Change is inevitable. For the sake of progress, change is absolutely essential.If you’ve worked in public relations longer than a couple of years you’ve likely thought about how different your job was two years ago, let alone five or ten years ago. So much has changed about how we do our job and what is expected from us, and it continues to change.A few months ago PR Newswire asked PR professionals what they thought PR is now, which was a follow up to a similar question we posed in 2012. As in 2012, we were inundated with great responses from the public relations community.After unveiling the new infographic, we continued to consider your responses. Some of them made immediate sense and were not unexpected, but others – like the response “PR is Relationships” — begged for further reflection.RelationshipsAlthough relationships with the media have always been an important part of public relations, PR now has a much stronger position in building relationships with the public and consumers.Channels such as Twitter, Facebook and company blogs offer brands the opportunity to directly realize and foster these relationships. They also open up new venues for maintaining relationships with the media.Of course, the key to good relationships hasn’t changed. It’s about respect, and that means understanding the needs of your audiences before pushing things at them.PRO TIP: Thoroughly research the personas that make up the audiences you create content for and media you pitch. Tools might include Google analytics, search engines, social search, and a quality media database with up-to-date profiles for journalists and bloggers. Take a look at our guide Gain Targeted Audience Attention with PR Newswire for questions you need to ask to better understand your audience.MarketingIn 1982, the Public Relations Society of America defined public relations as a function that helps an organization connect with its community. Although the definition was updated in 2012, marketing was still barely mentioned.However, as many of your responses to #PRisNow showed, today’s public relations professionals are playing a direct role in driving leads into the marketing funnel through thought-leadership content.PRO TIP: Measure audience behavior and follow your leads through the buyer’s journey for a clear understanding of what your audience seeks. There’s no room for guessing.  As we explore in How to A/B Test Your Press Release Strategy, analytics are invaluable when planning content.

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