggests, a touch of rage.) Because all decisions are emotional decisions.  
 
Just because something is extremely interesting is not enough, because maybe it's not urgent to me (on an emotional level) today.

@GG @Joel - Don't misinterpret this as me saying there's no value in PR. You just can't compare apples to oranges when it comes to PR and sales metrics. The goal of PR driving sales is dated. Yes, there are instances of when you can directly track back a customer's introduction to a company or product from a specific piece of media coverage, but those times are few and far between if you're not a B2C company.  
 
Joel- I agree that PR professional can measure (and should) measure inbound links, site traffic and landing page conversions. Some agencies are doing that, which is great! We're just waiting for that tipping point where ALL agencies are doing that as a standard.  
 
 
 
 

I'm going to have to disagree with #2 at least... every company I've worked with has emphasized how much sales executives want and appreciate supportive PR materials - maybe not to get the lead but to help close the deal, emphasize key sales points and leave behind valuable information with a prospect. 
 
Also, I think it's a jump to say there is NO correlation between PR and sales. Maybe bad PR, but PR done well (strategically) gets your company in front of the right (qualified) audiences, helping to get the attention of prospects, as well as support the efforts and claims made by salespeople by showcasing third party validation. To say PR has nothing to do with sales – especially as PR is a part of marketing – is something I respectfully disagree with. 
 
Christine Perkett 
PerkettPR 
http://www.twitter.com/missusP

Thank you for clarifying. I do believe that your headline is misleading, as pr can drive sales. But, I do agree, you can't compare a sales person to a publicist. The publicist's job encompasses so much more than just sales. It's about credibility, branding, creating relationships, and reaching out to the public with messaging.

Peter, as a rule I find most of your posts excellent. I have to take issue with this one. PR like the ad business has changed significantly in the last several years.When we distribute Public relations we have several goals. 
1. Media coverage. Yes most clients still want to appear in web, print and broadcast articles. We always receive coverage which amplifies the rest of the successes listed here.  
2.In a recent release we created over 306 media links in the first 24 hours 
3.We own the search engines after a release. Typically not only a first position but multiple positions on the first page with various queries. 
4. There are numerous key word activities built into our distribution system these add to the SEO benefits. 
5. The web traffic we generate is immediate and big. We had over 100,000 impressions with 2 recent releases with a 1.25% click-thru rate. Our system generates complete analytics which we double verify with site analytics. 
6.As for leads, one of our software customers did 6 live demos on the first day of the release. 
7. I know of nothing I can do for clients for this cost with this type of response

I agree with Christine. As a former sales guy and current integrated marketing guy I KNOW sales people want to see the PR air cover and will complain when they don't have it or see it. They will say (and I agree) that their efforts are hindered by a lack of it.

Sorry Christine. Peter sent the link to me I assumed it was his writing.

Perhaps a better title would have been "How PR can drive sales more effectively".  
 
The PR firms that we are working on who understand how to turn website visitors into leads are killing it! They're using analytics to measure the actual ROI they provide.  
 
I'd encourage any PR firm to learn that process and start connecting the awesome top of the funnel stuff they're doing DIRECTLY to leads and sales.

Christine, 
 
The logic in your setup is completely flawed. Salespeople do care about PR - the same PR that announces awards, partnerships, new customer announcements, etc -- is the same PR that makes it far easier for salespeople to get in the door and get a head start with a stronger brand.  
 
The idea that you something not based on science is a bit self-serving. No doubt, data-driven marketing is becoming the normal, but PR is trackable and measurable. I assume probably your comment stems from the fact that HS doesn't do that level of "science" on PR yet. 
 
THE BIGGEST PROBLEM WITH PR? 
 
PR agencies don't think in the same terms as marketers. Many PR agencies still think in terms of reach, pickups and briefings--rather than cost/lead, ROI and acquisition. It's not that their focus is entirely wrong, but they fail to make the connection to sales.  
 
We wrote an article on this a number of months ago and it was one of our most popular. It's called Three Reasons Traditional PR Firms are Becoming Hard to Justify.  
 
So while I love the link bait controversy in the post, the logic is misleading and somewhat incorrect. 
 
Ryan 
SmartBug Media - Hubspot Partner 
Case Study: Interactive Marketing Agency Nets 1,047% ROI 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20101130/bs_prweb/prweb4844904

I do agree with the crowd that PR Agencies need to demonstrate value... and many are "getting it."  
 
During a recent discussion with a leading industy analyst, in her opinion, those that don't align with marketing will perish. Kudos to those that do - you will rule the world. (Also glad my agency does!)

* I agree with Christine, sales does care about brand awareness, and PR is one way to build brand awareness. 
 
* I agree with Peter that a better title for the article would have been "How PR can Drive Sales More Effectively". 
 
* I personally do think that PR can drive sales. It can be hard to measure the exact effect completely, but there are some ways to measure some of the effect. As a reasonably experienced marketer, doing PR well is important and can help your company grow. This may or may not mean hiring a firm (I kind of have a bias these days towards doing PR internally) but there is value in the activity of reaching out to others and encouraging others to talk about you, and it is an important factor in driving sales.

Great ideas about content marketing, but the categorical statement about PR and sales simply isn't true. Surely, HubSpot knows this given it's presences. PR definitely facilitates sales, as in a content marketing strategy, prospects look for different information at different times in the buying cycle. And sales people absolutely care about PR and media coverage. Gives them a link to start a conversation, validates their statements and further, nothing motivates employees like seeing a broadcast camera in the building.  
To say there is "no science" to measurement isn't' accurate either -- it's not an exact science, but there are definitely methods.  
 
Here's a post on PR, measurement and sales

Well, I'm glad there are thoughtful, intelligent and professionally-based comments below this article! 
 
"What did PR pros do before technology and the world wide web?" he asked sarcastically. Don't get me wrong. I'm not an offline-only PR purist. I loves me my Twitter, Facebook and PitchEngine, and their endless possibilities! But let's be realistic: PR and its cousins have been around for a really, really long time - even before keyboards and microchips. And while it was that much more difficult and involved to implement and measure back then (pre-Twitter), I'm certain there wasn't a pro-PR executive out there who didn't know the value of a good public reputation - crafted by savvy PR pros (look up Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays to start). 
 
Reputation has plenty to do with sales. I think marketers and sales pros need to ask what a positive reputation is worth to them in their ability to do their jobs. I find it hard to believe that a sales lead would be easy to close if an employer's name, product or service was mud (or nonexistent altogether). This is partly where a strategically minded PR department or agency comes in...the progressive ones incorporate online (linking strategies, good content, etc.) simply as a component tool within a larger strategy that (agreeably) should have long-term vision. 
 
So if I were to draw out the relationship between PR and sales on a whiteboard, the connection I'd make would be either with a curvy line that winds around all areas of a business (particularly with customer facing departments), or a very dark and prominent dotted line directly to the marketing/sales department. 
 
An example of PR working well may be the 1982 Tylenol contamination crisis (a staple case study in North American PR schools and courses): http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/217190 (no Twitter or linking strategies back then). Something more current may be the BP Oil crisis. No amount of social media, good content and linking strategies could repair that. I have a feeling even the most skilled PR firm and comprehensive strategy - complete with social media, good content and linking strategies - would have a tough time fixing that reputation…and sales and marketing pros would find it very tiresome trying to wade through that mud (or oil in this case).

If your objective herein was readership, congratulations. But your argument is weak and flawed. I suggest you stick to delivering USEFUL content, and get off the "remarkable" bandwagon. Streaking at a ballgame is remarkable but what does it get you, besides arrested?

Incorrect premises lead to inaccurate conclusions. Here is feedback you requested.  
1. There is no typical PR campaign 
--PR success is not always or even often measured by number of hits 
--Not all agencies work on retainer. 
2. In my experience sales reps do care about PR because it can make their jobs easier when a prospect has heard of the product (in one case a sales rep's photo had appeared in the paper before she met with an important prospect and she made the sale!) 
 
The remainder of the blog post discusses what any competent PR professional already is practicing and has been for years!!! Relationships are a cornerstone of a strong PR practice. Marketing and PR go hand in hand - again competent PR practitioners know this. 
 
To be fair, I've been a PR agent for more than 20 years and have also been a marketing director. When I read this, it occurred to me perhaps that the author was just starting out and perhaps didn't know these things. That's why I'm taking time to respond here. Another PR practice is to speak up when you see errors. Hope this will help clarify my 140 character response.

I wanted to comment earlier, but I was heads down pouring over a client's blog analytics... 
 
As always, the comments are just as important as the original post and was glad to see Mike's acknowledgment that the title could have been better.  
 
Since you asked for examples, I can share one. I just concluded with a client a campaign where we blogged for 100 consecutive days about uses of the technology the client provides. A great many were non-client examples. A landing page was a hub for these examples. The campaign generated several leads. 
 
PR's role was helping create the content and promoting it, including by generating coverage in places like Read/Write Web and Wired. The coverage led to a great deal of traffic to the landing page and blog, along with buzz on Twitter, etc., which helped to feed the funnel. 
 
In short, PR was an integrated (and integral) part of a content-driven inbound marketing campaign. 
 
Hope this helps. 
 
Ted Weismann 
Lois Paul & Partners