This post isn’t a “how to.” It’s an attempt to garner different perspectives from PR people and agencies who’ve done the vetting process to determine the best media database tool.
Calypso Communications is passively looking for a tool to shore up our PR efforts, and there are some key criteria we’re looking at.
- Cost – as a smallish firm, we aren’t inclined to spend like a conglomerate PR firm for the privilege of slicing and dicing media contacts. At the moment we’re using Media Atlas and a handful of manual tools, and while the cost is manageable we’re looking to explore (potentially) more sophisticated options.
- Ease of use – like most things in business, adoption is key. If the product is clunky, too complicated or a pain in the you-know-what, making a change makes no sense.
- Customer service – I’ve read several reviews of Cision and Vocus, and I have some questions about the level of attention we’d receive if we were to make the switch. Responsiveness is a key consideration for our PR team. At a previous PR agency we tried both, each with their own pros and cons. We tried Vocus in its early days and the reviews weren’t great. One person, it might have been me, called it “Hocus Vocus.”
- Bells and whistles – which tools do amazing things that other tools can’t? Which is the biggest help with identifying social media influencers? What other whiz bang services have become a “must have” for your PR firm?
We’re open to hear about newer, less-known options that may be out there quietly doing amazing things. Are there emerging players in the media database game that we should be aware of?
What’s worked/not worked for you? I’d appreciate any and all feedback in the comments section below!
Update: @Vocus just did something smart; it pinged me on Twitter and told me to reach out to users on its Twitter list: https://twitter.com/#!/Vocus/favorites — kudos for listening!