Today’s media landscape is very different from what it was even ten years ago. For this reason, public relations (PR), also referred to as media relations, has undergone significant changes.
Business leaders already have a ton to do, optimizing operations, cultivating a positive company culture, and refining products or services. They should therefore be excused if they haven’t had time to stay abreast of these developments.
Yet, effective PR is vital to boost businesses’ visibility, build credibility, forge trust, and foster positive community engagement. As savvy executives realize, all these things have an impact on the bottom line. Here’s a brief primer on how things have changed to get you up to speed fast.
How public relations differs from advertising and influencer marketing
First and foremost, PR differs from other communications strategies like advertising, content creation, social media management and influencer marketing. These other methods usually involve crafting a message that promotes your business and running it on the company’s website or paying the outlet or social media influencers to post it. When repeated over time, these communications can foster familiarity with your brand and are particularly effective if customers already know about your products or services.
Public relations strategies, on the other hand, enlist the help of third parties — members of the media like reporters, editors, and hosts of TV shows or podcasts — to showcase your business and spokespeople in organic media coverage. Studies have shown that this approach is especially important during the first stages of a startup or product launch, since it introduces the public to your venture in a positive light. Indeed, some evidence suggests that PR is three times more effective than advertising in these situations.
Public relations tactics are so successful because when many people encounter information, they usually consider the source.
Why PR tactics work: Journalists grant access to your target audience
When potential new customers see your ads, most know you paid for them. Many perceive the company as trumpeting its value and might not be impressed.
Alternatively, if new audiences encounter your CEO speaking thoughtfully and knowledgeably about matters they care about in a trusted media outlet, they not only gain increased brand awareness of your company but also come to associate it with good things. Another example would be your company receiving media attention for an innovative new product. When media channels consider an offering worthy of media attention, audience members likewise take notice.
This way, successful public relations fosters a positive public image that resonates with people, attracts new customers, and impresses key stakeholders, such as investors, business partners or industry experts. Long-term reputation management and crisis management are other key elements of PR, fostering relationships with journalists on an ongoing basis and continuing to shape public opinion, even during tough times.
Traditional PR methods have long had this same mission. Yet the rise of digital communications has changed what goes into a strong PR strategy, arguably making it even more critical than ever.
How traditional PR has given way to modern public relations
In 2025, most people spend a significant portion of their lives online and on social media platforms. As PR professionals seeking to gain earned media coverage for their employers or clients understand, today’s digital landscape is a battlefield.
Businesses of all kinds struggle to rank highly on consumers’ search engine results. The closer a company’s link is to the top of the list, the better the chances are that a consumer will click on it and the more leads the company generates, which also boosts the chances for conversions.
However, it’s not the reporter’s job to do SEO optimization for businesses. For this reason, the most effective PR methods today combine traditional and digital strategies to attract authentic media coverage while delivering measurable results and superior analytics simultaneously.
Beyond press releases: Mastering modern PR strategies and SEO optimization
Obtaining free coverage in traditional media outlets remains an effective way to get your business’s PR content in front of the right eyeballs. Doing this still requires going beyond issuing press releases. Getting the interest of members of the press requires compelling pitches that offer something of value, whether it be an interview with your founder, a free sample of a product that has yet to be released, or compelling storytelling.
Today’s successful PR efforts must go even further, however. Impactful PR professionals also monitor the effectiveness of various digital channels, tracking data-driven metrics such as the number of views, audience size and domain authority. To improve performance on indicators like these, they also tailor content marketing language for strategic purposes and get it placed successfully. As a result, they can increase the business’s SEO.
PR tactics boost your company’s online reputation
Like traditional approaches, today’s PR relies on trusted third parties to spread the word of a company’s or executive’s greatness. In this way, PR provides a way to cultivate positive relationships with key demographics, as it always has.
Yet the exigencies of current technology also require savvy new tactics aimed at impressing search engines, which determine the companies people see when they conduct a search. While PR agencies have refined these techniques, businesses of all kinds can profit from understanding how the media landscape has changed and what effective positioning now requires.
