By Kara Schniepp
Working in public relations is all about staying informed and connected so you can ensure that you secure all available opportunities to illuminate your clients’ great work in the media. While sometimes it may seem impossible to keep up with daily news and pop culture happenings, there are some great tools to make sure you never miss a media opportunity.
With these five tools, you’ll always be on top of current trends and updates:
Digital edition apps: Subscribe to digital edition apps like Texture, where you have access to hundreds of magazines on your phone. Flip through current and past issues and find out about magazines you haven’t even heard of that your client may be a perfect fit for.
Google Alerts: Set up Google Alerts for all subjects pertaining to your client so you stay in the know about the best contacts to pitch to — and what they’re currently working on.
Newsletters: Sign up for daily newsletters like theSkimm that break down the main takeaways from current events in a brief, easily readable format. So even on the busiest of mornings, you can stay up-to-speed.
Word of mouth: Connect with family, friends and colleagues about the news because everyone has different media consumption habits and perspectives. When you discuss what’s going on in your client’s industry, the news or pop culture with others, you’ll most likely learn something new that you didn’t pick up on in your media monitoring routine.
Bookstores: When all else fails, frequent the newsstands of old reliable bookstores and scour through the racks of magazines to get your media fix.
What are some of your favorite tools to use to stay informed? Let us know in a quick message on Facebook!