As ad budgets shrink and more clients turn to PR, what are the expectations? Are they realistic? Do clients still value a PR plan or are they content for the most part to string some projects together and hope for the best? Aside from human interest angles can the small company only hope for online coverage? These and dozens of other questions are pertinent in today's economy as daily newspapers have less space to allot to national and local news and due to shrinking staffs, more content is likely to be picked up from the wire, especially feature content.

Where are the best opportunities for PR coverage? In the local paper consider the profileration of blogs by newspaper reporters and don't overlook the power of local columns and op ed opportunities. Follow any developing national or local stories that have any real relationship to your business sector and look for relevant ways to become part of that bigger continuing story.

Look to regional and local magazines, special interest and trade magazines that cover your type of business. In the latter, start to build a relationship with them even before you launch your business.

Opportunities can usually be found, but as they old saying goes "Rome wasn't built in a day." Aside from print, a company's products or services can also get TV coverage if they are interesting visually or relate to a breaking or big story.

But what advertisers should not expect from PR is for PR to build the brand. While it can certainly help take up the slack from a trimmed ad budget, your story will rarely be showcased as you could with the impact and frequency of a paid ad campaign.