PR is not advertising. Advertisers pay to have their content included in print, on a web page, on the radio or on commercial television. Except in rare cases, the public is not generally swayed by advertising, no matter how clever or creative it may be.

But the public does respond to objective editorial coverage of a company or product in a news source they like. People also believe the recommendations of authorities and the opinions of others, even if they are strangers. We also tend to listen to retailers and service providers we trust.

Public relations involves strategic communication between company insiders, industry experts, journalists, customers, and any number of other parties in the distribution and supply chain. In most cases, the goal of PR is to gain favorable press coverage, which is enforced by reputation, third-party endorsements, and other tactics.

With an effective PR plan, there may never be a need to pay for advertising.

Many very intelligent people can fail to understand why a consistent media presence is important. Or they believe no one can present their story to the press better than they can.

Here are 10 reasons to hire a public relations agency:

1. An agency has relationships with journalists that you cannot usually develop on your own. Journalists are busy people and often only work with sources they trust.

2. An agency can place your company's news in a broader context of industry or consumer trends. An agency sees the macro and micro, the forest and the trees, and focuses on long-, short-, and immediate-term plans.

3. An agency's clients share synergistic relationships that generate media and business opportunities that a company cannot create alone.

4. An agency, as an outsider, often identifies things that are newsworthy and unique about your company that insiders don't acknowledge.

5. An agency uses sophisticated tools to monitor news about your competitors and your industry at large to identify potential problems and strategize to avoid them.

6. An agency has access to analysts and other experts in your field whose opinion of your company can be integral to your success. You often cannot present your story to these analysts without signing a consulting contract for hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

7. An agency creates harmony between marketing and sales departments by giving both teams the ammunition they need for the sale to take place.

8. An agency gives your board of directors confidence in your decisions.

9. An agency has access to vendors, service providers, and other resources that would not be cost-effective for you to use on your own. An agency spreads the cost of these services across all its clients, creating an economy of scale and saving you a great deal of money.

10. You simply don't have the time required to maintain a meaningful PR program, because you're too busy running a profitable business.