PR is about managing and shaping how your brand is perceived by the public, your industry, and your target audience. That includes earned media coverage, thought leadership, spokesperson positioning, community engagement, crisis communications, and narrative building.
Unlike advertising, where you pay for placements, PR is about getting journalists, editors, and media outlets to cover your story because it's worth telling. When a reporter writes about your brand, a podcast invites your CEO to speak, or a publication features you in an industry roundup, that's earned media, and it carries a level of credibility no paid ad can match.
Simply put: advertising buys attention while PR builds authority, and this authority is what converts skeptics into customers.