With news cycles changing moment to moment, the savvy use of simple technology tools by PR professionals has never been more important. But with many services available and tech evolving rapidly, picking the right software can help boost strategic communications for a brand. Below are a few tools every PR pro should master to maximize efficiency and score points with internal or external clients.
Cision
Cision is the go-to information hub for PR professionals in need of quick and verifiable information. Whether you’re trying to find the email address of a specific reporter, produce a wide list of targets that cover a particular subject or track all mentions of a certain story, Cision helps users distribute, track and analyze data at record speeds. In addition, Cision’s wide-ranging features, such as influencer identification, press release distribution and media monitoring, offer PR pros the opportunity to keep on learning new tips and tricks, whether you’re a newcomer in the industry or a veteran.
Survata
One way to be proactive in generating news is to showcase research that offers surprising insights or trends. If well designed, a simple survey can garner coverage when there isn’t any original news. Survata is a useful tool to produce, showcase and capitalize on research data through the production of surveys. If furnished with questions and specific demographics, Survata will field and produce media-generating surveys at a reasonable cost.
UberConference
In the age of remote working, we all meet virtually. And although most are familiar with video conferencing software like Zoom, we’ve also become Zoomed out. UberConference is a clever service because it offers a consistent dial-in number with no extra meeting codes that can constantly be reused. It’s reliable for weekly check-ins as well as any last-minute meeting, and isn’t it sometimes a relief not to be on camera?
Meltwater
Tracking coverage can be a grueling task, especially when you’re a victim of your own success! Meltwater is a simple service that helps track any and all coverage, and no one wants to miss anything on that score. It’s particularly useful for tracking pickup of press releases. In addition, Meltwater offers the opportunity to monitor social hits as well, resulting in a complete picture of overall reach and highlighting campaign successes while showcasing the areas of improvement for future campaigns.
SimilarWeb
PR teams must regularly report on the quantity and reach of the coverage generated. That’s where SimilarWeb comes in. The software offers wide-reaching analytics about a given media outlet’s reach, including total visits, average visit duration, pages per visit and the percentage of views from each country. It’s free of charge and offers an extension that helps yield quicker insights. SimilarWeb is a great way to showcase the full power of your PR operation.