With the widespread adoption of AI, machine learning, and related technologies, the PR world continues to evolve at a lightning pace. PR professionals will need to embrace a data-driven strategy to survive and fast.
Content distribution, media monitoring, and other areas of PR need to be automated, and they need to happen in real-time. I've advised, tested, and worked with many of the PR tools out there in the last several years. Here are some of this year's best tools to help you keep up in an age where "instant" isn't fast enough.
Muck Rack is an AI-powered PR software platform built to streamline PR workflows. It helps PR professionals and communicators generate positive media coverage, monitor mentions impacting brand reputation and analyze the impact of PR on business outcomes.
In May, Muck Rack announced its partnership with Source of Sources (SOS), the platform founded by Peter Shankman. SOS is used by journalists to connect with sources. Through this partnership, Muck Rack journalist profiles are integrated into SOS's daily emails. This allows PR pros to research journalists with a single click for more targeted and effective pitches.
SOS journalist users also benefit from Muck Rack's manual journalist verification, where its editorial team vets journalists and outlets to ensure credibility. This essential tool ensures all content was created by a credible journalist -- particularly useful as AI technology evolves and more content is created.
With all the media shake ups in recent years, newspaper and magazine contributions are needed now more than ever. Layoffs, resignations, and decreased revenues have made it harder to get relevant content right when it's needed.
Many platforms -- like Source of Sources, ProfNet, and Quoted -- exist for journalist-based queries. Contributed Content Connection (CCC) is the first and only one that puts editors and publishers in the drivers' seat. With CCC, they can request one-off contributed content, and PR reps and experts reply to them directly.
Editors and publishers choose the topics and requirements, which ensures only relevant content is pitched. Contributed Content Connection offers free and paid models for media outlets, expert sources, and their PR reps.
When I first worked with Prowly, I was immediately impressed with their PR and content marketing platform. It was designed to connect all PR activities in one place and streamline various types of workflows.
In 2022, they were acquired by SEMRush, who said they would serve as a stand-alone brand integrated into the SEMRush ecosystem. Two years later, SEMRush has stuck to this promise, and the Prowly product continues to operate as an independent platform.
In its current iteration, Prowly simplifies PR content creation workflows, with a press release creator, online newsroom, email pitch tool, and an analytics dashboard. It also has several impressive options for relationship-building, including a CRM and a media database with over a million journalists, bloggers, and influencers.
Meltwater is all about gaining a competitive edge with hard, quantitative data analysis and custom insights. It isn't just a software solution; it also gives you the opportunity to work directly with its in-house analyst team.
The company specializes in making its insights accessible and understandable for every member of your team, not just the data junkies. The idea is, instead of just handing you a bunch of data, they actually help you figure out exactly how to use it all.
Meltwater's PR-specific features include media intelligence, media relations, social listening and analytics, social media management, and consumer intelligence. Its media database and relationship management system is GDPR-friendly to suit international needs.
Just Reach Out is a simple, more affordable solution for getting more press features and mentions and building backlinks. It lets PR professionals find the right journalists to pitch to and aggregates and organizes pitch opportunities by keyword.
AI integration lets you know which journalists are most responsive and helps you custom-build emails designed to get a reply. Another tool on the platform finds blogs in your industry that accept guest posts and lets you automate follow-up messages.
One function I find especially interesting is the Podcast Outreach tool, which helps you find and connect with relevant podcasts. It also includes templates designed to assist you in landing a guest spot on the right shows.
CISION is a well-respected enterprise PR solution with a great track record at media monitoring, analytics, relationship management, and more. They've recently introduced a new AI-powered PR platform, CisionOne, designed specifically for real-time visibility and insights.
With CisionOne, you get instant updates from thousands of domestic and international media channels, including TV, radio, and podcasts. You can also access millions of international publications in dozens of languages, from both print and online media.
From there, the software lets you build a customized dashboard that delivers brand mentions and updates that could impact you as they happen. It also contains other robust PR tools like a global media relationship platform.
I haven't directly worked with Onclusive, but I did use them back when they were still called AirPR. The new platform provides a number of tools to build campaigns and improve strategic decision-making with data-driven feedback. Among them are social listening and media monitoring tools, as well as a number of content creation, relationship management, and analytics options.
The platform's media monitoring suite includes PR analytics metrics to analyze how current articles and campaigns are resonating with audiences. It also lets you create customized charts and graphics to present these analytics and justify future campaign ideas.
Other features include an online newsroom you can integrate with your website, with features like social media scheduling tool and resource library. There's also a response desk that helps you manage relationships by storing media interactions, coverage, and more all in one centralized location.
OnePitch is a rad little tool (the company says "rad" a lot on their website) designed to craft perfect custom pitches. It checks each pitch for wording, sentence structure, context, and more, using insights from journalists on what they look for.
The software also makes targeted media contact recommendations, so you know exactly who to reach out for a feature. Instead of leaving you on your own to research journalists, the platform will match you with the right people based on your pitch.
Finally, OnePitch can auto create media lists, to keep track of both your pitches and your favorite journalists. It even reminds you exactly when to follow up with each publication, for the best chances of securing that placement.
PR Newswire has been the best-in-class news distribution network for ages, and it's showing no signs of going anywhere. It'll get your press release seen across the web and social media, and noticed by journalists, influencers, and readers.
The platform is exceedingly simple: you upload your press release, they proofread it and optimize it for SEO. Then, you choose a target audience to send it to, and they get it out and track the results with analytics.
Other PR Newswire offerings include an AI-powered press release generator to help you write and format your content. You can also choose from tools like Multimedia Content Distribution and Guaranteed Paid placement to further increase your views.
It's a sad reality that the PR world is changing and continuing to become even more challenging every year -- no, every minute. Real journalists are fewer and farther between, and you're fighting more noise, fake news, and shorter attention spans than ever.
On the bright side, using the right PR tools can mean making the right contacts, sharpening your pitches, and optimizing your campaigns. A more precise strategy and the right tools to support it can empower you and your clients to continue to stand out.