Why use resources?
Having access to various tools, shortcuts and sources will allow you to craft the most successful campaigns. Using resources to help a digital PR will not only mean you’re able to get the coverage you want but also will be able to refine your talents and advance in your career.
By having a wide selection of online job resources, you’re able to pick and choose which ones will be most beneficial for each campaign.
Digital PR tools
A successful digital PR profressional, or a digital PR company, needs an arsenal of skills and abilities. They need to be able to come up with ideas that are relevant and interesting, thoroughly research the field, organise data and reach out to contacts that will actually publish their work. Doing so without specialist tools will make your life much more difficult and your options limited.
Here are a few tools you can add to your belt as a digital PR. Some take longer to get to grips with than others but have a play around, and you’ll soon be using them like a pro:
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Ahrefs and SEMrush
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Mix Max
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Shutterstock
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FollowUpThen
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Buzzsumo
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Prezly
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Kantar Media
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Gorkana
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CoSchedule
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BrandMentions
Learn more about these digital PR tools, how to use them, and how to harness the power of social media
Excel shortcuts for digital PRs
Many people can feel daunted by Excel and Google Sheets as it was often thought that these spreadsheet applications should be reserved for those who have decades of experience in dealing with data. This is not the case, and you shouldn’t feel nervous at the prospect of using them.
By taking the time to memorise and use these Excel shortcuts, you’ll be saving yourself time and allowing more options when it comes to data-based campaigns. There are a few formulas you will most likely use within your role in order to streamline your workflow, such as:
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SUM - will sum the values supplied
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COUNT - will return the count of values supplied
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COUNTA - will return the count of all cells that contain numbers and text (it will not count empty cells)
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AVERAGE - will average the values supplied
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MIN and MAX - will return the smallest and largest value of a selected column
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IF - will return a value if a specified condition is true
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TRIM - will remove extra space from text
There are also formatting tricks you can utilise to make sure your audience can understand the data and allow you to draw conclusions from it. In terms of visual representation within your PR, you may not always need a graphic made up for it, as a table with some conditional formatting elements included could suffice.
Read everything you need to know about shortcuts and aspects of conditional formatting you can use to organise and enhance your data sets
The best data sources to use for digital PR campaigns
To create an interesting and accurate digital PR campaign, it needs to be authoritative and comprise of data that is perfect for commercial purposes. Due to the trustworthiness and specifications you need to keep in mind when handling data, finding the right data source for your idea can be quite tricky.
The benefits of using authoritative data sources for your PR will far outweigh the initial trouble you may run into when finding them. In order to help you with identifying and analysing the right kinds of data sets, we have detailed the best sources to use for digital PR campaigns, including:
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Statista - Where you can find insights, detailed data and facts drawn from 170 industries and 150 countries.
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Eurostat - European datasets and statistics relating to the economy, population, technology and transport.
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Data.gov.uk - All of the UK government’s open data. You can find published data sets from a range of departments, bodies and agencies.
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Google Trends - This is a data sourcing tool that can analyse popular search queries and topics in various sectors and languages.
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Bank Of England Statistical Interactive Database - Great if you are looking for statistics and data about gold, different exchange rates worldwide, lending, credit cards and banknotes.
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Search the World - Data on the population, land area, travel, weather, demographics, mortality, life expectancy and growth rates.
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TripAdvisor - This site offers a large amount of information about tourist destinations worldwide and the UK, making it a great source for travel and lifestyle campaigns. You can also use it to scrape data using the user reviews and find rankings such as the top-rated restaurants, best hotels, popular attractions and sought-after experiences.
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UKCrimeStats - This is a reliable database for crime-related statistics. It also has a postcode tool that allows you to see the crime rates in different areas.
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BFI Film Forever - Free yet official statistics about the UK film industry, with figures such as grossing numbers and information on film culture.
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Met Office - Trustworthy data about the weather gained from each observing station in the UK. It has information on monthly rainfall, average temperatures, sunshine duration, and other weather variables.
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UK House Price Index - Gaining data and information from the HM Land Registry, this data source analyses house sale data, prices in different areas and transaction information.
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Royal.uk - This is a source that not many people know about, but it is still valuable. You’ll find information on royal engagements attended by different members of the Royal Family, as well as details on the charities and patronages that they support.
Find out other data sources that will help you, as well as tips on how to leverage it to get the best results
Organising your day as a digital PR
Perhaps one of the most important tools you can have is knowing how to organise your day to allow you enough time to carry out your responsibilities as a digital PR and leave you some space to focus on your progression.
By having a rough idea of how long each step of creating a campaign should take you and what goals you will need to achieve during that time, you’ll be giving yourself the best chance to succeed.
Some of the responsibilities digital PR carry out for each campaign they create are:
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Brainstorming
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Data collection
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Writing up the PR
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Making a list of contacts
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Outreaching
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Following up
Using resources to help a digital PR, consulting authoritative data sources, and employing Excel shortcuts whenever you can means you are getting the most out of your time and ideas.
Remember, this is not an exhaustive list, so find some more handy tips on organising your day as a digital PR here