20 PR Tools I Tested and Loved: Best Tools Choices for PR Managers in 2024

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from PR, it’s that having the right tools can make all the difference. Whether you’re trying to land that New York Times headline or simply make your day-to-day a little smoother – the right PR tools are essential.

But with so many options out there, it can be overwhelming to figure out what’s really worth your time and money. I’ve been there – testing, tweaking, and sometimes cursing at tools that promised the world but didn’t deliver.

In this article, I’m sharing the PR tools that can truly make a difference. 

The ones that can help you streamline your work, build stronger media relationships, and get your brand noticed.

So, if you’re ready to level up your PR game, let’s dive in together and find the tools that will actually move the needle for you.

PR tools are software designed to help manage a brand’s public relations efforts by monitoring media coverage, analyzing public sentiment, and tracking trending topics. They are crucial for understanding how a brand is perceived, identifying potential issues early, and crafting informed responses.

What are public relations tools?

PR tools are software designed to make your PR specialist‘s life a whole lot easier, faster, and way less stressful.

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably spent way too much time chasing down contacts, going through press releases for the hundredth time, or trying to figure out if your campaign actually made an impact.

The best PR tools take all that craziness and turn it into something you can actually manage… maybe even enjoy. (Okay, enjoy might be a stretch, but at least you won’t be pulling your hair out!)

Now, let’s dig into the different types of PR tools that’ll seriously make your life easier. I divided them into the following categories:

• Media monitoring
• Outreach
• Text editing
• Mind-mapping
• Productivity
• Project management

Whatever you need, there’s a tool for it, and I’m about to show you the best of the best.

Ready? Let’s dive in!

PR tools for media monitoring

The truth is that media monitoring has many faces…

One of my personal favorites is how it lets you track and manage your organization’s reputation in real-time.

Remember Mr.Big from Sex and the City? What if I tell you that he almost caused a brand’s death?

In 2022, Peloton, a famous fitness brand known for its stationary bikes, faced a public relations crisis when an episode of the television show “And Just Like That…” portrayed a character dying of a heart attack shortly after a Peloton ride.

That character was our Mr. Big.

The scene caused concerns about the safety of Peloton bikes, leading to a significant drop in the company’s stock price.

Luckily, Peloton was able to respond quickly to the negative mentions. They immediately issued a statement refuting the safety concerns and highlighting the health benefits of their bikes.

Peloton also arranged a PR event. A cardiologist appeared on a morning talk show to discuss the episode and reassure viewers their bikes are safe.

By actively monitoring media coverage and taking swift action, Peloton mitigated the damage to its reputation and prevented the crisis from escalating further.

You can also use online monitoring to identify journalists and influencers covering topics related to your industry or organization.

It’s a big thing for PR professionals!

This information is invaluable for building and nurturing media contacts.

The best part is that PR professionals can measure the impact of their PR campaigns through media monitoring. They can track the reach and sentiment and use this data to demonstrate the value of their efforts to stakeholders.

And that’s not all…

Media monitoring PR tools can help you:

• Protect brand reputation
• Get notified about industry media, experts, influencers, competitors, and other authors talking about your business
• Get in touch with social media influencers
• Identify new press release opportunities
• Identify new media outlets
• Prevent PR crisis
• Conduct market research
• Identify new media opportunities
• Get hard data about the online presence of your brand
• Improve your media relations

PR involves various visibility and communication activities. Depending on the actual scope of your daily tasks, one or two PR tools can turn out to be priceless support. I can’t even imagine how time-consuming my everyday duties would be without a media monitoring tool.

– Michał Jońca, PR Specialist at Brand24

Pro tip: Different media monitoring tools offer various media coverage, so make sure that the one that you choose monitors the sources that you want to keep up with.

So with that being said – let’s talk about my picks for the best media monitoring pr tools!

01 Brand24

Brand24 is a tool that can easily help you monitor and analyze the online buzz about your brand. It keeps a close eye on news mentions, making it a game-changer for PR pros. 

Imagine getting real-time insights into how your brand is talked about in the media, so you can tweak your strategy on the fly. 

Let’s talk about a small fashion brand – Djerf Avenue: In August 2024, their mentions in the news category reached an impressive 3.6 million people across 157 mentions. 

The biggest boost came from a Forbes article on August 26, which labeled their Summer Berries Robe as the “Best All-Season Robe,” driving massive reach and positive sentiment. 

What’s cool is that despite fluctuations, the number of mentions didn’t show a declining trend – just peaks on key days. And with 14 positive mentions and zero negative ones, the overall vibe was super positive. 

This kind of data can help you understand your media impact and adjust your PR efforts to maximize visibility and positive buzz.

Despite the news, it also collects online mentions of predefined keywords from multiple sources:

• Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Reddit, Quora, Telegram, and Twitch
• Review sites such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, Booking, App Store, Google Play, Trustpilot
• Blogs
• Video platforms
• Podcasts
• Discussion forums
• Newsletters
• Other publicly available sources

I used it for a few years now, and it changed a lot recently! Focusing on AI technology, it has become a much more powerful tool than just a mention collector.

The Presence Score and Share of Voice features are powerful tools for PR. They let you easily see how well your public relations are working and where you might need to make improvements.

Plus, I personally love to find interaction opportunities by finding important mentions. I engage in a specific thread and it helped me to acquire new followers and build trust.

But as I said – it offers much more. PR agencies (and independent PR professionals) use it to:

• Track brand mentions across the web
• Find the newest press releases with their mentions
• Find press release possibilities
• Managing media relations
• Analyze target audiences
• Gather insights to improve PR strategy
• Keep up with news and trends from the PR industry
• Measure the results of a PR campaign
• Learn how the sentiment changes over time

And here’s a quick summary of Brand24 features: 

• Presence Score
• Media monitoring
• Anomaly Detector
• Sentiment Analysis
• Alerts and notifications
• Reports
• Presence score

PS It offers a free trial, so go and test it for yourself!

02 Google Alerts

Without a shadow of a doubt, what makes Google Alert attractive is the fact that it’s a completely free tool!

Is it, however, enough to get the job done?

It depends.

Google says it was developing and improving GA, but in comparison to other online monitoring tools – GA is entirely devoid of analytical features and falls short of basics, too.

When it comes to data collection, I experienced a lot of spam, serious delays, and missing mentions. And many people struggle with that too.

Nevertheless, trying it and seeing how it works for you is a good idea. Who knows, it might be just fine for you.

If you are a beginner PR professional, it’s a perfect digital tool to start with.

Here are some key features of Google Analytics:

• Monitor multiple keywords
• Monitor multi-word keywords
• Set up the frequency notifications
• Set up email notifications
• Set up RSS notifications 
• Monitor mentions in various languages 

If you’d like to learn about the differences between Google Alerts and Brand24, have a look at Google Alerts alternative. 

03 Brandwatch

It’s one of the biggest players in the media monitoring market.

Brandwatch is powerful in data analysis and has AI-supported features.

However, the tool is now changing its focus from media monitoring to consumer intelligence and insights. Still, it can help your PR team.

Brandwatch is a great fit for enterprise-size companies.

It will surely help you keep up with media mentions, and press releases and find the right media contacts.

Apart from features typical for a media monitoring tool such as keyword monitoring, notifications, reporting, or sentiment analysis, Brandwatch offers also: 

• Demographic data
• Image analysis
• Shareable dashboards 
• Flexible displays 

Over the years, Brandwatch has certainly made a name for itself. Nevertheless, it is quite an expensive tool, but there are affordable Brandwatch alternatives.

Now, let’s move on to the next PR tools category!

PR tools for outreach

After all, despite the development of technology, human relations are still fundamental to public relations. 

Outreach is one of the most important aspects of PR. Years go by, and it’s still about building relationships with people who can broadcast your message to a wider audience.

The best digital PR tools for outreach allow you to build relationships with journalists, influencers, bloggers, and experts you can reach out to, build relations with, and expand your contact database.

04 Muck Rack

Muck Rack is a digital PR platform that offers plenty of features for PR professionals to manage their outreach efforts.

It has a large database with contact details. It enables users to connect with journalists and collect press contacts more easily. You can search for contacts based on

• location
• media outlet
• the topics they have covered
• keywords
• content of their tweets/shares and press releases

Add to it the rest of the features, and you will get an all-in-one outreach tool with an intuitive dashboard!

Summary of the most important features:

• Comprehensive media database to find journalists
• Monitoring the pr campaign
• Reporting

05 Anewstip

Anewstip is a tool designed to streamline the process of connecting with journalists and influencers relevant to your brand or campaign.

With a database of over 15,000 contacts, it enables you to engage with journalists who have covered similar topics.

Additionally, Anewstip utilizes intelligent algorithms to recommend journalists likely interested in your story based on their previous work and areas of expertise, saving PR professionals time and effort.

Yes, you could’ve emailed a million contacts, but if their relevancy was low – you can’t expect much from such email outreach campaigns.

I struggled with it when I did outreach – even the biggest campaigns never brought as good results as the highly relevant ones.

The tool also allows you to monitor the open rates of your pitches. For me it’s a game-changer as it helps to gauge their effectiveness and enhance my outreach strategy.

The result?

More relevant media placements and better media exposure.

06 MixMax

This is the tool that I used a lot when doing outreach for low-budget businesses.

It’s panel may seem less UX friendly, but for a good price – as this is a free alternative.

It also offers paid plans with more sophisticated features, but the basic one is perfectly fine for PR professionals to:

• Schedule outreach campaigns
• Automatically fill out contact details
• Upload a media contact list for your campaign
• Monitor campaign open rates, bounces and sign-offs
• Create outreach templates for your emails

07 Prowly

Prowly is an interesting digital pr tool. Thanks to it, you can do PR outreach and manage your media relations from one place.

It allows PR professionals to:

• Find relevant contacts (in media databases with over a million records or via smart media contact recommendations provided by the tool)
• Send targeted pitches
• Generate comprehensive reports
• See who opened your emails and automate your follow-ups.

Prowly has all the right features to help you maximize your press releases, increase your press coverage, and build better relationships with the media. 

There’s no upfront commitment and no lengthy contracts – you can take advantage of a free trial, choose monthly subscriptions and different add-ons, and then upgrade as you go. 

08 JustReachOut

JustReachOut is a platform designed to help businesses and individuals with their digital PR and general PR efforts.

It provides various features and services to assist users in finding relevant journalists and bloggers in their industry or niche, crafting effective pitches, and managing media outreach campaigns.

This all helps outreachers get more relevant press releases and establish long-term relationships with media outlets.

JustReachOut typically offers a media database of journalists, bloggers, and media outlets. You can manually search through them to find the most relevant contacts for your PR campaigns.

PR professionals can create and customize pitches within the platform. It can be super helpful in crafting compelling and personalized messages to send to media contacts.

The tool can help you schedule follow-up emails to nurture relationships and increase the chances of getting news coverage, social media mentions, or backlinks.

Summary of the key JustReachOut features:

• Media database
• Customized pitches
• Follow-up scheduling
• Media outreach management
• Relationship building

09 PR Newswire

It is basically a hub that collects and shares news with media outlets, journalists, newspapers, radio stations, and anyone else who’s on the hunt for a story.

Back in the day, reporters had to dig around to find their own sources for stories – no more.

Platforms like this one make it possible to find new media lists and connect with key journalists from one place.

So, not a tool but a must-mention on this PR list! 😉

We could keep talking about outreach, but the possibilities will never end.

But no doubt, the crucial part is dragging attention to your pitch and how to do it?

Here are fantastic PR tools for this process:

PR tools for text editing

Writing is an essential part of the PR pro’s job, whether it’s a long email, an article, or a press release.

Make sure you do yours in a text editor that fits your needs, be it on the usability or aesthetic side of things.

Do you need a clean, typewriter-like experience? Or complex text editors you could use to write books in?

I don’t know about you, but I grew tired of typical text editors. Maybe it’s my distractedness, but I feel as if they were screaming at me with thousands of buttons, tabs, and options. That’s why I’m a fan of plain text editors.

But let’s see what’s in store.

10 G Suite

The Google Docs editor is somewhere between simple and complex.

It’s a part of G Suite – a cloud of tools from Google. All you need to access it is a Gmail account. Then, in addition to Google Docs, you get access to other useful tools – Google Sheets, Google Slides, and others.

I myself write a lot and find Google Docs one of the best PR tools. These two features are extremely helpful to me:

• Sharing – Few clicks, you can share and invite to your document other collaborators
• Commenting and suggesting – Very useful when it comes to sharing feedback, proofreading, or brainstorming ideas with teammates or press releases publishers.

Google Docs can be useful for planning your PR campaigns, collecting ideas for a PR strategy, or just note-taking.

But at the same time, it’s easy to get distracted there. With so many formatting options, colors, etc – it’s hard to focus on the main task – writing.

Key features of Google Docs:

• Text editing
• Sharing on different access levels (editing, commenting, view only)
• G Suite integration
• Adding multimedia elements

11 iA Writer

iA Writer is ideal if you’re looking for a distraction-free and minimalistic text editor. To me, it also gives some kind of typewriter feel.

With its modest design and very few yet powerful features, you can fully immerse yourself in writing. It’s only you, plain background and letters.

It makes the creative process of writing press releases much easier.

You know, I used to struggle a lot with staying focused when writing. It felt like my mind was always drifting off to other things, like adding a splash of color here or finding the perfect picture there. Writing kept getting pushed to the background. Then, one day, I attended a workshop with this guy who really emphasized the importance of using a writing tool that eliminates distractions. That workshop changed everything for me. It was like a light bulb moment – suddenly, I could focus purely on my writing, and it made all the difference.

Some of the useful features include: 

• Focus Mode
• Reading Time mode
• Automarkdown 
• Syntax highlight
• Content blocks 
• Hashtags 
• Various fonts 

12 Google Keep

Note-taking is a super important part of writing a press release, too. 

To capture all important ideas before you lose your train of thought – I use Google Keep.

Apart from being an accessible and simple notepad to write down your ideas on the run, Google Keep is also a part of Google Suite and stored in the cloud – it means you take your thoughts, notes, ideas, and things to do everywhere you go.

Like other Google products, Google Keep is easy to embrace. You can use this PR tool on your smartphone, on your desktop, or as a Chrome extension. And it’s all in the cloud.

Google Keep can help you remember important topics and collect ideas considering your next press release, social media posts, media opportunities, press release distribution or a new digital campaign.

Its features include:

• Photo Upload 
• Voice recording
• Checklists

PR tools for mind-mapping

Mind mapping is a good way to brainstorm ideas and visualize information about the project you’re working on. Whether it’s a press release, a new outreach campaign or a PR crisis management – it’s your go to method.

Sure, you can do it on a piece of paper, but it’s getting complicated when you have to attach files, share them with collaborators, or present them to someone else.

With good mind mapping software, you can: 

• Draw infinite map 
• Attach files
• Collaborate with others 
• Export your boards 

13 Draw.io

One of the tools I personally like is Draw.io. 

Theoretically, Draw.io isn’t strictly a mind-mapping tool – it’s a diagramming tool. Therefore, it might lack some features typical for mind mapping.

But practically, it works miracles in mind-mapping. You can draw basically anything you want.

Also, you can access it without registration – you just install draw.io Chrome extension and there you have it.

Key features:

• Create templates
• Collaborate in real-time with other users
• Easy-to-use diagram editor

14 Ayoa (iMindMap)

This one is particularly interesting because it was developed in collaboration with Tony Buzan, the inventor of the mind-mapping technique.

People say it adheres more closely to Buzan’s concept of mind mapping than other tools. 

What makes iMindMap stand out is the ability to present your mind map in a few different ways – not only in the shape of a tree.

Key features:

• Integration with G Suite, dropbox, and other important tools
• AI-generated mind maps
• Build-in management system
• User-friendly interface

15 Milanote

Milanote is more of a concept map maker than a mind-mapping tool. Still, you can completely map out your project. 

You can fill up the infinite pinboard with notes, links, images, and files. The tool is very simple in use primarily because it has only the most necessary features.

Some say it’s the most easy-to-use concept mapping tool out there.

One of the cool things about Milanote is that it has a web clipper. It means that the tool displays the content from a link directly inside the pinboard.

Key features:

• Drag-and-drop interface.
• Simple text editing and to-do lists.
• File uploads (Supports a variety of file types including images, PDFs, and design files).
• Save inspiration from the web directly into Milanote (also from social media platforms)

PR tools for project management

At some point, a pen and a notepad are not enough to keep track of your projects.

Add to it the impossibility of collaborating with your teammates and other departments in your organization, and you’ll see the need for a project management tool for your PR responsibilities.

Everyone talks about Trello, Asana, or Basecamp – no wonder; they are battle-tested and appreciated across the industry. 

Here are some uncommon time and project management apps you might become interested in. 

18 Monday

Monday is both a project and a time management app.

Apart from some typical features for this type of software, such as boards, timelines, time tracking, due date tracking, activity logs, and more, it has a few that catch the attention of many.

Key features:

• Huge base of project templates for all sorts of job types
• Great features for project overview from a wider perspective
• Eye-friendly and intuitive interface
• Lots of integrations

19 Asana

Asana is one of the top players in the game – well-known, proven, and appreciated across the board.

What’s great about it is that you can use it for free and still get reasonably satisfactory experience – just fine to manage your PR responsibilities. 

Key features:

• Press releases management
• Plan actions for social media accounts
• Planning news releases
• storing pr materials
• keeping story ideas

20 ClickUp

ClickUp is said to be one of the best free tools for project management out there.

The tool has been praised for customizability which is limited in some of the more popular tools. In other words, you can tune the tool the way you want, what your team wants, or what a task requires.

Some even say there’s too much to customize.

Thanks to many features, the tool is very competitive even in the free version.

How to choose the best PR tools for your digital PR team?

It generally depends on the area of PR you’d like to improve.

Picking the perfect tool for your digital PR team is, sadly, about experimenting until you find the right fit. 

However, it’s possible to avoid some of the errors by carefully going through the following steps:

1. Know your team’s needs
   What challenges is your team facing? Pinpoint is where a tool can boost efficiency, such as finding contacts, creating content assets, or analyzing data.
2. Do your homework
   Dive into the tools out there. Compare features, ease of use, customer support, and pricing.
3. Check for compatibility
   When testing a tool, make sure it plays nicely with your current systems and workflows.
4. Mind the budget
   Look at the cost vs. value. Think beyond the initial price tag—consider long-term benefits and ROI.
5. Test drive everything
   Most tools offer free trials or demos, so take them for a spin. There’s no better way to see if it’s a match.
6. Read the buzz
   Check out reviews and recommendations. Real-world experiences can give you the lowdown on how a tool really performs.

You’ve got to make sure it checks off all your team’s needs and aligns with your goals. Some tools are small and supportive, while others are full-on platforms. The truth is – you’ll need to evaluate each one differently.

Here’s my personal pro tip: Sometimes, the same tools can cover different needs. Opting for one more advanced tool is usually a better option than switching through multiple ones.

What are the benefits of using a PR tool?

• Saving time
  The best PR tools handle the boring stuff like media monitoring, sending out press releases, and tracking engagement automatically. This frees up your time to focus on bigger, more strategic moves that a PR pro should be doing.
• Better reach
  With massive media databases at your fingertips, PR tools let you reach more people with less efort. Plus, they help you target the right journalists and outlets that are most likely to be into your story.
• Data-driven insights
  These tools give you analytics and metrics that show how well your PR campaigns are doing. You’ll get a clear picture of media coverage, audience engagement, and which strategies are hitting the target.
• Crisis management
  In PR crisis management, early detection is key. PR tools with real-time monitoring can alert you to potential issues or negative sentiment before they blow up. This gives you the chance to react quickly and manage the situation before it spirals out of control.

• Relationship management
  Many PR tools come with CRM features that help you keep track of your relationships with key journalists and influencers. This makes it easier to build and maintain the connections.

Conclusion

Finding the right PR tools can be a game-changer for your strategy in 2024. Whether you’re streamlining daily tasks, amplifying your reach, or managing a crisis – the right tools can make all the difference.

With so many options out there, it might take a bit of trial and error, but once you find the perfect fit, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without them. So dive in, experiment, and let these tools take your PR game to the next level!

Key takeaways:

1. Use AI to stay informed: Use tools like Brand24 that use AI to give you real-time insights into how people are talking about your brand. This helps you quickly adjust your PR strategy and avoid potential problems.
2. Build strong media relationships: Tools like Muck Rack and Prowly help you find and connect with journalists and influencers. Focus on building real, lasting relationships instead of just collecting contacts.
3. Keep your workflow smooth: Pick PR tools that work well with what you’re already using, like G Suite or ClickUp. This makes it easier for your team to stay organized and get things done without any hassle.

Want to measure and analyze your PR campaigns? Try the Brand24 tool!