Best PR tools

Buyer's guide to choosing a system for PR analytics and 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