Some of the biggest benefits that PR software provides are:
Time savings in automating content distribution
The ability to more easily find the right
media contacts and influencers
The ability to better understand the effectiveness of PR-campaigns, and adjust them if necessary.
They help marketers manage the full PR lifecycle. This includes identifying and contacting the media, publishing press releases and other PR content, tracking the success of specific content and PR campaigns, monitoring the web for brand mentions, and collecting information on the results of a company's PR activities.
Some PR systems provide all of these capabilities in one platform, while others focus on a specific area, such as press release distribution or media monitoring.
Public relations systems are used to manage the public relations process. They usually include - PR contact database, news monitoring service, automated press release distribution and measurement of results. Tools with robust analytics are useful for agencies that need to justify ROI for their clients, or for marketers who are testing different approaches to brand awareness and reputation management.
Although some products serve multiple use cases, most public relations tools are most effective in one of the following areas:
Content creation, editing and optimization
identifying and using Influencers, journalists and other media contacts
media monitoring, including competitive intelligence
identifying and using influencers, journalists and other media contacts
PR analytics solutions
Systems for PR analytics help marketers measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. Important metrics to track include number of clicks, number of backlinks received, increase in traffic, level of engagement on social media platforms, etc. This type of software usually includes a campaign analytics dashboard and the ability to generate and export reports.
PR analytics systems.
They track brand presence and mentions in media and social media. Companies can track and select keywords, topics or mentions of their company name/brand. These tools often provide updates or notifications for new mentions.
PR monitoring tools also help companies observe general trends in their industry and collect data on their competitors' PR performance. Some products include analytics for media mentions, such as the number and frequency of mentions or the number of brand mentions compared to those of competing brands.
PR analytics systems also help marketers connect with news outlets, journalists, bloggers, influencers and other media entities to promote their content. Typically, these tools provide a database of industry-relevant media contacts. However, some PR solutions instead provide tools that companies can use to find and identify authoritative contacts in their industry.
The main purpose of this solution is to help connect PR professionals with media personnel and market experts who would be interested in sharing brand content, which, in turn, would increase brand awareness.
Software for PR project management
Along with media monitoring, influencer outreach and PR analytics, PR project management is a critical component of implementing a successful PR strategy. There are a wide range of professional services automation (PSA) and project management software tools that can help marketers track all of their PR results. Some examples include Trello, Gryffin and Workfront.
The following PSA and project management features can be especially useful for PR professionals:
task management
Calendar/task schedule view
task assignment
workflow automation
document storage and management
schedule tracking
resource allocation management
PR-analytics and its peculiarities
There are a number of features that make PR-analytics much easier, thanks to a quality system.
For example:
A database of journalists, influencers and other media contacts.
media monitoring of brand mentions, clicks and backlinks
media coverage and monitoring
tools for discovering and identifying media contacts
press release distribution
tracking and monitoring of press releases
support for multilingual coverage