There was a time when it was standard in the PR world to wait weeks or even months to learn if a client's news was published. Even the daily newspapers wouldn't "stop the presses" unless a story was earth-shattering. Today, between print, digital and social media, literally any news or information is at our fingertips at any time. It's awesome! But if you own and manage a business like my PR firm that relies heavily on the news cycle, it can also be a massive challenge.

Why? Because instant gratification has become the norm. I'm guilty of it too — search and you shall find … right away. The problem is that clients often think this translates to their PR team snapping their fingers, and magically, their brand starts trending. If only that were the case. The reality is that although news moves faster than ever and there are more platforms than ever, there's also much more competition to get those headlines. What's more, there's always something else clamoring to take away that attention once you get it.

So it's not just about getting results now; it's also about remaining top-of-mind later. In PR, this can be achieved through short and long lead times. Here's how I help my clients understand the value of both. And how the premise can be applied to any service industry.

Related: How to Make Your PR Campaigns Customer-Focused

As the saying goes, timing is everything, and that's particularly true in PR. What's false is the belief that PR won't work for you if you can't get your name in the news right now. Or that if you........

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