9 essential resources for PR pros
This article originally appeared on PR Daily in July of 2017.
Tools make our lives and our jobs easier.
Whether it’s a drill in the hand of a skilled carpenter or a keyword
research website in the hands of a PR professional, tools enhance the work
we do.
Tools have become a public relations necessity—not just a luxury. To stay
relevant, take advantage of resources that can elevate your reach, social
media efforts, content marketing and understanding of analytics.
[RELATED: Distracted audiences? Mind-numbing topics? Cut through the clutter with creative corporate writing.]
Tools for finding journalists and influencers
Muck Rack
This affordable resource fits with any PR strategy. Its primary purpose is
to put PR professionals in contact with journalists.
You can pitch story ideas, get alerts about new PR opportunities and track
the success of your campaigns. Muck Rack is also said to be considerably
faster than other programs in alerting you about industry news.
Pricing: Available upon request.
With the rising distrust of advertising, influencers might be the future of
content marketing—but where do you begin? Traackr helps you find the right
influencers for your business.
Enter the keywords that define your industry, and let Traackr do the rest.
You’ll get reports on who is writing on those topics, their reach, how well
their content resonates with their audience and their relevance to your
keywords. It helps you find superstars and underrated figures who can
extend your reach.
Given its price points, this tool is more suitable for larger companies.
Pricing: Available upon request.
If you’d like media coverage without breaking the bank, HARO is tremendous.
Once you sign up and list your industry expertise, HARO will notify you
about opportunities to connect with journalists or bloggers looking for
sources.
When you see an opportunity that fits your experience and expertise, send
your pitch and wait for a response.
Pricing: Free for their Basic plan, and up to $149 per month for their
Premium plan.
Tools to monitor industry trends
Would you like a better handle on your PR metrics, with more detailed
reports? Trendkite can show you where you’re excelling and which areas need
improvement.
Trendkite also alerts you anytime your company is mentioned online and
enables you to track all aspects of your public relations efforts.
Given its price points, this is best for larger companies with a lot of
media coverage to keep tabs on—or competitors to monitor.
Pricing: Available upon request.
BuzzSumo is a great resource for monitoring keyword and content popularity,
with detailed information about views, shares and reach. BuzzSumo also
enables you to keep tabs on your competitors by monitoring what they
publish and gauging the response their content gets.
This platform also offers insights about influencers, such as their
following and engagement rates.
Pricing: Starts at $79 per month for their Pro plan, going up to $559
per month for their Enterprise plan.
This free resource sends you an alert whenever your keywords—your company,
name or industry terms—are mentioned on the web. You can set up as many
alerts as you like.
Pricing: Free.
Tools for measurement
AirPR
This tech company specializes in public relations analytics, insights and
measurement solutions, which can help you track the impact of your efforts.
Use AirPR’s tools to uncover what return on investment you’re getting and
to gather proof of how effective your PR efforts are.
Given its price points, this is best for larger companies.
Pricing: Available upon request.
Prezly markets itself as “frictionless story management for brands.” Prezly
can help you increase coverage, distribute your press releases and manage
your relationships with journalists and influencers.
Prezly sends out alerts to bloggers, journalists and other writers via
multimedia emails to announce press releases. It also provides analytics to
gauge press release performance.
The Prezly platform gives you an online hub where you can share your
stories, create email campaigns, tailor pitches to contacts and analyze
your results.
Pricing: Subscriptions start at $150 per month.
PRWeb
As part of PRWeb’s service, you get access to press release templates and
help with search engine optimization and social media exposure. Its
resource center includes how-to articles, videos, webinars and white papers
to help you to craft masterful press releases.
Once you’ve completed your release, PR Web will feature it on its
industry-segmented site. Their staff will also help you distribute it to
the right people.
Pricing: Starts at $99 per press release for its Basic plan, rising to
$369 per press release for its Premium plan.
Wendy Marx is president of
Marx Communications.
A version of this article first appeared on the
B2B PR Sense blog.
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