The best PR pros know that research is a big part of the job. Whether it’s time to learn about the newest social updates or the trendiest tools of the week, staying aware and up-to-date is a requirement in the field.
Of course, there are different types of PR research, and every person on your team may be responsible for a specific category- analytics, media relations and social media, among others. Knowing the industry keeps you competitive, and helps your clients to stand out in their own fields.
This week, we’ve shared a few of our favorite tools below, that can help out your whole team. Happy researching!
4 Research Tools for PR Pros
Each of these tools has been reviewed by us in the past, so we already know they’re great additions to your own team’s toolkit. Below is a roundup that you can quickly reference when you need a hand in researching for your own business, or for your clients.
1.) Inkybee
Trying to build out your blogger media lists? If you need more details on the contacts in this niche market, Inkybee might be the tool you need. You can search for relevant bloggers by keyword or category, then create and store your lists and reports within the tool! Perfect for organization, you can build multiple campaigns in Inkybee to keep each search separate.
2.) RiteTag
Social media… we’ve all learned how important the new frontier is to growing a fan base and engaging consumers. Today, businesses have whole teams dedicated to social outreach- the tricky part is understanding, and engaging in, trending topics in real-time. RiteTag is an analytics tool that shares the popularity of Twitter hashtags. Retweets, unique tweets and potential views per hour can all be reported with the tool. Also, RiteTag’s free browser extension quickly shows you the strength of a hashtag, saving you time when researching different phrases.
3.) MuckRack Pro
Yes, we’ve written about Cision in the past (and use it on a daily basis!), but MuckRack Pro is where we go when Cision just isn’t enough. MuckRack Pro gives journalists the ability to describe what topics they are interested in writing about. This is an advantage, especially because most reporters are tired of receiving untargeted pitches. Also, unlike other tools, MuckRack Pro pulls information from journalists’ Twitter accounts, meaning that information about reporters is almost always up to date- a plus!
4.) WooRank
We’ve listed tools for media and social outreach, but what does that matter if nobody can find your website? WooRank is an SEO tool that points you in the right direction when you are ready for website updates. After a quick, free scan, the tool shows a list of errors and areas to improve on your site. Keeping your website in shape can be overwhelming, and this is a great place to start your optimization research.
What do you think are the best tools for PR research? Do you have a favorite post that wasn’t included in our roundup? Let us know in the comments!
