As a public relations professional, part of my job is to keep up to date with current events. From pitching a trend piece to pulling off a successful newsjacking, we PR pros must constantly be thinking about how our clients fit into the bigger picture in order to compete in the media relations game.
Here at lotus823, we have several consumer electronics clients who count on our team of PR specialists. So, in addition to mainstream media, we pay close attention to CE trade magazines like TWICE and Dealerscope to stay informed on what’s happening in that space. Staying knowledgeable on your clients’ competitors can be just as valuable as knowing the ins and outs of your clients themselves.
There are an abundance of credible news sources out there to choose from. The method(s) that you prefer to receive this information will determine which sources you find most useful. Here are some of my preferred apps, services and websites for real-time news updates:
CNN App
I love the CNN App on my iPhone. It sends me push notifications with major news developments as they happen, helping me easily stay informed on international, politics, opinion, tech, and entertainment stories around the globe. The best part – it’s free.
What’s #Trending on Twitter and Facebook
This is probably a no-brainer, but I can’t tell you how many breaking news stories I discovered via social media. Twitter’s trending topics paint a good picture of what people are talking about all over the world. Filter by location – I keep mine at U.S. – and you can follow conversations about developing news stories. I check out the sidebar a few times each day to see if there is
anything going on that I should know about.
I also follow several news outlets on Facebook, so my newsfeed is typically full of human-interest stories or breaking news articles.
Google Alerts
Anyone in PR will tell you that they spend a good amount of time checking media coverage by sifting through countless Google Alerts each day. I set these up so I receive notifications when stories come out mentioning my clients. I also select specific keywords I want to monitor for, such as “Bluetooth speaker” for my client that sells such devices. I purposefully set aside an hour each day to go through these e-mails. Not only can these emails immediately alert you of coverage, but they can also help you discover new
media contacts to pitch.
What are your favorite websites, apps, or services to keep tabs on what’s going on in the world?